Ministry of Justice

Professional responsibilities and professional practice / Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, s442 / Code of Conduct 2014, cl1, cl2a, cl2e, cl8c, cl17b, cl17c, cl18a, cl18b, cl19c, cl22, cl26aiii, cl26b, cl26d, cl26e / breach of cl1 / falsely advised of date visa application lodged / dishonest communication / failed to provide draft visa application for review / breach of cl2a / breached relationship of trust and confidence / breach of cl8c, 19c / failed to disclose provisional status, supervisor’s name and requirement for supervision / breach of cl18a, 17b, 18b / failed to provide a written agreement or otherwise provide and explain summary of responsibilities and significant matters in a service agreement / breach of cl22 / failed to provide invoice / breach of cl26b / failed to notify date visa application lodged / breach of cl26aiii, cl26d, cl26e / failed to maintain copies of written communications and a well-managed filing system / sanctions to follow

Sanctions / adviser gave incorrect advice on eligibility for residence / Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, s3, s50, s51 / Code of Conduct 2014, cl1, cl17c, cl18b, cl26b / five breaches of four obligations / most serious was fundamental mistake concerning visa criteria / adviser admits wrongdoing / first appearance before Tribunal / adverse publicity of limited relevance to sanctions / further training unnecessary, noting commitment to ongoing professional development and remedial actions / censured and fined $3,000 / ordered to pay $5,690 refund for wasted fees / compensation refused, claimed costs not caused by wrongdoing, emotional damages refused  

Sanctions / failed to engage with Authority and Tribunal / continued to advise employer and an employee without required supervision under provisional license, amounting to deceptive misrepresentation of licence status / failed to provide client files to Authority upon request / failed to provide employer written services agreement / provided invoices to employer without particularising services rendered / failed to inform employer of suspension and offer refund for uncompleted services / failed to maintain relationship of confidence and trust with employer / Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007 s3, s17, s19, s48, s50, s51 / Code of Conduct 2014 cl1, cl2a, cl3a, cl8a, cl13a, cl13c, cl18a, cl22, cl24c, cl26e, cl29a / HELD / major departure from expected standards / aggravated by poor disciplinary history and contempt of disciplinary process / no mitigation advanced or acknowledgement of wrongdoing / current two-year prohibition / public should be further protected / adviser censured …

Professional responsibilities and professional practice / Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, s442 / Code of Conduct 2014, cl1, cl2e, cl18c, cl26a, cl26b, cl26d, cl31a / breach of cl1, cl2e, cl26b / adviser did not communicate directly with client (rubber stamping) / failed to verify client’s identity in communications / failed to send draft visa application to client prior to filing / failed to inform client application filed / breach of cl18c / failed to obtain client’s signature on service agreement / breach of cl26a, cl26d / failed to maintain a client file and retain communication (paper trail) / loss of phone not a justification / breach of cl31a / negligently misled Immigration NZ by falsely stating she had given advice to the client / complaint upheld / sanctions to follow

Appeal against Registrar rejecting complaint / dismissed on basis it disclosed only trivial or inconsequential matter / Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, s34, s45, s54 / unclear if Registrar or investigator made decision dismissing complaint / however, investigation missed critical issues / no evidence of assessment of merits of business plans / visa application appeared to wholly lack merit / no refund provided and contractual refund criteria appear to be inconsistent with Code of Conduct / meets threshold for assessment by Tribunal / adviser will have opportunity to comment in Authority and Tribunal’s next steps / appeal allowed

Sanctions / failed to provide written agreements for two requests for Ministerial intervention / failed to advise applications futile and obtain written consent to continue / failed to work within scope of knowledge and experience / unnecessarily increased fees / failed to provide invoices for work / failed to provide Authority with complete copies of complainant’s immigration matters in her client file / Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, s48, s50, s51 / Code of Conduct 2014 cl1, cl2a, cl8a, cl9, cl18a, cl20b, cl22, cl26ai, cl26e / HELD / futile applications in order to make money / exploitation of vulnerable migrant / successive futile applications affected complainant’s credibility to request discretionary visa / aggravated by extensive disciplinary history / adviser censured / $8,000 fine / $3,900 refund / prohibited from reapplying for licence for maximum period of two years

Professional responsibilities and professional practice / Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, s442 / Code of Conduct 2014, cl1, cl2a, cl3a, cl8a, cl13a, cl13c, cl18a, cl22, cl24c, cl26e, cl29a / failure to engage with Authority and Tribunal / adviser engaged by employer and some of its employees to conduct job checks and assist with visa applications / continued to advise employer and an employee without required supervision under provisional license, amounting to deceptive misrepresentation of licence status / failed to provide client files to Authority upon request / failed to provide employer written services agreement / provided invoices to employer without particularising services rendered / failed to inform employer of suspension and offer refund for uncompleted services / failed to maintain relationship of confidence and trust with employer / complaint upheld / sanctions to follow

Sanctions / adviser failed to disclose and obtain written consent to a conflict of interest and charged excessive fee / Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, s3, s50, s51 / Code of Conduct 2014, cl1, cl4(a), cl5, cl6, cl17b, cl19l and cl20a / adviser found to be in breach of seven professional obligations / undisclosed conflict and excessive fee identified as most serious / fee of approximately $15,400 deemed grossly excessive / fee reflected a lack of appreciation of setting a reasonable fee in New Zealand market / conflict of interest did not provide undisclosed financial advantage to adviser and had no detriment to client / adviser’s second appearance / reputational damage from earlier decision and related proceedings not significant factor in context of adviser’s retirement before publication / adviser censured and fined $4,000 (having considered totality of sanctions in parallel proceeding)

Sanctions / adviser dishonestly concealed failure to lodge residence visa application and fabricated existence of ‘missing’ interim visa / inaction resulted in complainant’s immigration status becoming unlawful / Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, s3, s50, s51 / Code of Conduct 2014, cl1, cl2e, cl8a, cl8c, cl13a, cl13c, cl14, cl15a, cl17a, cl17b, cl17c, cl18b, cl19c, cl19m, cl19n, cl26e / adviser found to be dishonest and in breach of 16 professional standards / medium to high gravity of wrongdoing / adviser’s failure to lodge resident visa application significantly impacted complainant / misconduct aggravated by poor disciplinary record / Tribunal recently upheld seven complaints, with dishonesty involved in six complaints / further order preventing reapplication of licence proportional to adviser’s wrongdoing / adviser censured and fined $3,000 (reduced from $8,000 to reflect totality of parallel proceedings) / adviser ordered to pay complainant $8,160 in compensation  

Sanctions / adviser dishonestly concealed failure to reply to INZ’s requests for information in response to work visa variation application / forged complainant’s signature in subsequent application / Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, s3, s50, s51 / Code of Conduct 2014, cl1, cl2e, cl8a, cl8c, cl13a, cl13c, cl14, cl15a, cl17a, cl17b, cl17c, cl18b, cl19c, cl19m, cl19n, cl24a, cl24c, cl26b, cl26e / dishonesty and breach of 19 professional standards / gravity of misconduct at upper end of serious, notable forging of complainant’s signature / seven separate complaints upheld against adviser, six involving dishonesty / adviser's belated contention that she did not intend to mislead complainant or conceal information dismissed / insincere acceptance of seriousness of disciplinary findings / further order preventing reapplication of licence proportional to adviser’s wrongdoing / adviser censured and fined $4,000 (reduced from $8,000 to reflect totality of parallel proceedings)

Sanctions / adviser dishonestly advised clients that application for visas had been filed and that grant of visas was imminent / adviser filed application five days later / adviser dishonestly withheld draft application and INZ’s letters to conceal misleading conduct / Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, s3, s50, s51 / Code of Conduct 2014, cl1, cl2a, cl2e, cl8a, cl8c, cl13a, cl14, cl15a, cl17a, cl17b, cl17c, cl18b, cl19c, cl19m, cl19n, cl22, cl26e / adviser was dishonest in two respects and breached 17 professional standards / gravity of  wrongdoing assessed as medium to high / dishonesty inherently serious, though comparatively less so than in adviser’s parallel proceedings / adviser’s belated explanation of personal events and health issues accepted to materially impact work but do not justify blatant lie to complainant and actions to conceal that misrepresentation / complaint does not require further order preventing reapplication for licence / adviser censured and fined $4,00…

Professional responsibilities and professional practice / Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, s442 / Code of Conduct 2014, cl1, cl2a, cl8a, c9, c18a, cl20b, cl22, cl26ai, c26e / adviser made series of futile and unsuccessful immigration applications / complainant had arrived to NZ long ago using relative’s passport / since married NZ resident, fathered children, and operated successful business / service agreement only pertained to initial s 61 request / adviser failed to provide written agreements for second s 61 request and Ministerial intervention request / second s 61 request filed without any new information, refugee claim withdrawn within days / failed to advise complainant of futility of applications / failed to work within scope of knowledge and experience / advised complainant his situation was outside her ability / charged $800 for two subsequent hopeless applications / failed to provide invoices / failed to provide Authority with client file / sanctions to follow

Professional responsibilities and professional practice / Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, s 442 / Code of Conduct 2014, cl1, cl5, cl6, cl14, cl17b, cl18b, cl19i / HELD / adviser failed to send draft application to client before filing / breach of cl1 / failed to provide evidence of being licensed / providing licence number not sufficient / breach of cl14 / failed to explain summary of professional obligations or significant matters in agreement / breach of cl17b & cl18b / paying commission to agent without disclosing conflict in writing, recording in agreement, and obtaining written consent, breach of cl5 & cl6 & cl19i / failed to charge reasonable fee / uplift for ‘no fee, no win’ model could not justify extravagant fee of $16,000 for two work visa and one student visa applications / breach of cl20a / sanctions to follow