CHAIRMAN'S REPORT

It would be difficult to overestimate the importance
of immigration in Australia’s development.
In the last 65 years, more than seven million migrants have come to our country and more than four million of them have become citizens.

Australia is now a nation in which nearly half of its population comprises people who were, or have a parent who was, born overseas.

Those new Australians have brought with them skills, resources and cultures which are now an integral part of the fabric of Australian society. They have greatly contributed to Australia’s productivity and economic growth.

At the inaugural address on Immigration and Citizenship delivered on 17 March 2010, Professor Ian Chubb AC, Vice-Chancellor of the Australian National University, described Australia’s well-managed and evolved immigration and settlement programs as the envy of the world.

Advisory board’s objective

Given the size and importance of our migration program, it is essential that migration advice is available from a competent, ethical and well-regulated profession of migration agents.

The objective of both the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (Office of the MARA) and the advisory board has been neatly summarised by the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans, in these words:

‘The primary task of the Office and the Board is to ensure that consumers of migration advice services are provided with appropriate assurance and protection. Unsuitable individuals must be prevented from entering the profession and unsuitable agents removed from the profession.’

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Establishment of the advisory board

The Office of the MARA advisory board was established early in the year under review.

It was set up in accordance with the recommendations made in the final report of the 2007–08 Review of Statutory Self-Regulation of the Migration Advice Profession dated May 2008.

The Office of the MARA and the advisory board replaced the regulatory system previously administered by the Migration Institute of Australia. The purpose of the change is to remove any possible perception of conflict of interest which could result in a lack of consumer confidence.

The advisory board’s membership includes a community representative, nominees of the Law Council of Australia and the Migration Institute of Australia and members with extensive experience in the education and not-for-profit sectors.

Its function is to advise the CEO in relation to:

the Office of the MARA’s procedures, policies and strategies
setting organisational directions, priorities and plans
any emerging issues within the sector of relevance to the registration of migration agents.

The advisory board is not responsible for the management and administration of the Office of the MARA.

Issues considered

The advisory board met five times during the year.

The diverse skills and experience of advisory board members provide the CEO with the opportunity to test and evaluate policy ideas and options in a way that cannot be achieved solely with the Office of the MARA staff.

Some of the significant matters considered include monitoring the implementation of the review, lifting the level of competence in English for registered migration agents to a score of seven in the academic version of the IELTS, moving from a graduate certificate to a graduate diploma as the required educational standard, opening admission to New Zealand licensed immigration advisers, commencing a review of the migration agents Code of Conduct and increasing the Office of the MARA’s involvement with the not-for-profit sector.

The advisory board has also commented on the detailed operational report tabled at each meeting.

Thanks

I thank each of the members for their contribution to the advisory board’s achievements in its first year of operation.

Mr Robert Cornall AO
Chairman