NEW ZEALAND ASSOCIATION FOR MIGRATION & INVESTMENT

For release: 23 July 2007

Immigration Advisers Conference to Address Standards

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"Setting the Standards" will be the theme of this week's annual conference of the New Zealand Association for Migration and Investment (NZAMI), the national body representing immigration advisers.

The conference will be the first held by the association since the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act, aimed at regulating the industry, was passed into law in May this year.

The gathering on Friday 27th July at Auckland's 'Sorrento in the Park' will hear presentations from Immigration Minister, the Hon. David Cunliffe, Opposition Spokesman for Immigration, Dr the Hon. Lockwood Smith, National Party Associate Spokeswoman for Immigration, Pansy Wong and Mary Anne Thompson, Deputy Secretary, Workforce at the Department of Labour.

Amongst other speakers will be Bernie Waters, Chief Executive of the Migration Institute of Australia and the Migration Agents Registration Authority, who will be reflecting on Australia's experience of registering agents and suggesting possible lessons for New Zealand.

"It's essential for our reputation as a country that we reduce as far as possible the risk of scams and of shoddy, unprofessional practices that take advantage of potential migrants," says the NZAMI's Chairman Bernard Walsh.

"Our association has been setting standards over many years, developing and enforcing a stringent code of ethics and providing members with opportunities for professional training and development. We have also pressed consistently for a licensing regime and, despite reservations over its lack of comprehensiveness, are delighted that the new act makes licensing compulsory.

"Thanks to this legislation, high professional standards should become a priority not just for NZAMI members but for many others involved in our industry. We hope our conference will help move this process forward," Mr Walsh adds.

ENDS

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