Cunliffe David: Immigration Advisers Licensing Bill — First Reading 
Cunliffe David: Immigration Advisers Licensing Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:628;Page:998] 
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE (Minister of Immigration) 
: 
 I move  
That the Immigration Advisers Licensing Bill be now read a first time. 
 It is my intention to move a motion referring the bill to the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee at the end of the first reading. 
The bill creates a new regulatory framework for the regulation of individuals who provide immigration advice both onshore and offshore. Although many immigration advisers provide good services there are currently insufficient regulatory constraints or market incentives to prevent some advisers from providing unethical or incompetent services. This legislation will bring New Zealand into line with countries such as Australia and Britain. By raising the standard of immigration advice this bill will promote and protect the interests of migrants and potential migrants who receive immigration advice and enhance the reputation of New Zealand as a migration destination. Migrants their communities and the reputable parties in the immigration advisory sector will welcome it. 
As a local MP I have all too often seen the destructive effect of unqualified or ill-intentioned immigration advice on the lives of my constituents. As a Minister I am now pleased to have the opportunity to commend to the House the speedy passage of this much-needed bill. 
All immigration advisers who assist migrants wanting to live in New Zealand will be required to be licensed unless exempt. That includes not-for-profit and offshore advisers. It will be an offence to provide immigration advice without a licence unless exempt. Offenders could face a fine of up to $100000 7 years’ imprisonment or both. It will also be an offence for people to say that they are immigration advisers unless licensed or exempt or to say that they are licensed to give advice when they are not. It is currently intended that the people exempt from having to hold a licence should include: those who provide immigration advice in an informal or family context where the advice is not provided systematically or for a fee; offshore immigration advisers where the advice relates to applications for student visas or student permits; groups for which there is little consumer benefit to be gained from licensing and there are sufficient processes in place to ensure competent and ethical conduct for example members of Parliament and their offices; and groups that are members of an occupation group that already has appropriate disciplinary procedures for example lawyers. The select committee will no doubt consider a range of submissions on these matters and I will be interested to read the select committee report in due course. 
Offshore advisers provide the first point of contact for many migrants and it is crucial that they are included within the scope of this bill. Offshore advisers will be temporarily exempt from the licensing regime for 3 years but will be allowed to opt in. This opt-in phase will last for 3 years after the Act comes fully into force at which time offshore advisers will be required to be licensed. However people who are ordinarily resident in New Zealand will be immediately subject to the regulation including when they provide advice while overseas. 
The regulator will be called the Immigration Advisers Authority; it will be a statutory body within the Department of Labour and will be headed by a registrar. The registrar will be appointed by the Chief Executive of the Department of Labour under the State Sector Act 1988. The Minister of Immigration will be the relevant Minister. The Department of Labour is the appropriate host department as the bill’s objectives relate strongly to government immigration policies which are currently managed within the Department of Labour. The bill provides for the transfer of the function to an alternative department if appropriate in the future. 
To ensure the independence of the authority from immigration decision-makers the authority will sit separately from the immigration arm of the Department of Labour. In addition no person who makes decisions on immigration matters or who has been employed to do so within the previous 2 years may be employed by the authority to decide licence applications inspect premises or investigate complaints. 
The registrar may grant different types of licences depending on the competency of the applicant such as provisional licences for new entrants in the industry. All licences must be reviewed on an annual basis. Details of licensed immigration advisers will be recorded and updated on a public register. This information will include who is licensed how to contact an adviser and whether an adviser is subject to any sanctions. To obtain and hold a licence advisers must meet competency standards set by the registrar which cover qualifications experience knowledge and communication ability in English. They must also be fit to practise. This includes consideration of any previous convictions bankruptcy and unlawful status under the Immigration Act 1987. The registrar will also develop a code of conduct that sets out standards of professional and ethical conduct for licensed immigration advisers. 
One issue that has been raised with me by my colleague the Hon Lianne Dalziel is whether people who have recently exercised any power of decision in relation to immigration matters should be prohibited from a licence. This has not been included in the bill but I think it should be considered. Some people use previous positions involving immigration matters or immigration decision-making to generate business. It is important that there is no suggestion of improper advantage. A delay or stand-down period in the licensing of those people may help to achieve that goal. I invite the select committee to consider this and to report back. 
Enforcement provisions cover administrative actions complaints and disciplinary procedures and offences and penalties. Administratively the Department of Labour must refuse to accept immigration applications from unlicensed immigration advisers unless they are exempt. Complaints and disciplinary procedures against licensed advisers are both punitive and provide for consumer redress. The registrar will set up a complaints body to investigate complaints of negligence incompetence dishonest behaviour or breaches of the code of conduct. Following the investigation of a complaint the registrar may impose sanctions including caution or censure suspension or cancellation of a licence payment of a penalty up to $10000 and compensation to the complainant. 
There are two classes of offences: offences involving knowledge where people have deliberately flouted the law; and those of strict liability that enable people to show that their breach of the law was not intentional and that they have otherwise exercised all reasonable care. Imprisonment and/or fines of up to $100000 are provided as penalties for knowledge offences and strict liability offences carry correspondingly lower penalties. Those penalties are compatible with existing provisions under both the Immigration Act 1987 and the Australian migration agent registration legislation. There is a right of appeal and review to the District Court. The courts are able to order payment of reparation and to order additional fines reflecting any commercial gain or material benefit. 
There will be a staged implementation of this Act. A 12-month set-up phase will be followed by a further 12 months to allow immigration advisers to meet entry standards apply for a licence and be approved by the registrar. At this point all immigration advisers must be licensed unless exempt or based offshore. Offshore advisers will be able to voluntarily opt in to the regime for a further 3 years at the end of which time they will be required to be licensed. 
I thank the officials who have worked so hard to bring this bill to fruition today. I commend the bill to the House.