Migration Agent Registration Check: How to Verify an Agent Is Registered in Australia

Legal baseline: who may provide immigration assistance

OMARA’s legal baseline is explicit: only registered migration agents, legal practitioners and exempt persons may lawfully provide immigration assistance in Australia. Under the Migration Act 1958, migration agents must be registered with the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (OMARA) before providing immigration assistance in Australia. For the migration-agent category, registration is a legal requirement, not a voluntary directory listing.

The permitted categories are distinct. A legal practitioner may provide immigration assistance under the separate legal-practitioner category and is not required to appear in the OMARA register as a migration agent. OMARA also states that some close family members may help with a visa application. Those people are exempt persons, and exempt persons must not charge for their help.

A reader should therefore establish which category a person claims before paying for immigration assistance. The absence of an OMARA registration does not mean that every form of assistance is unlawful, because legal practitioners and exempt persons may also assist applicants. It does mean that a person claiming to be a registered migration agent should be checked against the official register.

What registration means—and what it does not mean

Registration is an entry threshold, not a quality guarantee. A matching OMARA record establishes that a person is entered in the public register as a migration agent. It does not guarantee the quality of the person’s advice, a favourable visa outcome, a refund or successful handling of the client’s matter.

OMARA considers complaints about registered migration agents, but it can act only where the registered agent has done something wrong. OMARA identifies failure to perform a contractual commitment and breach of the Code of Conduct for registered migration agents as examples. It may recommend that the agent improve their practice or discipline the registered agent.

The authority’s powers do not extend to obtaining a visa or controlling the decision-making process. OMARA states that it cannot:

• help an applicant obtain the visa applied for;
• order a registered agent to provide a refund;
• order compensation or payment of money;
• influence the people deciding a visa application; or
• provide legal aid.

Accordingly, registration and a regulatory complaint answer different questions. The register addresses whether a person is registered. A complaint about contractual performance or professional conduct asks whether the agent has breached an applicable obligation. Neither the presence of a registration entry nor the making of a complaint guarantees a particular result.

How to run the OMARA public-register check

The check should be completed on OMARA’s official public Register of Migration Agents. OMARA’s search instructions require the user to enter information about the registered migration agent in the available fields and then select “Search”.

First, identify the details supplied by the person claiming to be a registered migration agent. A business name alone may not provide enough information to distinguish the person from another service provider. The search should use the information actually provided rather than a name inferred from advertising or referral material.

Next, choose the appropriate OMARA search field. The public register allows a search by:

• the agent’s given name;
• the agent’s family name;
• MARN, meaning Migration Agents Registration Number;
• business name; or
• business location.

For a business-location search, OMARA lists country, state, suburb and postcode as the available location information. The field should be used with the location information supplied by the person claiming to be registered.

Then, enter the information and select “Search”. OMARA’s published direction is to enter the information about the registered migration agent in the search fields and select the search control. A search should not be treated as complete merely because a similarly named business appears in the results.

After searching, read the displayed record. The reader should compare the identity, MARN or business information shown in the record with the information provided by the person seeking assistance. If the search was made using an MARN, the returned entry should still be read to ensure that it corresponds to the person and business information supplied. A matching surname or business name is not a substitute for reading the entry.

Finally, keep the result within its proper scope. An OMARA result is evidence of registration, not an assurance that the person’s proposed advice is suitable or that a visa application will succeed. If the returned information appears inconsistent with the information supplied, the reader should seek clarification before relying on it. If the reader considers that a person providing immigration assistance is not registered, OMARA directs the reader to tell the Department by completing a Border Watch form.

This procedure applies specifically to a claim of registered migration-agent status. A legal practitioner is permitted under a separate category, while an exempt person must fall within an exempt category and must not charge. The OMARA result should not be used to blur those distinctions.

The Code of Conduct and its six conduct rules

OMARA states that the Code of Conduct for registered migration agents sets the rules for the conduct of registered agents and that they must comply with it to remain on the Register. The current Code came into effect on 1 March 2022.

OMARA’s published summary identifies six areas of conduct:

• Interact with clients. This heading makes the treatment of client communication and instructions a proper area for preliminary verification. The practical question is whether the proposed handling of contacts, instructions and responsibilities can be explained clearly.
• Communicate fees and charges. A reader should be able to identify how fees and charges are communicated and how they relate to the proposed work. An unclear explanation should be clarified before the engagement proceeds.
• Keep records and handle client monies. This conduct area makes record-keeping and the handling of client money relevant to the check. The reader should ask how records are kept and how any client monies will be handled.
• Work with other agents. Where another agent is involved, the reader should be able to establish which party is responsible for the proposed assistance. The conduct heading does not justify unclear delegation or conflicting advice.
• Work with any employees the agent may have. Where an employee will participate in the matter, the reader should be able to identify the employee’s role and the responsible agent. General descriptions should not obscure who is handling the work.
• Respond if a client complains. The agent should be able to explain what happens when a client raises a complaint. The absence of any complaint process is inconsistent with the conduct area identified by OMARA.

These six headings provide a screening framework, not a substitute for the operative Code when a breach is alleged. Their value at the preliminary stage is that each heading identifies a subject on which the proposed practice should be clear and consistent.

If a registered agent fails to comply with the Code, OMARA lists the following possible sanctions:

• a caution;
• suspension of registration;
• cancellation of registration; or
• a bar from re-registering for a period of up to 5 years.

The availability of a sanction is not the same as an automatic result. The appropriate outcome depends on OMARA’s investigation and findings.

Red flags derived from the official rules

The following are warning signals derived from OMARA’s legal and conduct requirements. They are not, by themselves, findings that a breach has occurred.

A person cannot be verified as a registered migration agent. If the person claims RMA status but cannot resolve the supplied name, MARN or business details on the public register, the reader should not proceed on an assumption that registration has been checked. Continued uncertainty about purported RMA status should be referred through the official unregistered-practice channel.

The helper appears to be outside every permitted category. OMARA permits registered migration agents, legal practitioners and exempt persons to provide immigration assistance. A person relying on an informal or undefined category should be required to identify the lawful basis on which assistance is being provided.

An exempt person proposes to charge. OMARA states that exempt persons, including some close family members who may help with a visa application, must not charge for their help. A proposed charge is therefore inconsistent with the exempt-person protection described by OMARA.

A visa outcome is guaranteed. A promise that a visa will be granted, or that the person can control the decision, is a red flag. OMARA expressly states that it cannot help an applicant obtain a visa or influence the people deciding the application. Registration does not convert an immigration decision into a guaranteed result.

OMARA is described as a source of refunds or compensation. An assurance that OMARA will compel an agent to provide a refund or payment is inconsistent with OMARA’s stated powers. OMARA may investigate conduct and impose disciplinary action, but it says it cannot order a refund or compensation.

The agent has not done what it agreed to do. OMARA identifies failure to perform a contractual commitment as conduct about which it can act. A repeated mismatch between the written agreement, instructions and the service actually provided should be preserved as a complaint concern rather than treated as an ordinary misunderstanding.

Fees or charges cannot be explained clearly. An unclear response to the Code area concerning communication of fees and charges is a screening warning. The reader should not infer that a service is included or excluded merely because the agent avoids a direct explanation.

Records, documents or client monies are handled in an unexplained manner. The Code area covers records and client monies. A document, record or money-handling arrangement that cannot be reconciled with that conduct area warrants clarification. The published summary does not establish a single document format or handling system, so the warning concerns inconsistency or lack of explanation, not an invented technical requirement.

Responsibility becomes unclear when other agents or employees are involved. Vague answers about who is handling the application, who is giving advice and who is responsible for the work run against the Code areas concerning work with other agents and employees.

The agent provides no meaningful response to complaints. OMARA expressly includes responding to a client complaint within the Code. Avoiding questions about complaint handling is therefore a red flag derived directly from the published conduct area.

Where to escalate when something goes wrong

Contractual or conduct concerns about a registered agent

OMARA considers complaints about registered migration agents. It can act where the agent has failed to do what was agreed in the contract or has breached the Code. OMARA may recommend improved practice or take disciplinary action, but its stated enforcement does not include ordering a refund or compensation.

If OMARA finds serious misconduct, it may publish what it has found on its website. A complaint should therefore distinguish an allegation from a regulatory finding and should not assume that the outcome will be published or that a particular sanction will be imposed.

Suspected unregistered practice

OMARA advises a person who thinks someone providing immigration assistance is not registered to tell the Department by completing a Border Watch form. This is the official route for a suspected unregistered-practice concern.

Criminal conduct

If the reader thinks a registered migration agent has participated in criminal conduct, OMARA directs the reader to tell the police and complete a Border Watch form. Regulatory concerns do not replace reporting suspected criminal conduct to the police.

Refunds or repayment

For a dispute about a refund, OMARA directs the reader to go to the registered agent or contact a court or tribunal in the relevant state or territory. OMARA states that it cannot order the agent to give a refund or order compensation. The available route should therefore be selected according to the remedy sought, without assuming that a regulatory complaint itself produces repayment.

Complaints from outside Australia

OMARA states that a person outside Australia with a complaint may contact the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (ICPEN). That is the stated overseas-complaint channel. Where criminal conduct is also suspected, the police and Border Watch directions remain separate from the overseas complaint route.

Frequently asked questions

Does an OMARA registration guarantee that an agent’s advice is suitable? No. Registration is an entry threshold, not a quality guarantee or an assurance of a visa outcome. The register should be used to verify status, not to assess the merits of proposed advice.

Must every person who helps with an Australian visa application appear in the OMARA register? No. OMARA identifies registered migration agents, legal practitioners and exempt persons as the categories that may lawfully provide immigration assistance, and the register check applies specifically to registered migration agents.

Can a close family member charge for help with a visa application? No. OMARA states that exempt persons, including some close family members who may assist with an application, must not charge for their help.

Can OMARA order a refund or compensation if a registered agent fails to perform the contract? No. OMARA can consider contractual failure or a Code breach and may discipline the agent, but it states that it cannot order a refund or compensation. A person seeking repayment must use the separate route through the agent or a relevant state or territory court or tribunal.

Where should a complainant outside Australia contact ICPEN? OMARA states that a person outside Australia with a complaint may contact the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network. A suspected criminal matter should also be reported to the police, with a Border Watch form completed as directed by OMARA.