Ministry of Justice

Sanctions / adviser found liable for five breaches of professional standards / most serious being failure to personally engage with clients and allowing their exclusive communication with an unlicensed offshore agent (rubber stamping) / Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, s3, s50, s51 / Code of Conduct 2014, cl1, cl2e, cl18b, cl26b, cl26c / third complaint upheld by the Tribunal (14 breaches of the Code concerning 4 clients) / adviser has accepted wrongdoing, undertaken comprehensive training and implemented new practice management and systems / Tribunal condemns reliance on unlicensed offshore agents / censure / ordered to pay $4,000 financial penalty

Professional responsibilities and professional practice / Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, ss 442 / Licensed Immigration Advisers Code of Conduct 2014, cl8a, cl8c, cl13c, cl14, cl15a, cl17a, cl17b, cl17c, cl18b, cl19c, cl25a, cl25b, cl25c, cl25e, cl25f, cl26e, cl28c / provisional licence holder provided immigration advice without approved supervision agreement and while licence suspended / breach of cl8a and cl13c / failed to provide evidence of licence, explain provisional licence requirements, or identify supervisor / breach of cl8c, cl14 and cl19c / failed to provide and explain summary of professional responsibilities / breach of cl17a and cl17b / failed to explain significant matters in service agreement / breach of cl18b / failed to provide complaints procedure / breach of cl15a and cl17c / client funds paid into personal account, not held in separate client account, not applied for intended purpose, and not refunded / breach of cl25a, cl25b, cl25c, cl25e and cl25f / fail…

Professional responsibilities and professional practice / Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, s442 / Code of Conduct 2014, cl1, cl2e, cl3a, cl3c, cl14, cl17a, cl17b, cl17c, cl18b, cl22, cl26aiii, cl26aiv, cl26av, cl26b, cl26c, cl26d, cl26e / breach of cl1 and 26b / adviser failed to send critical communications from Immigration NZ to client / failed to exercise due care, did not follow Immigration NZ’s process to obtain required documentation despite being repeatedly informed of it / breach of cl2e / failed to carry out client’s instruction to withdraw application / breach of cl17b / although client provided with a copy, failed to explain summary of professional standards / breach of cl18b / failed to explain significant matters in the service agreement / breach of cl26c / failed to confirm in writing material discussions with the client / sanctions to follow

Professional responsibilities and professional practice / Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, s442 / Code of Conduct 2014, cl1, cl2e, cl3a, cl3c, cl14, cl18b, cl20, cl26b, cl26c / breach of cl1/ adviser failed to give clients an opportunity to review visa applications prior to filing / success of application not relevant / breach of cl2e / failed to personally and directly obtain instructions from clients regardless of authority to engage with agent / breach of cl18b / failed to explain all significant matters in agreement to clients / breach of cl26b / failed to confirm in writing when application lodged / breach of cl26c / failed to confirm material discussions in writing to clients / complaint upheld / sanctions to follow 

Professional responsibilities and professional practice / Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, s442 / Code of Conduct 2014, cl1, cl2e, cl3c, cl14, cl18a, cl26b / breach of cl2e and cl3c / adviser did not communicate directly with client (rubber stamping) / allowed unlicensed employee to undertake immigration advice work / client was unlicensed employee’s friend, did not charge professional fee / breach of cl1 / failed to provide client an opportunity to review  application before it was lodged / breach of cl14 / failed to provide evidence of being licensed / breach of cl18a / failed to provide written agreement / pro bono work requires written agreement / breach of cl26b / failed to inform client application filed / complaint upheld / sanctions to follow

Professional responsibilities and professional practice / Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, s442 / Code of Conduct 2014, cl1, cl17c, cl18b, cl26b / HELD / adviser failed to correctly advise on eligibility for 2021 RV category / breach of cl1 / failed to update client in a timely manner / sent client decline decision over one month later / breach of cl26b / failed to respond to enquiry in timely manner / breach of cl1 / failed to advise of internal complaints procedure and provide copy / breach of cl17c / failed to explain all significant matters in written agreement / breach of cl18b / complaint upheld / sanctions to follow

Professional responsibilities and professional practice / Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, s442 / Code of Conduct 2014, cl1, cl5, cl6, cl17b, cl18b, cl19l, cl20a / HELD / adviser failed to send draft application to client before filing / breach of cl1 / did not proactively explain summary of professional obligations or significant matters in agreement / breach of cl17b, cl18b / conflict of interest / had contractual relationship with employer without disclosing conflict in writing, recording in agreement, and obtaining written consent / breach of cl5, cl6, cl19l / failed to charge reasonable fee / $12,000 fee for work visa, unfair and unreasonable / fees charged by offshore labour recruitment firms not relevant / cannot justify uplift on basis of extra work / no-win, no-fee model cannot justify steep elevation / breach of cl20a / 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, cl5, cl6, cl14, cl17b, cl18b, cl19l / adviser found to be in breach of eight professional obligations / undisclosed conflict and excessive fee identified as most serious / fee of approximately $16,000 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 third appearance / reputational damage from earlier decision and related proceedings not significant factor in context of adviser’s retirement before publication / complainant entitled to refund, balance of extravagant compensation sought dismissed / adviser censured, fined $4,000 (reflecting totality of sanctions) and ordered to refund $1,588

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, cl18b, cl19l and cl20a / adviser found to be in breach of eight professional standards / undisclosed conflict and excessive fee identified as moderately serious / fee of approximately $14,000 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 first appearance / reputational damage from earlier decision not significant factor in context of adviser’s retirement before publication / adviser censured and fined $3,000

Sanctions / adviser failed to provide written services agreement for subsequent work visa application /  failed to inform client upon her licence being suspended / client later discovered no subsequent application had been made / Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, s3, s50, s51 / Code of Conduct 2014, cl1, cl3a, cl8a, cl8c, cl13a, cl13c, c14, cl18a, cl22, cl24c, cl26e, cl29a / adviser found to be in breach of 12 professional standards / most serious breaches were lack of services agreement and adviser’s continued, albeit inadequate, representation of client following suspension / misconduct aggravated by failure to engage with Authority and Tribunal, alongside disciplinary history comprising 95 breaches of the Code across seven complaints, with dishonesty involved in six complaints / adviser censured, fined $2,500 (reflecting totality of parallel proceedings), and ordered to refund fee of $1,540 to client  

Sanctions / adviser dishonestly informed complainant that visa application had been made and was under assessment by INZ / dishonestly advised complainant that interim visa had been issued and she was not overstaying / filed s 61 request for discretionary visa without instructions / Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, s3, s50, s51 / Code of Conduct 2014, cl1, cl2e, cl8a, cl8c, cl13a, cl14, cl17a, cl17b, cl17c, cl18b, cl22, cl26e / adviser found to be dishonest and in breach of 12 professional standards / gravity of adviser’s misconduct assessed as medium to high level / seven separate complaints upheld against adviser, six involving dishonesty / adviser’s belated explanation of personal events and health issues accepted to impact advisory capabilities but do not explain or justify lying to complainant / accepted advisor was provisionally licensed at time of misconduct / further order preventing reapplication of licence proportional to adviser’s wrongdoing and in public interest / …

Sanctions / adviser dishonestly filed application on behalf of client for tourism or holiday visa rather than work visa sought by client / subsequently provided client a fabricated work visa decline letter from INZ / Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, s3, s50, s51 / Code of Conduct 2014, cl1, cl2a, cl2e, cl8a, cl8c, cl13a, cl14, cl18a, cl22, cl26a, cl26b, cl26d / adviser dishonest in two respects and breached 12 professional standards / gravity of adviser’s wrongdoing at upper end of serious given dishonest / conduct aggravated by adviser’s failure to engage with Authority and Tribunal over prolonged period / adviser’s explanation of conduct did not acknowledge dishonesty finding nor apologise to complainant / four other dishonesty complaints upheld / further order preventing reapplication of licence proportional to adviser’s wrongdoing and in public interest / adviser censured and fined $4,000 (reduced from $8,000 to reflect totality of six parallel proceedings)

Sanctions / adviser dishonestly offered residency-qualifying job in exchange for substantial payment, breaching seven professional standards / Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, s3, s50, s51 / Code of Conduct 2014, cl1, cl8a, cl8c, cl13a, cl14, cl18a, cl26e / gravity of adviser’s misconduct at upper end of serious / adviser’s actions, involving creation of fake job, amounted to immigration scam / such conduct compromises the integrity of the immigration system and undermines public trust / conduct aggravated by adviser’s failure to engage with Authority and Tribunal over prolonged period / expression of remorse belated and assessed in context of deliberate fraud / cancellation, a sanction of last resort, proportional to adviser’s wrongdoing and in public interest / adviser’s licence cancelled / prohibited from reapplying for licence for maximum period of two years / fined $4,000 (reduced from $8,000 to reflect totality of five parallel proceedings)