Priya is 34 and a chef in Footscray on a 482 visa. Her two years with the same employer end in March 2027. She wants the 186 lodged the week she qualifies. On Tuesday an agent emailed her a bank account number. The email asked for $3,500 to “secure a place in the queue”. The service agreement, the email said, would follow once payment cleared. Priya has the money. So the decision is not whether she can pay. It is whether paying before the agreement exists leaves her protected, or leaves her exposed.
Short answer: Do not pay. Since 1 March 2022 the Code of Conduct has banned early payments. A registered migration agent cannot receive any amount, fee or disbursement, before a service agreement is in force. The only exception is a fee for an initial consultation. Once you do pay, the money must sit in a separate account that holds only client money. Moreover, the agent cannot take a fee out of it until you have a statement of services. Fees taken without one can be recovered as a debt.
The five money rules that sit between Priya and the agent
The rules come from two places. Sections 49, 50 and 51 of the Migration (Migration Agents Code of Conduct) Regulations 2021 cover three things. They are invoices, the account and the timing of payment. Section 313 of the Migration Act 1958 covers the statement of services. Together they form a sequence, and the order matters.
| Rule | What it requires | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| No money before the agreement | The agent must not receive any amount, including a disbursement, while no service agreement covering the work is in force | Code, section 51(1) |
| Staff count too | The agent must take all reasonable steps so that nobody else in the business receives money early either | Code, section 51(2) |
| Itemised invoice first | No fee or disbursement may be charged unless the client receives an itemised invoice describing the work | Code, section 49(a) |
| Receipt after payment | Every payment must produce a receipt that names the work and the invoice it relates to | Code, section 49(b) |
| Separate account | Client money goes into an account with a financial institution, and nothing else goes into that account | Code, section 50(1) |
| Statement of services | The agent is not entitled to a fee unless the client receives a statement listing each service and its charge | Migration Act, section 313 |
The “secure a place in the queue” email fails the first rule on its face. Nevertheless, one exception exists. Section 51(3) lets an agent charge for an initial consultation without an agreement. The consultation must be run under section 43 of the Code. In other words, a first meeting can carry a fee. A deposit on a visa application cannot.
Where the money can go once it is in the account
Suppose Priya signs an agreement and then pays. The deposit is still her money. Section 50 allows only five kinds of payment out of the account. The first carries a condition of its own.
First, a payment to the agent or the business. That one is allowed only where section 313 of the Act entitles the agent to it. Second, amounts due to the Department or a review authority. The $11,710 partner visa charge and the $3,727 Tribunal fee are examples. Third, disbursements the agreement authorises. Fourth, a refund to the client. Fifth, a transfer to another registered agent on the client’s instruction.
The account cannot pay its own bank fees. Interest earned on the account cannot be paid into it. Furthermore, the total paid out for one purpose can never exceed the total paid in for that purpose. So a deposit taken for a 482 application cannot quietly fund a different client’s charge, or the office rent.
A fee leaves the account lawfully only after a statement of services. Section 313(2) says the statement must set out particulars of each service performed and the charge for each one. A single line reading “professional fees” does not meet that description. Consequently, ask for the statement before the withdrawal, not after it.
The invoice that was not a statement of services
The statement of services rule has teeth. A Queensland tribunal showed how sharp they are. In Diwan v Chandwani [2018] QCAT 445, a client had paid a registered migration agent for immigration assistance. The agent had issued invoices. However, those invoices did not list each service and its charge, so they did not satisfy section 313.
The Tribunal ordered the agent to repay the client. The figures sit in the decision.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Fees repaid (principal) | $13,800.00 |
| Interest | $2,725.13 |
| Costs | $390.90 |
| Total ordered | $16,915.03 |
Section 313(3) is the mechanism. A client who paid a registered agent without first receiving a statement may recover the payment as a debt. The right arises once no statement arrives within the period the regulations set. The right belongs to the client, and the regulator does not need to act first. Therefore the paper trail you keep today decides whether that right is usable later.
When the regulator found money moving the wrong way
Section 51 also appears in a published regulator decision. On 23 October 2025 the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority suspended an agent for two years. The agent was John Benjamin Maurice Vevers. The complaint came from a visa applicant. The applicant said the agent had tried to pass sponsorship costs on to them. Those costs included the professional fees and the sponsorship and nomination charges.
The regulator found that the agent had facilitated a sponsoring employer to pass sponsorship costs to the visa applicant. It also found non-compliance with several sections of the Code, and section 51 was among them. In addition, the suspension carries conditions. They include private tuition on the Code and training on management of a client account.
Why a sponsorship bill matters to a worker like Priya
A 482 sponsor pays the $420 sponsorship application charge and the $330 nomination charge. It also pays the Skilling Australians Fund levy, $1,200 per year for a smaller business. The worker pays the $4,015 visa charge. Those three cannot be recovered from the worker. Our note on the sponsorship costs an employer cannot pass on explains what a breach costs the sponsor. If an agent’s invoice to you bundles those items, the Code problem and the sponsorship problem arrive together.
Agent or lawyer: the check changes, the protection does not
Section 313(4) excludes lawyers. The statement of services rule does not apply to a lawyer giving immigration legal assistance. The Code of Conduct does not apply to lawyers either. That does not leave the client unprotected. Instead, a different regulator and a different set of trust money rules take over.
| Registered migration agent | Australian lawyer | |
|---|---|---|
| Who may act | A person listed on the Register of Migration Agents kept by the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority | A person holding an Australian legal practising certificate, restricted or unrestricted, acting in connection with legal practice |
| Where to check | The online register at portal.mara.gov.au | The register kept by the state or territory legal regulator, in Victoria the Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner |
| Money rules | Sections 49 to 51 of the Code and section 313 of the Act | Trust account rules under the legal profession law of the state or territory |
| Where a complaint goes | The Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority | The state or territory legal services regulator. The Authority says it cannot act on a complaint about a lawyer |
Either way, three documents should exist before any fee is taken. They are a signed agreement, an itemised invoice, and a record of where the money sits. Our fees and process page shows how we handle each of those steps.
Priya’s next three days
Priya does not transfer the $3,500. Instead, she runs the week in this order.
- Day 1She searches the agent’s name on the register. The listing shows the registration number, the status and the business name.
- Day 1She replies in writing. She asks for the service agreement, the itemised fee schedule and the account details for client money.
- Day 2She reads the agreement for three things. They are the fee for each stage, the disbursements it authorises, and whether a deposit is mentioned at all.
- Day 3She signs only if those three items are clear. Then she pays into the account the agreement names. She keeps the receipt that identifies the invoice.
Had she paid on Tuesday, she would hold a bank transfer and a promise. By Friday she holds an agreement, an invoice, a receipt and a register entry. Those four documents are what section 313(3) and the Code turn into money if something goes wrong. Our note on what sits on top of the $11,710 partner visa charge applies the same discipline to partner visas.
Before you transfer anything
An unticked second box means the answer to the deposit request is no, in writing, with the Code section quoted.
Frequently asked questions
Can a migration agent charge for a first consultation before I sign anything?
Yes. Section 51(3) of the Code carves out a fee for an initial consultation under section 43. The ban on early payments does not reach it. The exception is narrow. It covers the consultation itself, not a deposit on the application that follows. The fee should be stated before the meeting.
I paid the deposit into the agent’s ordinary business account. What should I do now?
Ask the agent in writing to confirm which account holds the money. Ask for a transfer to the client money account the Code requires. Keep the reply. Section 50 says client money must sit in an account that holds nothing else. The regulator can require the agent to demonstrate compliance. A refusal to answer is itself useful evidence if you later complain.
Does the agreement need to be signed before I pay a Home Affairs visa charge through the agent?
Yes. Section 51 covers amounts for disbursements as well as fees. A visa application charge is a disbursement. So the agent cannot collect the $4,015 for a 482 or the $11,710 for a partner visa early. The service agreement covering the application must be in force first. Paying the charge yourself through ImmiAccount avoids the question entirely.
What must a receipt from a migration agent actually show?
Section 49(b) requires a receipt that identifies the work or services the payment relates to. It must also identify the invoice, if any, that it pays. A bank confirmation screen is not a receipt in that sense. Ask for the document. Then check that the invoice number on it matches the itemised invoice you received before paying.
My adviser is a lawyer, not a registered agent. Do these rules protect me?
Not these rules. Section 313(4) excludes immigration legal assistance by a lawyer, and the Code applies to registered agents only. However, a lawyer holds your money under the trust account rules of the state or territory legal profession law. Complaints go to that regulator. Check the practising certificate on the state register before you pay.
Sections 10, 43, 49, 50 and 51 verified on the Federal Register of Legislation, Migration (Migration Agents Code of Conduct) Regulations 2021, commencement 1 March 2022. Section 313 of the Migration Act 1958 as quoted, and the amounts ordered, in Diwan v Chandwani [2018] QCAT 445. Suspension details from the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority’s published summary of decision for John Benjamin Maurice Vevers, dated 23 October 2025. Who may give immigration assistance, and the position on complaints about lawyers, from the Authority’s page Getting help from someone who is not a registered migration agent, read 8 October 2026. Visa and sponsorship charges from Home Affairs visa pricing as at 1 July 2026 and the Tribunal fee from the Administrative Review Tribunal.
General information as at 8 October 2026. Priya is a fictional example. Not legal advice.