News

Ongoing protests against stricter entry qualifications for Migration Agents

Prospective migration agents have started a petition to abolish Capstone exam and 1,526 people have already signed the petition. The petitioners say the Capstone assessment is unnecessary and unfair, given the fact that such exams were not mandated before 1 January 2018 and cite the complexity of the exam and very high failure rate of 87%.

The Capstone exam was created to strengthen the training and entry qualifications for new entrants into the migration agent profession as recommended by the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (OMARA). The OMARA review was commissioned by the Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash on June 2014.  In addition to this exams, the other OMARA recommendations included raising the entry-level qualifications for migration profession from Graduate Certificate in Migration Law along with the CAIs (which took a total of 12 months)¹ to a Graduate Diploma in Migration Law and Practice (which needs 12 months of full-time study to complete). The candidates also must take the Academic IELTS and score 7 overall with a minimum score of 6.5 in each band. ²

About the Author

Roshani Joshi

roshani.joshi@radiantmigration.com.au

MARN: 2015750

Roshani is a Director and a Principal Registered Migration Agent (MARN: 2015750) with Radiant Migration Australia. She is a highly qualified migration agent with up-to-date in-depth knowledge of migration law. She has attained a Graduate Diploma in Australian Migration Law from Western Sydney University and has passed the Capstone assessment on May 2020, which has a success rate of 13-21% and is conducted by the College of Law. She has first-hand knowledge of migration, as she is a migrant herself. She came to Australia on a student visa to study Masters of Information Technology in 2007, applied for permanent residence and then Australian citizenship on her own. She has volunteered in various kinds of visa applications to help her community people. Her professional and personal knowledge and experiences enable her to effectively resolve complex migration matters including character cancellations, bogus documents, health waivers and visa refusals. 

References:

1. Migration Agents Regulations 1998 - Specification For Prescribed Courses And Exams For Applicants For Registration As A Migration Agent - IMMI 12/035
2. Migration (IMMI 18/003: Specified courses and exams for registration as a migration agent) Instrument 2018
3. https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/reports-and-publications/reviews-and-inquiries/departmental-reviews/review-of-mara