‘The Migration Agents Amendment (CPD Requirements) Regulations 2019 (the Regulations) amend the Migration Agents Regulations 1998 (the Migration Agents Regulations) to exempt lawyers who hold practising certificates from continuing professional development (CPD) requirements for migration agents when applying for repeat registration as a migration agent’
The new Migration Agents Amendment (CPD Requirements) Regulations 2019 commences on 10 April 2019 and its explanatory statement includes the following passages:
The Migration Act 1958 requires that an individual must be registered with the Migration Agents Registration Authority to provide immigration assistance. When re-registering every 12 months, migration agents are required to satisfy the CPD requirements, made under the Regulations.
The amendments insert new regulation 6A, which has the effect of ensuring that registered migration agents who are also lawyers with legal practising certificates are not required to complete both legal and migration agent CPD requirements. The note at the end of regulation 6A makes it clear that to hold a legal practising certificate, a lawyer must already satisfy CPD requirements of the relevant legal professional association in that Australian State or Territory.
The amendments apply not only from commencement, but also in respect of applications for repeat registration made prior to the commencement of the amendments, if no decision on the repeat registration application had been made immediately before the commencement of the proposed Regulations.
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Sergio Zanotti Stagliorio is a Registered Migration Agent (MARN 1461003). He is the owner of Target Migration in Sydney. He can be reached at sergio@targetmigration.com.au