Ministry of Justice

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 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)

Appeal against Registrar rejecting complaint / immigration lawyer alleged adviser used copyrighted materials from third party organisations in contractual terms and conditions and various professional practice documents published on his website / Registrar rejected complaint under s 45 as there was no evidence of potential copyright infringement / Authority did not believe it nor Tribunal were correct organisations to make determinations as to copyright infringement / Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, s45, s442 / potential breaches of copyrighted materials without consent do not fall within statutory definition of immigration advice / no client nor immigration matter / matters fall outside statutory complaint and disciplinary process / matters may be investigated as part of considering fitness of person for licensing albeit not be subject of complaint / immaterial that copyright holders have not complained or commenced proceedings in other fora / appeal rejected

Professional responsibilities and professional practice / Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, s442 / Code of Conduct 2014, cl1, cl4(a), cl5, cl6, cl17b, cl19l and cl20a / adviser failed to send draft application to client before filing with INZ / relied on recruitment company to review application with client / failed to obtain written authority from client to disclose personal information to recruiting company / assurance from third party that it has authority from client insufficient / failed to explain professional obligations and significant matters in agreement / failed to disclose conflict of interest / tripartite agreement with recruitment company created potential conflict which required disclosure and client’s written consent / adviser’s fees excessive / application was uncomplicated and did not warrant fee significantly beyond market range / ‘no win, no fee’ model lawful but did not justify steep elevation in fee / exploitive fee / complaint upheld / sanctions to follow

Appeal against Registrar rejecting complaint / complaint adviser misled appellant by stating he was eligible for NZ job market, overestimating eligibility for resident visa / complaint adviser deceived him into believing that being “eligible” for resident visa  would enable him to secure employment / complaint adviser did not provide clear, documented advice about limits of eligibility / complaint regarding job search dismissed as undertaken by a different person in a different company under a separate contract / Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, s45, s442 / appellant misunderstood advice provided by adviser / adviser did not communicate he was entitled to such visa / adviser explained that further steps would “enhance” eligibility / rejection from employers due to lack of work visa is a reflection of job market / regulatory breaches discovered did not justify disciplinary action / appeal rejected

Professional responsibilities and professional practice / Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, s442 / Code of Conduct 2014, cl1, cl3a, cl8a, cl8c, cl13a, cl13c, c14, cl18a, cl22, cl24c, cl26e, cl29a / failure to engage with Authority and Tribunal / adviser failed to provide client evidence of being licensed / failed to provide written services agreement / failed to provide invoice / failed to act under direct supervision of supervisor under conditions of provisional licence / failed to inform client of being provisionally licensed / failed to inform client when her licence was suspended and provide a refund / failed to provide Authority client file / complaint upheld / sanctions to follow.

Professional responsibilities and professional practice / dishonesty / Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, s442 / Code of Conduct 2014, cl1, cl2e, cl8a, cl8c, cl13a, cl14, cl17a, cl17b, cl17c, cl18b, cl22, cl26e / adviser dishonestly informed complainant a 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 / falsely informed complainant only agent could contact INZ regarding application / failed to carry out and acted contrary to complainant’s instructions / failed to explain significant matters in agreement, professional responsibilities owed and complaints procedure / failed to act under direct supervision of supervisor under conditions of provisional licence / failed to inform client of being provisionally licensed and provide evidence of licence / complaint upheld / sanctions to follow

Professional responsibilities and professional practice / dishonesty / Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, s442 / Code of Conduct 2014, cl1, cl2a, cl2e, cl8a, cl8c, cl13a, cl14, cl15a, cl17a, cl17b, cl17c, cl18b, cl19c, cl19m, cl19n, cl22, cl26e / 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 / failed to obtain clients’ instructions / declined to engage with Authority and Tribunal / provided no written service agreement / failed to act under direct supervision of supervisor under conditions of provisional licence / failed to inform client of being provisionally licensed and provide evidence of licence / failed to respond to INZ’s correspondence seeking information about clients / complaint upheld / sanctions to follow

Professional responsibilities and professional practice / dishonesty / Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, s442 / Code of Conduct 2014, cl1, cl8a, cl8c, cl13a, cl14, cl18a, cl26e / adviser dishonestly offered residency-qualifying job in exchange for substantial payment / client had already paid significant fees for visa and supposed employment agreement / discussions involved significant staged payments, inflated salary and structured costs to facilitate residence, indicating alleged job‑selling and immigration fraud / adviser knew advice to client was in contravention of immigration and employment legislation / provided no written service agreement / failed to act under direct supervision of supervisor under conditions of provisional licence / failed to inform client of being provisionally licensed and provide evidence of licence / complaint upheld / sanctions to follow

Sanctions / dviser failed to confirm in writing discussions with client relating to incomplete financial evidence / adviser unprofessionally communicated with tertiary institute following decline of student visa, taking potentially damaging gratuitous ‘swipe’ at client once engagement was terminated / Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, s442 / Code of Conduct 2014, cl1, cl26c / two breaches of Code / adviser’s first appearance before Tribunal / low overall gravity of wrongdoing / adviser accepted disciplinary findings and has since introduced improvements in practice to record and confirm material discussions in writing / adviser cautioned and fined $1,000