TABLE OF CONTENTS
Check List Using The Regulations As A Template eg – Spouse Visa
Visa Application And Associated Costs
Record Keeping And Management – How Long Do Documents Have To Be Kept?
Initial Requirements Regarding Accepting A Retainer
Failure Of Proper File Management Can Lead To Suspension As A Migration Agent
Confidentiality & Notifying The Client Of Complaint Procedure
Give Your Client A Copy Of Everything
Give Your Client The Bad News Immediately
Check Special Requirements For Offshore Visas With The Embassy’s Or Consulate’s Website
Don’t Accept Immigration’s Assertion That Decisions Have Been Made Properly
Before You Set The Fee With Your Client And Before You File A Visa Application
What Can Go Wrong If You Don’t Record Your Mail Properly
Prepare Your Client For The Oath
Ideas For Chronologies For Client Files
Immigration Goes Into Hibernation On 30 June Each Year
Australia Closes Down Between Christmas & New Year
Have An Industrial Strength Office Set Up At The Office And At Home
What Is A Permanent Residence Visa?
Practice Together Or Practice In Groups
A Proper Email Account And Email Management
Undercharging And Undercutting On Fees
Positioning And Pathways And Fees (Putting All One’s Eggs In One Basket)
Email & Fax Communication & Errors With Credit Cards Emerge As Troubling Issues
Preparing A Client For Merit Review Hearings Or Interviews With DIBP
Berenguel – Sometimes Time Of Application Criteria Can Be Met At Time Of Decision
Bare Faced Liars & The Fraudsters
Visas Remain Current Until Midnight
Looking After Secondary Visa Holders In A Visa Cancellation Process
Applying As A Secondary Visa Applicant Onshore When The Primary Visa Applicant Is Offshore
Essential Prerequisites For A Ministerial Discretion Application
State And Territory Sponsorship
Make Peace With The Tax Office
Spouse Visas – Unexplained Large Deposits of Money
Managing No. 8503 On Tourist Visas
Tax Deductibility of Migration Advice
Dates On Documents And Names On Documents
Check All Past Visa Applications
Visa Holders Being On Their Best Behaviour
Email Communication With Immigration – Delete All Strings
No Without Prejudice Conversations With Immigration
Identify Australian Citizens Who Support An Applicant
Second Thing To Do On Starting A File – Download The Relevant Part Of The Law
First Thing To Do When Starting Any File – Identify Any ‘Rights Destroying’ Deadlines
Disputes About Parentage And Children
Helping People Pass The English Tests
What Is The Pomodoro Technique?
When Is A Visa Application Made In Australia
Quality assurance is often maligned for setting up miles of useless paper and in some systems that is exactly what happens. But the concept of the checklist is as old as common sense is. A diary[6] is just another form of a checklist.
Solicitors firms keep what are called limitation diaries, in other words they keep diaries of dates where the legal right of a client would expire.
In migration law, there are a number of trip dates where if something is not done the client loses his or her rights. The obvious one is when does a person become illegal. Another is – when does the appeal right expire etc. On each file you must identify these crucial dates keep them in a bring up system.
With the proliferation of computer programs there is a temptation to rely solely on electronic diaries and bring up systems. The writer suggests that an electronic and manual diary system always be maintained. The diary should not just identify what events a person is tied up for but also the trip-wire dates for various clients.
In solicitors firms, elaborate systems are put in place for checking mail that comes in. In the medium sized firms, a partner is allocated to check all the mail that comes in. Some firms do not allow staff to open the mail unless in front of a partner. A partner will often check the mail of every person under them so that the partner is aware of what is coming in.
Staff should always be aware that unannounced the principal will examine any file.