Migration agents have been caught submitting misleading visa applications, misusing client money and lodging protection claims with no prospect of success in a crackdown by Australia’s migration regulator.
The Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (OMARA) sanctioned 17 agents or former agents in the six months to the end of June, including six whose registrations were cancelled, seven suspended, three cautioned, and one former agent barred from re-registration.
The action marks a more aggressive approach by the federal government after years of criticism over the handling of misconduct complaints and a damning Commonwealth auditor-general report that identified a host of failures in supervising the migration agents who facilitate the arrival of vulnerable people into the country.
The cases, detailed in the authority’s latest half-yearly report, reveal a range of misconduct across an industry of 5581 registered migration agents, including agents who provided false or misleading information to the Department of Home Affairs and the regulator, failed to protect client money and records, and undermined migration law.
In one case, an agent was deregistered for five years after the authority found he had failed to declare immigration assistance provided to clients, supplied false or misleading information to the regulator and was not a fit and proper person to provide migration advice.
The new data release comes as the regulator last week cancelled the registration of Sydney migration agent Harsh Yadav for five years, after finding he had provided unreported immigration assistance, facilitated non-genuine visa applications and knowingly submitted false and misleading statements to the department.
Yadav, who was first registered in September 2021 and operated Aus Tech Educations, trading as Bajwa Immigration Consultants Sydney, came under scrutiny after an OMARA review identified 45 visa applications that appeared linked to him through multiple data sources, despite no migration agent having notified the department that assistance had been provided.
The authority examined 11 of those applications in detail and found Yadav had knowingly provided false and misleading statements to the department in support of visa applications, failed to fully respond to requests for information and failed to ensure immigration assistance provided through his business was carried out only by registered migration agents.
The regulator also uncovered an agent who lodged protection visa applications that she knew had no prospect of success, in circumstances where the authority found the applications were likely to prolong her clients’ stay in Australia.
The crackdown has also extended to agents accused of financial and administrative misconduct.
One agent suspended for two years was found to have received money from clients before entering service agreements, failed to issue receipts and failed to deposit all client money into the required client account. The agent was also found to have failed to disclose financial interests and maintain complete client files.
Assistant Minister for Citizenship, Customs and Multicultural Affairs Julian Hill said while most migration agents follow the law, those who misuse the visa system and rip-off their clients were “being found and dealt with”.
“Agents who take money to lodge fake protection claims are the lowest of the low. Protection visas are not a backdoor to stay in Australia, they’re for people who genuinely need protection from persecution, and unmeritorious claims just clog the system and exploit people,” he said.
The report shows the regulator dealt with 165 complaints during the six-month period. Twenty resulted in a sanction decision, while 15 led to suspected breach notices and a further 31 were addressed directly with agents.
More than six in 10 employer-sponsored applications and business skills applications were lodged with an agent during the period, while agents were involved in 52.1 per cent of general skilled applications and 21.7 per cent of student applications.
Peter van Vliet, the chief executive of the Migration Institute of Australia, said the statistics showed the great majority of registered migration agents are doing the right thing.
But he said the government needed to do more to stamp out “fake agents”.
“Scam agents are operating with impunity around Australia and overseas,” he said. “They are lodging vexatious applications, giving vulnerable people false hope and clogging up our migration system. The government has an arsenal or powers to deal with fake agents including hefty fines and prison terms.”
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Rob Harris is the national correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age based in Canberra. He is a former Europe correspondent.Connect via email.From our partners
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