A licensed immigration adviser with an “extensive history of wrongdoing” has had her licence cancelled and has been ordered to repay $58,500 following a string of breaches of the law.
Tzu-Tong Jane Ma has previously had 51 breaches of her obligations, involving advice provided to five clients referred against her, upheld by the Immigration Advisers Complaints and Disciplinary Tribunal. It included six counts of dishonesty involving provision of false information and documents to Immigration New Zealand as well as other serious breaches of the Licensed Immigration Advisers Code of Conduct 2014, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) said.
In the latest case, Ma arranged working visa applications for two migrants sponsored by building company ZR Homes Ltd in February 2023. The jobs did not exist and while the building company was owned by her husband, Ma failed to disclose any conflict of interest.
After arriving in the country the following month, the migrants found that there was no available work with ZR Homes, despite the business having sponsored their work visas. In their complaints to the Immigration Advisers Authority, the migrants stated they had no job or income for several weeks after arriving in New Zealand and suffered significant mental distress. In May and August that same year, MBIE found the allegations of exploitation credible and granted the pair work visas.
An ‘unacceptable’ pattern of behaviour
The Immigration Advisers Authority had previously referred multiple complaints against Ma to the Tribunal.
Ma had been previously fined a total of $17,000 across three different complaints referred. She was also ordered to pay compensation of $19,061 to one client, and to undergo training by the Tribunal. She had given wrong and misleading advice, failed to disclose the conflict of interest while arranging employment with her husband’s company, did not engage directly with her clients and at times unprofessionally represented their circumstances to Immigration New Zealand, MBIE said.
Ma’s licence – which was suspended on April 2, 2024 – has since been cancelled. She was also ordered to repay two complainants a total of $58,500 in compensation, along with a $10,000 penalty.
The Tribunal has also prevented Ma from reapplying for a licence for two years.
“Noting her disciplinary record and numerous fundamental breaches of the Code of Conduct 2014 including dishonesty and a deliberate attempt to conceal a conflict of interest, the pattern of behaviour on display here is unacceptable,” Immigration Advisers Authority registrar Duncan Connor said.
“The seriousness of the complaints and pattern of behaviour prompted the Authority to seek suspension of Ms Ma’s license which was granted by the Tribunal pending the outcome of the final Tribunal decision which we were pleased the tribunal agreed with.”
Tribunal chairman DJ Plunkett said in his decision that Ma’s misconduct “is aggravated by a complete absence of any acknowledgement of serious wrongdoing”.
“It is considerably aggravated by Ms Ma’s extensive history of wrongdoing. These are the fourth and fifth complaints upheld by the Tribunal.”