February 2018 newsletter
Registrar update
Warm greetings to you all and I wish you well for the year ahead.
This is the time of year for you to take the opportunity to join our 2018 reference group. We are seeking New Zealand-based and offshore licensed advisers to join four meetings throughout the year. See below for details.
We have recently charged an Auckland-based education agent with providing immigration advice unlawfully. We take unlawful immigration advice in the international education sector seriously and in December we proactively visited 29 education agents in the Auckland CPD. We were encouraged that many of them were working with licensed immigration advisers.
We have also laid charges against an Auckland-based Tongan woman for providing unlicensed advice. This follows on the back of a number of prosecutions relating to individuals working in Pacific communities which remain communities of concern for us.
In 2018 it’s mandatory for you to join one of our webinars. The schedule is available in this newsletter so you can get it in your diary today.
Catherine Albiston
Registrar of Immigration Advisers
Join the 2018 Licensed Immigration Adviser Reference Group
We are calling for expressions of interest from offshore and New Zealand-based licensed immigration advisers to join the Authority’s 2018 Reference Group, to be held in Auckland.
The purpose of the Reference Group is for the Authority to hear the views of licensed advisers on matters to do with the licensing regime. Reference Group members may raise any issues they wish to discuss in this forum.
We will select 10 licensed immigration advisers from around New Zealand and the world, including an NZAMI representative and an NZAIP representative. An INZ representative will also attend the meetings.
We invite offshore advisers to submit their interest in attending one or more meetings in person, on a date that coincides with a visit you have planned to New Zealand.
The Authority will cover the New Zealand travel costs for advisers, but not any international travel costs.
Those in New Zealand need to commit to each of the four meetings on the following Wednesdays from 10:15am - 3pm.
- Wednesday 21 March
- Wednesday 23 May
- Wednesday 8 August
- Wednesday 24 October
To register your interest, please email us at info@iaa.govt.nz by 16 February 2018 with “Reference Group” in the subject line. In your email please tell us briefly:
- If you are in New Zealand, that you are available for and committed to attending each meeting
- If you are offshore, which meetings you could attend in person
- Where you are located
- The size of the business you work for
- What areas of immigration you mainly work in
- What current issues relating to the Authority’s work you are interested in discussing.
Introducing mandatory CPD
In 2015 we introduced new competency standards that allowed the Authority to require advisers to complete mandatory CPD activities as part of an adviser’s 20 CPD hours.
In 2018, the Immigration Advisers Authority (IAA) requires all licensed advisers to attend one webinar run by the IAA, by 31 December 2018.
The webinars focus on areas that the IAA considers licensed advisers could benefit from improving, based on what we see at inspections and in complaints.
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.
We are also running one webinar at the beginning of the year for provisional licence holders and supervisors on good supervision.
You are free to choose which webinar topic you attend.
The IAA’s webinars for 2018 are scheduled as follows:
- Tuesday 27 February 3pm - 4 pm NZST
Supervision for provisional licence holders and supervisors
Register here.(external link)
- Tuesday 15 May 3pm - 4pm NZST
Client engagement and initial assessments
Register here.(external link)
- Wednesday 29 August 3pm - 4pm NZST
Client engagement and initial assessments
Register here.(external link)
- Tuesday 30 October 4pm - 5pm NZST
Client engagement and initial assessments
Register here.(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.
Interested in taking on a student work placement in 2018?
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, and 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 both semesters 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 8 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, 233 KB]
To talk to Toi Ohomai about hosting a student, contact Jeni Fountain
Are you using the Trademark correctly...?
Advisers must comply with the following requirements when using the Trade Mark:
- Ensure that the Trade Mark is attributable to each individual adviser.
- Display the adviser’s name next to the Trade Mark. Advisers may use a legal first name and surname, or a full legal name, or a preferred name. Whatever name is used must be on the register of licensed immigration advisers.
- Display the adviser’s licence number alongside the Trade Mark.
- Since individuals and not firms are licensed, the names of all licensed advisers in a firm must be clearly visible in close proximity to the Trade Mark.
- Advisers cannot use the Trade Mark in a way that creates an impression that their company or business trade name is licensed.
2018 census is coming
The 2018 census is on 6 March 2018. Everyone in New Zealand is required to take part. Here’s a link to information if your clients ask about it.
