Australian Government - Department of Immigration and Citizenship

Senator Chris Evans

Minister for Immigration and Citizenship

Advisory board appointed to guide new migration agent regulator

The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans, today announced the appointment of an advisory board to guide the newly established Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (MARA).

The board, which comprises a representative of the Migration Institute of Australia (MIA), the Law Council of Australia, community and consumer advocates, will be chaired by former lawyer and secretary of the Attorney-General’s Department, Robert Cornall.

“I believe that Mr Cornall’s expertise and experience in both the public and legal sectors will be fundamental to the success of the board, which in turn will play a key role in the success of the new regulatory arrangements,” Senator Evans said.

Joining Mr Cornall on the board will be:

The new Office of the MARA commenced operating as regulator of the migration advice profession on July 1, replacing the system established in 1998 where the profession was regulated by the MIA.

Christine Sykes, CEO of the Office of the MARA, and a representative from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship will also serve on the advisory board. Other membership may be considered by the minister from time to time.

Both the advisory board and the Office of the MARA were established after recommendations of the 2007–08 Review of Statutory Self-Regulation of the Migration Advice Profession, which found dissatisfaction amongst consumers and potential conflicts of interest in previous arrangements.

The review recommended that the government establish a regulatory body separate from the MIA to regulate the activities of the Australian migration advice profession to provide consumers with appropriate protection and assurance.

"Unprofessional or unethical behaviour by migration agents can seriously impact on the lives of people using their services and bring the profession into disrepute,” Senator Evans said.

“The new office will implement the relevant recommendations of the review, remove concerns about potential conflicts of interest and provide confidence in the regulation of the migration agent industry.”

More information can be found on The Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (MARA) website.
See: www.mara.com.au

 

Office of the MARA Advisory Board – Biographies

Chair

Robert Cornall AO has extensive experience at a high level in public administration and is a former Secretary of the Australian Government Attorney-General’s Department, a position he held from 2000 to 2008. Prior to his appointment as Secretary, he was the Managing Director of Victoria Legal Aid from 1995 to 2000 and Executive Director and Secretary of the Law Institute of Victoria from 1987 to 1995. Mr Cornall was a partner at Middletons Oswald Burt Solicitors (now Middletons) from 1972 until 1987 and was a solicitor at the same firm from 1969 until 1972.

Mr Cornall was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2006 for service to the community through contributions to the development of public policy and through providing advice and governance across a diverse range of responsibilities within the civil justice system.

Deputy Chair and Consumer Advocate

Jenni Mack is a long time consumer advocate and has special expertise in consumer compensation schemes and good governance.  Ms Mack chairs ASIC’s Consumer Advisory Panel and is a director of the Financial Ombudsman Service, the Travel Compensation Fund and CHOICE Switch (CHOICE’s energy switching service). Ms Mack previously advised the Migration Agents Registration Authority (when administered by the Migration Institute of Australia) on professional conduct complaints.  Ms Mack also sits on the advisory board of national agricultural chemicals and veterinary medicines regulator.

Ms Mack was the Deputy Legal Ombudsman in NSW in the mid nineties and was a member of the NSW Judicial Commission for five years. She is a former Executive Director of the Consumers Federation of Australia, journalist and political adviser. Ms Mack holds a BA and a Masters degree in Administrative Law and Policy.

Law Council of Australia

Mr Glenn Ferguson is the President-elect of the Law Council of Australia and represented the Law Council on the External Reference Group to the 2007/08 Review of Statutory Self-Regulation of the Migration Advice Industry. He is also on the Federal Attorney General International Pro-bono Advisory Council, a Founding Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law and a Past President of the Queensland Law Society.

He is a former President of the Immigration Lawyers Association of Australasia (ILAA) and current President of LAWASIA. He is also an active member of a number of legal bodies, including the Queensland College of Law, the Queensland Law Foundation, the Federal Attorney General's International Legal Services Advisory Council and the International Law Section of the Law Council of Australia.

Migration Institute of Australia

Stirling Henry is a solicitor who started his professional career as a high school teacher in Papua New Guinea. After extensive experience in educational administration and planning, and obtaining a Masters in Management from the London School of Economics, he took up a senior executive appointment as Assistant Secretary with the Australian Department of Immigration in Canberra (1981 – 1986).

After leaving the Government, Mr Henry was Price Waterhouse's Senior Migration Consultant with responsibility for running the Migration Consultancy Division from 1986 – 1990. He helped to establish the Australian Migration Consultants Association (AMCA) which was later succeeded by the Migration Institute of Australia. Mr Henry was the inaugural National President of the Migration Institute of Australia.

Universities Australia

Mr Andrew Holloway is the Vice-President (International) at Victoria University, providing policy advice to the Vice-Chancellor and responsible for strategic planning and coordination of the University’s operations. He has held the position of International Director at four Universities in Australia: Murdoch University, The University of Western Australia, Edith Cowan University and The Australian National University; and more recently held the post of International Director at The University of Auckland.

He chaired the New Zealand Committee of International Directors and was appointed as a member of the Internationalisation Advisory Group to the NZ Ministry of Education, Wellington. (2006-2007). He established the Universitas 21 International Operations Group, involving collaborative activities among international offices in the network, including Australia, Europe, North America and Asia.

Mr Holloway holds a BA (Hons) in South Asian History and an MBA. Industry Awards include the NZTE/DHL NZ Exporter of the Year (Education Services) in 2007 and the Education NZ Award for Internationalisation (2007).

Refugee and Immigration Legal Service (RAILS)

Ms Sonia Caton is the Director of RAILS, and is a practicing Solicitor and Registered Migration Agent. She is currently on a number of Boards including the International Education Services Ltd, (as the Chair of the corporate governance sub-committee and the complaints committee), the Refugee Council of Australia (the law and policy sub-committee) and the Education and Training Reference Committee of the Migration Institute of Australia.

Ms Caton is also a former member of the Professional Standards Committee for the MARA (from 2004 – 2006). Ms Caton also spent 11 years as a Member of the Commonwealth Review Tribunals (formerly known as the Immigration Review Tribunal and the Social Security Appeals Tribunal)

Community Representative

Jim McKiernan was born in Cavan, Ireland and migrated to Australia in 1969 where he worked as a machinist/fitter and turner until 1976 when he was appointed to the position of Education Officer with the Amalgamated Metal Workers Union (WA Branch).

Mr McKiernan was elected Senator for Western Australia in December 1984, a position he held until his retirement in 2002. While he was a Member of Parliament, Mr McKiernan served as Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Migration, the Joint Committee on Publications and Joint Select Committee on the Family Law Act. He was Chair of the Senate’s Legal & Constitutional References Committee and Deputy Chair of the Senate’s Legal and Constitutional Legislation Committee.

Since his retirement from the Senate, Mr McKiernan has served as a Sessional Member of the WA State Administrative Tribunal, Deputy Chair of the Board of the Disability Services Commission, Chair of the Integrated Fisheries Allocation Advisory Committee and the WA Carer’s Advisory Council.

See:
Index of Media Releases

URL: http://www.minister.immi.gov.au /media/media-releases/2009/ce09072.htm
Last update: 13 August 2009 at 14:40 AEST