Registered Migration Agents – Legislation Changes

12/03/2021

The Migration Amendment (Regulation of Migration Agents) Act 2020 will come into effect on 22 March 2021.

It will amend the Migration Act 1958 to

• provide that holders of unrestricted legal practising certificates (ULPCs) will no longer be able to be registered as a migration agent [see s. 289B];
• repeal section 277 ‘immigration legal assistance’;
• modify the restrictions on giving of immigration assistance in section 280 so that the section will not prohibit ‘an Australian legal practitioner from giving immigration assistance in connection with legal practice’.

The amending Act is available on the Federal Register of Legislation at https://www.legislation.gov.au/.

The Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (OMARA) advises that ULPC holders who are also registered migration agents will be removed from the Register of Migration Agents by the OMARA on 22 March 2021.

OMARA is sending a number of emails to legal practitioners who are registered as migration agents with updates in the lead up to the commencement of the legislation. Further information, including Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), is available on the OMARA website at https://www.mara.gov.au/