Immigration advisers
The IAA and OMARA file, built right the first time.
Immigration advice is high-trust, high-stakes, and tightly regulated. Marco Reid wires the written services agreement, the file notes, the trust account, and the seven-year retention clock into one workspace — so the next IAA audit or OMARA review takes minutes, not weeks.
Engagement to closure.
Six surfaces. Each one keyed to the standard or section that authorises it. Compliance becomes the by-product of doing the work — not an extra job at year end.
Engagement
Written services agreement
IAA Code Standard 18 / 19 (NZ) and OMARA Code 5.2 (AU) require a written agreement before work starts. Marco generates it from a structured intake — services in scope, fees, refund terms, complaints process — and captures the client signature electronically.
Intake
Statement of services and file notes
IAA Standards 26–28 require contemporaneous file notes for every interaction. Marco transcribes the intake meeting (with consent), drafts the statement of services, and seeds the file note ledger that runs for the life of the matter.
Application drafting
INZ + Home Affairs forms, populated from one record
Resident, partnership, work, student, visitor, and skilled migrant categories for INZ. Subclass 482, 186, 189, 190, 491, 500, 600, 820/801, and 887 for Home Affairs. One client record drives every form. Edition checks happen in real time. PDF outputs match the regulator specification exactly.
Submission
Lodgement and tracking
ImmiAccount integration for AU lodgement. INZ Online lodgement workflow with receipt-number capture. Status pulls update automatically; deadlines for further information requests, health checks, and biometrics seed the calendar the moment INZ or Home Affairs raise them.
Throughout
Trust account and fees
IAA Standard 23 trust-account compliance for advance fees. OMARA s313 client-monies regime for Australian agents. Receipts, withdrawals against work performed, and refund-on-cessation calculations all reconciled against the engagement agreement automatically.
Closure
File closure and retention
Seven-year file retention required by both regimes. Marco closes the file with a structured closure note, archives every document and file note, and sets the retention timer. The next IAA audit or OMARA review pulls the file in seconds.
Built in, not bolted on.
The Acts, codes, and operational manuals that define a compliant adviser practice — wired into the spine of every workflow.
- ✓Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007 (NZ) — full Code of Conduct 2014 mapped
- ✓Migration Act 1958 (AU) s276–s311 — registered-agent obligations and Code 2021 mapped
- ✓INZ Operational Manual — sections cited in every assessment Marco drafts
- ✓Home Affairs PAM3 / LIN guidance — surfaced where the regulation is being applied
- ✓IAA Standards 23 and 25 — client funds in trust, receipt for every payment
- ✓OMARA Code of Conduct 2021 — Pt 2 client agreement, Pt 3 client funds, Pt 6 records
- ✓Seven-year file retention — automatic, with regulator-audit export in one click
- ✓Sanctions screening on every named client (UN, OFAC, NZ MFAT, AU DFAT)
Three practitioner classes. One platform.
The platform knows the difference between an LIA, an RMA, and a lawyer — and runs the right rule set for each.
Licensed Immigration Adviser (NZ)
Regulated by the Immigration Advisers Authority. Full, provisional, and limited licences scoped per the licensing schedule. Marco recognises the licence class and prevents an out-of-scope assessment from being drafted.
Registered Migration Agent (AU)
Registered with OMARA under the Migration Act 1958. Full registration vs restricted registration handled in scope. Continuing professional development hours logged from the platform's research and drafting time.
Lawyer providing immigration services
NZ lawyers are exempt from IAA licensing for immigration work but remain subject to the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act. Australian lawyers no longer dual-register with OMARA but still report movement-of-persons activity. Marco keeps the right rule set active per practitioner.
Marco Reid is a workspace for licensed immigration advisers and registered migration agents. It is not itself an immigration adviser. Every assessment, application, and statement of services is reviewed and signed by the licensed practitioner of record before release.
Run the practice. Pass the audit.
The IAA reviews. The OMARA reviews. Insurers ask. Clients ask. When the question comes, the answer is one export away.