As of December 31 2019, there were 7249 registered migration agents in Australia, 30 per cent of whom are legal practitioners.
These registered migration agents are regulated by the OMARA or the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority run by the Department of Home Affairs.
A recent amendment of the migration bill means that legal practitioners no longer need to simultaneously hold a migration agent’s registration to provide immigration assistance.
Registered migration agent Johanna Nonato says unregistered agents are not bound by the rules and regulations of the OMARA.
We are registered. We have a code of conduct just like registered nurses have licences so we have that. People who are practising in Australia who are giving advice or assistance with regards to migration or Australian visas, and they’re not registered, that’s illegal. So there are people who do that in Australia but there’s a lot of people doing that overseas.
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