For some reason, everyone’s an expert when it comes to migration. There are over 70 different types of visa for Australia. The Migration Act of 1958 and the Migration Regulations of 1994 are like a couple of phonebooks in thickness, and many of the Laws and Regulations change several times per year. And there is very little consistency across the different visa types. Beware of well-meaning friends!

Different visas, different people, different situations, different requirements. Once you become our client, we will give you all the checklists and guidance documents you need, and we are always available to answer questions. Once you’ve become our client, never be embarrassed to ask!
The other side of this coin is that if you are not our client yet, please don’t expect we will analyse your your case and give you free advice. We will assess your situation and give you an opinion on whether you have a strong case, and we will do this for free (many agents charge for this), but don’t ask us to work for nothing.

Check out these documents DOC-1 DOC-2 to get more information on unregistered agents. The Philippines is full of them. And almost every travel agent becomes an instant Migration Agent when the opportunity comes their way. Of course they’re cheaper! Registration for Registered Migration Agents costs money! So does maintaining a professional library, attending Continued Professional Development courses, keeping proper records and running a professional office.
And there are those “agents” who don’t actually submit an application for you at all. Very cheap! Proceed at your own risk. In Australia it is a criminal offense to give migration advice without being registered with MARA. With an unregistered agent, you run a serious risk and you have no protection or comeback.

Under Section 2.14A of the Code of Conduct for Registered Migration Agents (which is set in Law), we’re not allowed to do that. However, under Section 2.6 of the Code, we need to be honest with you about the likely success of a case. We turn clients away on a regular basis when we don’t believe their application would succeed. And remember too that the decisions to grant a visa comes from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC), so how can anybody guarantee a decision that is out of their hands anyway?