News & Insights
It can be confusing to members of the public to work out what kind of migration professional is best for your situation.
The provision of immigration assistance is strictly controlled in Australia.
Immigration assistance incudes giving migration advice, preparing visa applications, applications to sponsor or nominate people for visas, preparing applications and representing applicants before a court, the Administrative Review Tribunal or the Department of Home Affairs.
Both Registered Migration Agents and Migration Lawyers can provide the full scope of immigration assistance but only lawyers are admitted appear as legal representatives in courts.
What is a Registered Migration Agent?
Registered Migration Agents are highly skilled professionals who have studied a university course specific to immigration law and practice before becoming registered to provide migration assistance.
Registered Migration Agents are regulated by the Australian Government’s Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (OMARA) under the Migration Act and Migration Agents Regulations, which include the Migration Agents’ Code of Conduct.
If you are trying to find out if a person is a Registered Migration Agent, the OMARA website lets you search for the person you are considering. If someone tells you that they are a Registered Migration Agent but you cannot find their details on the OMARA website, you should call the OMARA to find out more. It is an offence for a person to pretend that they are a Registered Migration Agent when they are not.
As an occupation, migration agents are information professionals providing information and advice to potential migrants, preparing and lodging visa applications, and legally representing clients. Migration agents are trained and have significant experience in finding and interpreting information not only about visas but also about requirements for various occupations, skills assessment, family sponsorships, business approvals and nominations, study enrolments and other things that people may come across in the immigration process.
Migration agents are trained to apply immigration law, but the extent to which they have to practice the law in their day-to-day business is not high. Migration agents, for example, rarely need to study and use case law, or court precedents.
Migration agents therefore may be more effective in cases where legal principles play a lesser role but your application requires the assessment of specific information related to both your migration and general situation, such as your employment or your family situation.
Registered Migration Agents can represent their clients in the Administrative Review Tribunal.
What is a Migration Lawyer?
Any lawyer who has a current practising certificate can work in the area of migration law.
Each state and territory in Australia has its own rules governing who can work as a lawyer but regardless of their state or territory of registration, lawyers can provide migration assistance to their clients anywhere in Australia.
Lawyers are regulated by Law Societies in their states and territories. Lawyers are normally admitted to the Supreme Courts of their state or territory and to the High Court of Australia, meaning that they can represent their clients in any court that considers immigration matters.
Many Migration Lawyers specialise in representing their clients in the Administrative Review Tribunal, the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, the Federal Court of Australia and the High Court of Australia. To do so Migration Lawyers need to possess in-depth knowledge of immigration legislation and the relevant case law and to have special skills in legal research and in putting their legal arguments before the courts and Tribunal.
There also are cases that require the presentation of more extensive legal research and arguments in the initial visa and sponsorship applications. Examples of such applications include complex family sponsored and partner visas, applications for protection visas, and cases with complex character and health issues.
There also are Migration Lawyers that assist with applications that do not require extensive legal research or submissions and they provide services similar to the services of Registered Migration Agents.
The Law Society of South Australia
The Law society of Western Australia
Do you need a Registered Migration Agent or a Migration Lawyer?
Your specific situation will determine whether you need the services of a Registered Migration Agent or a Migration Lawyer.
You can ask a migration professional his or her opinion about the extent of the legal or information research and submissions required in your case, and whether your case is within their specialisation. You are also entitled to ask exactly how they can help you.
You will then be able to make an informed decision about what kind of migration professional is the right fit for you and your situation.