Opposition migrant services minister declares family interests in migration firm

Ferntree Migration is co-owned by Cheung-Wood, a skincare entrepreneur, and Cathrine Burnett-Wake, a former Victorian state Liberal MP and experienced immigration lawyer who is the public face of the company.

“You can trust us to guide you through the appeal processes at the Migration and Refugee Division of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT). With our vast experience in handling tribunal matters, we’re the ideal advocates for your migration journey,” its website says.

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Another post says: “With our expert knowledge and meticulous approach, we navigate the complexities of the process so you don’t risk your prospects – refusals are easy to get nowadays, and once refused, it can make future visa applications very difficult.”

Social media posts say Ferntree Migration has helped clients secure “challenging” student visas in just over three months, beating the average processing time of six months. Another encouraged new clients to get in touch after the government introduced “significant changes to address what they refer to as ‘visa hopping’.”

One case study it promoted on social media involved securing a visa for a genuine student who would have typically been considered a “higher risk client”, while another explains how the company helped a client with an “unlawful status” to successfully secure a partner visa.

The company says it only takes up merit-based cases. “If a case doesn’t stand on solid ground, we won’t proceed. This professional integrity ensures that our clients only pursue applications with genuine promise,” the website says.

This masthead is not suggesting that Ferntree Migration’s business practices are improper or unlawful, or that its owners have acted improperly.

Dutton has been highly critical of international students using appeal processes and legal advice to extend their stays in Australia as he campaigns against Labor’s migration record.

“They [students] obviously will be getting advice from lawyers in this space and others who have tested the system and found success, and ultimately have stayed in Australia, or they have extended their stay,” Dutton said last year.

“I just think when you look at the detail, this is the modern version of the boat arrivals.”

Wood has also taken aim at Labor for failing to control student numbers.

“Under Labor, there are 80,000 student visa holders who are now on their third student visa or more – some are on an eighth, ninth or 10th student visa – as a backdoor way of staying in Australia,” he said in parliament last year.

But he rejected Labor’s focus on agents for driving students through the door. “The government has a deeply offensive and divisive false narrative that the growth in international students is basically driven by shonks or crooks. It is not that at all,” Wood said in parliament.

“There are immigration agents and education agents who’ve come to me who have been put under great stress and have even threatened to have their business closed down.”

A spokesperson for Wood said: “At all times Mr Wood has complied with his obligations as a member of parliament and a member for the Dutton shadow ministry. Any conflict of interest would be managed in the appropriate way in a Dutton government.”

Education Minister Jason Clare last year accused other Coalition frontbenchers of hypocrisy after this masthead revealed they associated with migration and education agents before blocking the government’s laws to cap foreign students caps and tighten rules for agents.

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Coalition immigration spokesman Dan Tehan dined with migration and education agents at a breakfast the day before the Coalition opposed new laws, while education spokeswoman Sarah Henderson headlined an event for migration agents and private colleges – including a Liberal Party member who helps international students extend stays – weeks beforehand.

Dutton also made a private pledge to review a “golden ticket” visa for wealthy investors in a conversation with a migration agent during a Liberal Party fundraiser this year.