The date is 25 September 2024 and you are a junior RMA at E-visa Migration. E-Visa Migration is owned by Michael Brown, a registered agent. Louie Childs, a client of the firm, was granted a subclass 482 visa

Assignment Task

Purpose: It is designed to contextualize your learning in a practical professional situation. You will be asked to analyse a problem and provide advice to a client taking into consideration implications to the client.   

Scenario

The date is 25 September 2024 and you are a junior RMA at E-visa Migration. E-Visa Migration is owned by Michael Brown, a registered agent.

Louie Childs, a client of the firm, was granted a subclass 482 visa on 10 October 2021 (expires on 10 October 2024). He was sponsored by his employer, ‘Engineering Australia Pty Ltd’. You only recently joined the firm and Louie was initially represented by a previous RMA of the firm, Jack Black.

Louie has now returned to the firm to lodge his subclass 186 TRT application for permanent residency. Michael has instructed you to look over the previous subclass 482 visa application file and handle the subclass 186 TRT application for Louie.

Upon reviewing the subclass 482 visa application, you notice several key issues:

1. The file is in complete disarray – there are only 2 file notes and few documents.
2. You manage to retrieve the lodged 482 visa application form on the organisation immi account and are concerned with information provided. In short, Louie did not declare that he was a Director of Engineering Australia Pty Ltd with the subclass 482 visa application.
3. You locate an email from Louie where he advised Jack Black’s paralegal (Lisa Sheeran) about the Director relationship and this was forwarded to Jack Black. You can’t seem to locate a response from Jack, but you know it was not disclosed in the final subclass 482 application.
4. There is a file note from Lisa Sheeran that says, “Spoke to Louie on the phone and told him not to worry about the Director relationship. After the phone call, I double checked this with Jack and he said it was fine, no need to worry about it’.

Question 1

 You approach Michael Brown to discuss the above issues and he asks you to provide a memo addressing the following:

1. Any potential breaches of the Code of Conduct arising from the dealings with Louie Child’s subclass 482 visa application (you must address Jack Black and the firm’s obligations).
2. Now that you are aware of the incorrect information, what are the firm’s obligations under the Code of Conduct or Act?

Questions 2 

The date is now 11 October 2024 and you are preparing to lodge the subclass 186 TRT application for Louie Childs. You are in immi account and you go to proceed past the ‘critical data information’ page and the system will not let you proceed. You anxiously check your client’s VEVO status and notice Louie is now unlawful. It appears that Lisa Sheeran did not diarise Louie’s visa expiry correctly and he is now unlawful (by 1 day).

Again, Michael asks you to provide him with a memo addressing the following:

1. Is Louie Childs your client? Can you act for him if he is unlawful? Discuss, referencing the relevant parts of the Act, and relevant regulations.
2. The next day, you receive via email a notice from the Minister under Section 18 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) requiring that you provide the residential address of Louie Childs who the Minister has reason to believe is an unlawful non-citizen. The notice is addressed to you at your work email. Write a memo for your employer, explaining:

             i) your obligations related to responding to the notice under the Act; and

             ii) Your obligations to Louie are under the Code of Conduct.