If you hold a current Australian legal practising certificate and are still on the register of migration agents, the OMARA CPD requirement does not apply to your repeat registration. Here is who that covers in 2026, what you still owe your law society, and why many lawyers do migration-law CPD anyway.
Since 2019 the Migration Agents Regulations have exempted RMAs who hold a current Australian legal practising certificate from the CPD requirement for repeat registration. LIN 26/001 keeps that position: the 10-point, 5-Category-A and mandatory-topic requirements do not apply to current practising-certificate holders. Your law society's CPD rules still do.
Fewer people than before. On 22 March 2021 lawyers with an unrestricted practising certificate were removed from the OMARA scheme: they give immigration assistance as lawyers and cannot be registered migration agents. Lawyers with a restricted practising certificate (practising under supervision) can hold RMA registration for a limited transitional period, generally two years from first holding the restricted certificate, extendable by the OMARA. As at 30 June 2024 about 130 registered agents held a restricted certificate, roughly 3% of the register.
So in practice the exemption applies to a restricted-certificate lawyer renewing RMA registration while they work toward an unrestricted certificate. If that is you, check your own registration conditions in the OMARA portal.
| Requirement | Lawyer with a current practising certificate |
|---|---|
| 10 CPD points for OMARA repeat registration | Not required |
| Minimum 5 Category A points | Not required |
| Mandatory ethics and Code of Conduct points | Not required |
| Law society CPD (typically 10 units a year with mandatory areas) | Still required |
| Evidence of a current practising certificate at repeat registration | Required |
| Compliance with the Code of Conduct for RMAs | Still applies while registered |
The exemption is tied to the certificate being current at the time of the application. Let the certificate lapse and the full OMARA requirement applies to your next repeat registration, with the 12-month look-back counting from lodgement. How the 12-month window works →
Lawyers are welcome at every Widen session and module. Certificates show the activity, the date, the points and the presenter, which is the information a law society CPD log needs. If you are a restricted-certificate lawyer who is still an RMA, the exemption means you do not need the OMARA points, but the sessions on the 482 series, the ethics and Code of Conduct topics are built for exactly the work you are doing.
OMARA-approved provider PPA10000420. Live Category A sessions and self-paced Category B modules — including the mandatory ethics and Code of Conduct topics — at A$30 incl. GST each, or a 10-point CPD Points Pass for A$220 that covers the whole year.
See upcoming CPD sessions Points Pass — 10 points A$220← Back to the full CPD requirements guide
Get an email when a new OMARA-approved CPD module or session goes live, plus occasional CPD reminders. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
By submitting, you consent to receive CPD update emails from Widen CPD (Dynamic Consultancy Pty Ltd trading as Widen Migration Experts). You can unsubscribe from any email.
Running a migration practice? Widen also does nomination documents, GPS statements, AMSR reports and 407 training plans for agents — see agent services.