April 2018 newsletter
Registrar update
Last week in the Waitakere District Court, Maria ‘Ilaisaane Valu-Pome’e pleaded guilty to 14 charges laid by the Immigration Advisers Authority relating to providing unlawful immigration advice. This case serves as a good reminder to our Pacific communities to ensure they seek lawful immigration advice and shows that we will hold those breaking the law to account.
In August I spoke at the New Zealand International Education Conference in Auckland to education providers from around the country. Immigration New Zealand and I delivered a joint presentation on how to ensure students are getting the right advice about the immigration process. It covered what providers can legally do without giving immigration advice, and practical guidance on how they can manage education agents.
With thanks to the 2017 Licensed Immigration Adviser Reference Group, we have updated the Authority’s Supervision Toolkit and model supervision agreement. Read more about these changes below.
Last week we were unable to run our scheduled webinar on client engagement due to a technical fault. I reiterate my sincere apology to those who took time out from their business to attend. The webinar on client engagement will be rescheduled for 2018. You can register for our two remaining webinars in 2017 below.
Catherine Albiston
Registrar of Immigration Advisers
How long does the IAA take to process licence applications?
Many of our calls from advisers are to ask how long an application will take to process. So to answer your question in advance here are our numbers so far this financial year.
Since 1 July 2017 we have processed:
- 98 percent of new and upgrade licence applications within 15 working days.
- 100 percent of fast-track renewal applications within five working days.
- 87 percent of inspection renewal applications within 25 days of receiving the full application.
If your application is one of the few processed outside these timeframes, please be assured that we are working hard to process it as soon as we can.
Planning your CPD
The IAA’s CPD requirements are flexible, which means you can find CPD opportunities to suit you wherever you are in the world. We ask you to think about your learning needs to help you choose CPD activities that are genuinely valuable to where you are at in your career.
Many licensed advisers around the world attend INZ seminars, NZAMI seminars or webinars and IAA webinars as part of their development. Advisers have set up local study groups in different countries, and many provide or receive mentoring or supervision.
Any training opportunity you have that is related to the Code or Competency Standards can be counted towards your CPD hours. For example, taking a short course to improve your professional written English skills is relevant to Competency Standard 7. Attending a seminar on an aspect of local law may be relevant to Competency Standard 6 – the ability to manage a business in accordance with local law.
To be accepted, all CPD activities must:
- Be related to some aspect of the Competency Standards or the Code of Conduct
- Be relevant to your learning needs
- Be interactive
- Be verifiable
You can count the following activities towards CPD:
- Giving or receiving training
- Giving or receiving mentoring or supervision
- Contributing to relevant industry bodies or consultation processes
- Facilitating or participating in study groups
The Authority does not approve or endorse CPD providers. As long as training is related to the Competency Standards or the Code of Conduct; relevant to your learning needs; interactive and verifiable, it is acceptable. There will be many different providers in countries around the world who offer CPD opportunities that meet these requirements.
Here are some well-known CPD opportunities for New Zealand licensed immigration advisers. Any activity you undertake offered by one of these organisations must still meet the requirements as set out in the CPD Toolkit.
| Organisation |
Activities |
|---|---|
|
Immigration New Zealand |
Seminars for local immigration advisers in INZ branches around the world. All advisers are emailed details of the Henderson events. If you are offshore, contact your local branch for details of their events. |
|
New Zealand Association for Migration and Investment (NZAMI)(external link) |
Seminars and events. NZAMI live streams its seminars and also runs webinars. |
|
New Zealand Association of Immigration Professionals(external link) |
Seminars and events, Wellington based. |
|
CCH Annual Immigration Law Conference |
Annual immigration law conference in Auckland. |
|
The Graduate Diploma in New Zealand Immigration Advice which can be studied full-time or part-time from anywhere in the world. |
|
|
A refresher training course which licensed advisers may complete online from anywhere in the world. |
Remember that our CPD Toolkit sets out all the requirements for acceptable CPD activities. You need to be familiar with this document.
Is it relevant? Read the Competency Standards
Is it relevant? Read the Code of Conduct
Tribunal decisions
The Immigration Advisers Complaints and Disciplinary Tribunal has published several new decisions in 2018 which are now available on its website. Reading Tribunal decisions, or discussing them in your study group, will help develop your understanding of your professional responsibilities.
How do I update my details?
You can update your details with the IAA online at iaa.govt.nz. Click on “For advisers”, “My profile” and “Update profile” where you will be prompted to login through Realme.
Please remember to keep your email address current as this is the main way that the Authority communicates with you.
If any of your contact details change you are required to update them immediately.
You must also inform the Authority if you work for any other businesses and keep these details up-to-date.
If your legal name changes, you can let us know by updating your personal details and submitting appropriate evidence to us. Once your request is approved we will update the register.
You can only update your photo at your licence renewal and will be prompted to update it at least once every three years. We cannot update your photo at any other time.
To view any change of details requests you have submitted, click on application history.
2018 mandatory CPD
The IAA requires all New Zealand licensed advisers, including those who are Registered Migration Agents in Australia, to attend one webinar run by the IAA in 2018, by 31 December 2018.
This year, our webinars will focus on client engagement and initial assessments. Many complaints arise because client engagement processes have not been followed or because an adviser’s initial advice is not recorded in writing. Ensuring you have good engagement processes in place goes a long way to establishing a good client relationship and avoiding mismatched expectations.
The IAA’s webinars for 2018 are scheduled as follows:
Supervision
This webinar has already taken place.
You can view a recording of it by registering here(external link).
Please take a screenshot of your completed registration page for your CPD record before you click “submit”.
The IAA will be able to verify that you have viewed the recording once you register.
Client engagement and initial assessments
You can register to participate in this webinar on any one of the following three days:
Register here for Tuesday 15 May 3pm – 4pm NZST(external link).
Register here for Wednesday 29 August 3pm – 4pm NZST(external link).
Register here for Tuesday 30 October 4pm – 5pm NZST(external link).
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing a link to join the webinar.
If you are not able to attend one of these webinars at the scheduled time you will be able watch a video of the webinar after it is delivered.
All advisers need to understand their CPD obligations and we strongly encourage you to refresh your understanding by re-reading our CPD Toolkit.
