Migration Amendment Bill 2017 referred to Legal & Constitutional Affairs Committee for inquiry
The referral of the Migration Amendment (Regulation of Migration Agents) Bill 2017 has been recommended by the Senate Selection of Bills Committee to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee for further inquiry and report is due by 16 October 2017.
The Bill proposes to amend the Migration Act 1958 and is targeted at deregulating the migration advice industry. This will see lawyers who hold practising certificates removed from regulation by the Migration Agents Registration Authority, so that they are regulated entirely by their relevant state or territory legal professional body.
Under the proposed amendments it would be possible for someone with a legal practising certificate to be registered as a migration agent without demonstrating any knowledge of Australia’s complex migration law and policy.