by Angela Julian-Armitage

National President Migration Institute of Australia and Barrister-at-Law

MIGRATION LAW is a complex and ever-evolving area of legal practice. Practitioners providing migration advice and assistance must, by law, be Registered Migration Agents (RMAs) with the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority_(OMARA).

In addition to satisfying the pre-requisite legal requirements, a professional, competent and effective RMA practice necessitates in-depth and up-to-date knowledge of migration legislation, regulations and policies

The Migration Act 1958 and the Migration Regulations 1994 contain a number of provisions that limit or prevent a person from applying for an Australian visa of any class. These range from preventing an individual from applying for a further visa while in Australia to bans from making visa applications for up to 10 years.

A visa application refusal or cancellation while in the country could result in a ‘Section 48 bar’ requiring the person to depart Australia and be unable to apply for certain visas while here. Serious misconduct such as providing false and misleading information or documents in an application for entry to Australia, even on passenger arrival cards, may result in bans of up to 10 years pursuant to the Public Interest Criteria (PIC) 4020 of the Migration Regulations 1994.

These provisions extend to a visa applicant’s family regardless of whether or not they are part of the visa application. If you are considering providing migration advice, ensure that you are well informed and compliant with all the relevant legislative provisions.

The Migration Institute of Australia (MIA) provides assistance to its member practitioners, starting out in this area, with a myriad of professional support services. More details of these services are on the MIA website (www.mia.org.au).

Angela Julian-Armitage is the National President and QLD/NT State President of the Migration Institute of Australia and a practising Barrister at the Queensland Bar. Angela operates a Migration Law practice and assists solicitors and RMAs with Review and Appeal work in the area of Migration Law. In addition to her Migration Law expertise, Angela conducts a wide-ranging commercial practice.