Roles and responsibilities of the supervisor
Clause 12
A supervisor must:
- hold a full immigration adviser licence
- ensure that any fees charged are fair and reasonable in the circumstances
- act in accordance with the supervision agreement as approved by the Registrar of Immigration Advisers
- preserve the confidentiality of the provisional licence holder’s clients
- where there is a close personal relationship with the provisional licence holder, ensure that this does not compromise the supervision agreement between the parties, and
- inform the Registrar of Immigration Advisers when any notice is given that the supervision agreement is to be terminated.
Supervisors should be able to justify the supervision fees they have charged. When considering whether to engage a particular supervisor, it may be helpful for a prospective provisional licence holder to consider what they will be able to afford to pay for supervision.
In the Registrar’s model supervision agreement the supervisor agrees to:
- monitor all formal documentation and correspondence from the provisional licence holder to clients, the Minister of Immigration, Immigration New Zealand the Immigration and Protection Tribunal and the New Zealand Qualifications Authority
- meet regularly with the provisional licence holder to discuss the provisional licence holder’s current client cases, relevant provisions of the Immigration Act 2009 and its regulations, the relevant provisions of the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007 and its regulations, immigration instructions and all other operational instructions in the Immigration New Zealand operational manual
- ensure the provisional licence holder is working within the scope of his/her individual knowledge and skills and that documentation is being monitored
- develop a professional development plan that identifies the provisional licence holder’s learning needs
- monitor and support the provisional licence holder to develop the skills and competencies required for a limited or full licence by providing: critical feedback; support and guidance for work and business practices; structured learning; and opportunities for on-the-job learning and development.
- provide direct supervision on the basis that he/she has supervision, leadership or management experience, and/or has completed a relevant training course
- provide direct supervision for the named provisional licence holder
- accept responsibility for the quality of the provisional licence holder’s work by: ensuring they operate within the scope of his/her individual knowledge and skills; monitoring all documentation and correspondence to clients, the Minister of Immigration, Immigration New Zealand and the Immigration and Protection Tribunal; and maintaining oversight of their handling of immigration matters
- keep records relating to the supervision arrangement.
In accordance with section 57 of the Act, the Registrar may inspect the records relating to the supervision arrangement.