You must get 10 continuing professional development (CPD) points each year to stay registered as a migration agent.
CPD requirements do not apply to holders of restricted legal practising certificates (RLPC) who are also registered with OMARA. RLPC holders are subject to the CPD requirements of their relevant legal professional association.
You must complete your CPD activities in the 12 months immediately before you submit your re-registration application. If you complete activities too early, they may fall outside the 12‑month period and cannot be counted. You can submit your re-registration application up to 8 weeks before your registration expires. To avoid issues, plan your CPD activities with your intended application date in mind.
Extra time to complete your CPD
For exceptional circumstances that are beyond your control, we may give you 3 months of extra time to complete your CPD.
You must request for this as part of your re-registration application, and give evidence to support your claim.
Reasons we generally do not consider an exceptional circumstance include:
- a heavy workload
- financial hardship
- overseas travel
- the unavailability of a preferred CPD activity
- technical issues with computer/internet.
If you have not completed your CPD and do not have evidence of exceptional circumstances beyond your control, we may consider refusing your re-registration application.
Rules about CPD subjects
Your 10 CPD points must include
both:
- Ethical standards for migration agents (mandatory subject worth 1 CPD point) and
- Code of Conduct (mandatory subject worth 1 CPD point).
You must complete at least 5 CPD points from Category A activities.
You can choose to get the remaining required CPD points from either Category A or B activities.
Points already counted for one application cannot be counted again for a future application. The following criteria apply:
- You may claim up to 6 CPD points for online activities completed within any 24-hour period.
- If you complete more than 6 CPD online within a 24-hour period, we will counly only 6 points towards your application.
- You cannot carry forward CPD points to a future registration period. If you select more than 10 points, we will apply all points to your current application.
- You must complete your private study assessment within 12 months of your enrolment date.
Transitional provisions for legislative changes
From 1 April 2026,
Migration Agents (CPD Activities, Approval of CPD Providers and CPD Provider Standards) Instrument 2026 (LIN 26/001) includes CPD requirements for registered migration agents (RMAs).
LIN 26/001 also outlines transitional provisions where RMAs can meet previous CPD requirements if these CPD activities have been:
- completed before 1 July 2026
and
- part of an RMA’s registration lodged on or before 31 March 2027.
If you complete and lodge your CPD points within this period, RMAs can still claim:
- 10 CPD points completed online within a 24-hour time period
- a CPD topic on either ethical standards topic
or a Code of Conduct topic
- private study enrolled before 1 July 2026 even if it is more than 12 months between the enrolment and completion date.
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