Can you do your own migration application?
You could be forgiven for thinking that migration matters are straightforward. After viewing the Department of Home Affairs’ website, many are under the impression that they need only follow an online questionnaire, fill out a few forms, pay a fee and their visa, which may determine the rest of their life, will be granted.
Nothing could be further from the truth. The Department of Home Affairs’ website helps drive revenues of over $3 billion annually from visa applicants, significant numbers of whom are intelligent and conscientious yet unsuccessful in their applications simply because they lack awareness of crucial factors that are not widely known or published on the Department of Home Affairs’ website. While sometimes people get lucky, we have had many decades to observe the consequences of those who have not been so lucky. Such consequences might include:
- emotional cost, commercial cost, and worse
- loss of visa application fees
- the refusal being listed on the applicant’s file, which can make subsequent applications more difficult – or impossible
- options for review being limited, expensive, or non-existent
Australian immigration law is complex and constantly changing. At present there are close to 100 visa categories, many with internal streams, governed by over 3,000 pages of statutes, regulations, gazettes and other statutory instruments, as well as approximately 16,000 pages of policy guidelines and instructions, in addition to tens of thousands of pages of decisions from multiple courts and tribunals. This maze of legal documents grows larger every day, and much of it is inaccessible or unavailable to the general public.
The difference between migration agents and lawyers
Erskine Rodan & Associates are migration lawyers.
Given the ocean of legislation, policy and caselaw determining the outcome of immigration matters, it is perhaps surprising then, that most migration agents are not legally trained and can potentially be registered upon successful completion of a single semester online course.
Lawyers on the other hand are required to pass through a long and rigorous process in order to practice. Without going through this process, a migration agent is unqualified to give and is indeed forbidden from giving legal advice.
Regulation
Migration lawyers are also far more tightly regulated than migration agents, and are supervised by the Supreme Court and the local law institute or society.
The above information, of course, disregards the significant numbers of agents operating without any kind of registration or supervision whatsoever. Many unregistered agents or migration “consultants” operate in and outside Australia. Unregistered agents are unlikely to have undertaken any formal or continuing training, nor are they likely to provide you with any protections against insolvency, negligence, or outright fraud. At a bare minimum, you should always check whether your agent is registered with the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority.
Your migration issue may have greater implications than you realise
The inability of migration agents to give legal advice is particularly problematic where a client’s migration issues intersect with other areas of law such as family law, tax law, corporate law, criminal law and employment law, as is commonly the case. Only a qualified lawyer can advise you on such legal issues. We regularly help our clients navigate such issues, many of which they are often unaware until identified by us.
Furthermore, migration agents are unable to represent you in an appeal to the Courts, and are not trained to identify the legal issues that would warrant such an appeal.
Confidentiality
As we are lawyers, your communications with Erskine Rodan & Associates are protected by legal professional privilege. This means you can speak with us freely, as your communications are protected from compulsory disclosure to courts, tribunals and/or other authorities in all but a few circumstances.
Migration agents, on the other hand, have no such protection, and can be compelled to hand over your confidential communications if ordered to do so, with potentially devastating consequences.
Not all lawyers are migration specialists
Less than 1 lawyer in every 800 lawyers is an Accredited Specialist Immigration Lawyer. Accredited Specialists in Immigration Law must have extensive experience and knowledge of immigration law and must pass a comprehensive and rigorous examination process in order to become accredited. Both of our Managing Partners at Erskine Rodan and Associates have been accredited by the Law Institute of Victoria as Specialist Immigration Lawyers for over 30 years and have maintained their accreditation throughout that period.
How to put the odds in your favour
Is the outcome of your migration issue important? Could it change the course of your life, your family or perhaps the fortunes of your company?
At Erskine Rodan & Associates, you will get a professional, considered strategy at your first consultation, as well as an assessment of the likelihood of success and the likely time and costs involved. From there, you will be guided through the migration process by some of Australia’s finest immigration lawyers. From the beginning of your matter until its conclusion, you can expect clear advice, ongoing communication, and relentless advocacy on your behalf.
With decades of experience and a stunning success rate to match, our team of Accredited Immigration Law Specialists invites you to get the best advice possible with a minimum of stress, uncertainty and delay.
If you need the best advice available, call a specialist immigration lawyer right now on +613 9329 8744 to organise your consultation.
