December 2018 newsletter
Tēnā koutou katoa,
Firstly I would like to acknowledge all the Advisers who have reached out and welcomed me, either directly or through contact at seminars and other networking and information sharing opportunities.
I feel very fortunate to be leading the Immigration Advisers Authority (IAA) and I am excited about planning a busy 2019. In the year ahead I am keen to continue the progress we have made with this year, continuing to strive for high standards in the provision of immigration advice and protecting the interests of consumers.
We have received expressions of interest for the 2019 Licensed Advisers Reference Group and we will shortly be in touch with advisers to confirm the membership.
Toi Ohomai will soon be undertaking research to gather foundational data about the supervision experience from the perspectives of supervisors and supervisees. This research will assist us in our thinking about how supervision is working within the licensing scheme and I encourage all of you who have been supervised or been a supervisor to participate in the research. We will be in touch when the research invitations are ready.
I am pleased to introduce Mr David Plunkett, who has been appointed as chair of the Immigration Advisers Complaints and Disciplinary Tribunal (IACDT). David began his career as a litigation solicitor at Bell Gully in Wellington, then a litigation partner at Johnson, Stokes & Master in Hong Kong. Following this David was appointed as a member and then acting chair of the Refugee Status Appeals Authority in New Zealand, and has also chaired the Residence Review Board, the Removal Review Authority, and the Deportation Review Tribunal. In addition to the IACDT, David is the chair of Weathertight Homes Tribunal, the Legal Aid Tribunal, and the Accident Compensation Appeal Authority. David’s extensive and relevant experience places him well to hit the ground running with Immigration Advisers Complaints and Disciplinary Tribunal.
On behalf of the Immigration Advisers Authority I’d like to thank you all for your hard work in 2018 and wish you best wishes over the holidays.
Meri Kirihimete me ngā mihi o te tau hou
From everyone here at IAA, Hīkina Whakatutuki.
Andrew Galloway
Registrar of Immigration Advisers
Interested in taking on a student work placement in 2019?
Students completing the Graduate Diploma in New Zealand Immigration Advice have the option of taking a work placement course in the second half of their studies.
The purpose of the work placement course is to give students an opportunity to observe and reflect on the professional practice of a licensed adviser and to discuss real situations with a licensed adviser. It gives them an opportunity to see first-hand the daily challenges and professional practices of a licensed adviser.
Both advisers and students who have participated so far have given very positive feedback about the experience and encouraged others to give it a go.
Work placements can only take place where a student can attend the physical premises of the licensed adviser. They cannot be done virtually.
Work placements run for 13 weeks in trimester one and two each academic year. Students are expected to spend a minimum of 80 hours for the duration of the placement. They are also required to spend an additional eight hours each week writing up reflections and maintaining a log-book for assessment.
Students are not to be paid for their time on work placements, unless they are an existing employee of the company, and similarly they are not expected to pay to do the work placement. The placement itself cannot be considered to be a trial period for employment purposes; there would need to be a separate employment agreement for that.
When you agree to take on a student for a work placement, an agreement is signed between yourself, the student, and Toi Ohomai so everyone is clear about their role. There are specific obligations on students regarding confidentiality and intellectual property.
For all the information you need to know, check out Toi Ohomai’s Work Placement Handbook [PDF 497KB]
To talk to Toi Ohomai about hosting a student, contact Appley Boyd
2018 webinars available to view
Our 2018 webinars are available to view on our website as a recording. It’s also timely to remind you that by 31 December 2018 it is a mandatory requirement for all licensed immigration advisers to attend one of the IAA webinars.
You may count watching a recording of a seminar or other training session towards your CPD hours where that session includes interaction such as questions and answers. However, we do recommend that to get the most value from this activity you get together with at least one other adviser so that you can discuss the content.
Client engagement and initial assessments
This webinar goes over the key requirements you have as a New Zealand licensed immigration adviser regarding client engagement and initial assessments.
Supervision
This webinar is for provisional licence holders and supervisors, or people considering becoming a supervisor. It goes over the key requirements you have as a New Zealand licensed immigration adviser in regard to supervision.
Tribunal decisions
Reading Immigration Advisers Complaints and Disciplinary Tribunal decisions, or discussing them in your study group, will help develop your understanding of your professional responsibilities.
