When OMARA Makes Contact: Complaints, Investigations and Professional Standards

Learning outcomes

On completion, participants will be able to:

1. Describe OMARA's statutory functions and the pathways by which an agent's conduct comes under review.
2. Explain the stages of a complaint and formal investigation, including notices under ss 308 and 309 and document production under s 305C, and the decisions available under s 303.
3. Identify the professional obligations that continue during an investigation, and the features that distinguish effective responses from responses that aggravate outcomes.
4. Apply practice-hygiene measures that prevent complaints and support a demonstrable record of professionalism.

Scope note. This module supports general professional awareness. It is not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for obtaining independent legal representation in a disciplinary matter — a step the module itself recommends in serious matters.

What this module covers

1. Section 1 — The regulatory landscape~10 minIncluded free ↓
2. Section 2 — The complaint lifecycle~25 minFull text on enrolment
3. Section 3 — Sanctions and their consequences~20 minFull text on enrolment
4. Section 4 — Responding well~20 minFull text on enrolment
5. Section 5 — Prevention and practice hygiene~15 minFull text on enrolment

Section 1 — The regulatory landscape (approx. 10 minutes)

1.1 OMARA's functions

The Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority sits within the Department of Home Affairs and exercises the functions in s 316 of the Migration Act 1958, including: registering migration agents; monitoring the conduct of registered migration agents in their provision of immigration assistance; investigating complaints about that assistance; taking disciplinary action against registered migration agents and former registered migration agents; referring apparent offences to prosecuting authorities; and monitoring the adequacy of the Code of Conduct.

Two features of s 316 matter practically. First, the Authority may start or complete an investigation after an agent has left the register (s 316(1A)) — deregistering does not end exposure. Second, a complaint about a former agent can only be investigated if received within 12 months of the person ceasing to be registered (s 316(1B)).

1.2 How conduct comes under review

An agent's conduct can come before the Authority through several doors:

• Client complaints — the most common source, frequently about communication failures, fees, or applications lodged (or not lodged) without instructions.
• Referrals from within the Department — case officers who observe undeclared assistance, patterns across applications, or integrity concerns.
• Third parties — other agents, employers, community organisations.
• Own-motion activity — the Authority does not need a complaint. Monitoring under s 316(b) and compliance audits can begin from published information, data patterns, or random selection.

1.3 What the Authority is assessing

Beneath every specific allegation sits one persistent question: whether the agent is a person of integrity, and a fit and proper person to give immigration assistance. This is the registration standard, and it is the lens through which conduct, and responses to the investigation itself, are read. An agent can aggravate a minor underlying issue with a dishonest or evasive response, because the response speaks directly to fitness and propriety. The published decisions bear this out repeatedly.

1.4 Perspective

Most agents will never face formal disciplinary action. Complaints are a normal incident of professional life in every regulated occupation, and the majority resolve without sanction. The purpose of understanding the process is not fear — it is that agents who understand the process engage with it early, professionally and honestly, which is both their obligation and, on the published record, their best protection.

Sample assessment questions

Straight from the question pool, with the correct answer shown. The real assessment draws 10 questions at random and is available once you enrol.