Migration agent or immigration lawyer - which do you actually need?

Two kinds of professional may lawfully charge you for help with an Australian visa. There is no third kind.

1. A registered migration agent, registered with OMARA and holding a MARN.
2. An Australian legal practitioner holding an unrestricted practising certificate.

Until 2021 lawyers doing migration work also had to register as agents, so everyone had a MARN and the question never came up. On 22 March 2021 that dual registration ended. Lawyers came off the OMARA register and are now regulated purely as lawyers.

The practical result is a lot of confusion: people check a lawyer for a MARN, find none, and assume the worst. The absence of a MARN is not a red flag for a lawyer. It is the current law.

What each one can do#

The row that matters most is court. A registered agent can run a Tribunal review, and many do it very well. Only a lawyer can take a matter into the Federal Circuit and Family Court if the Tribunal gets it wrong.

When the difference matters#

Consider a lawyer when:

• You have been refused and the Tribunal has affirmed it. The next step is judicial review, and that is a court.
• There is a character issue - section 501, a substantial criminal record, a visa cancellation on character grounds. These are legally dense, the consequences are permanent, and privilege matters.
• There is a PIC 4020 allegation - false or misleading information. A finding can bar you for ten years and it is fought on evidence and law.
• Your matter is tangled with something else legal - a family law dispute, a criminal charge, an employment claim, a business restructure. One professional who can see all of it is worth a lot.
• You may need privilege. What you tell a lawyer for the purpose of legal advice is generally privileged. The equivalent protection for a migration agent is weaker.

When it usually does not#

For most straightforward applications - a partner visa with good evidence, a student visa, a skilled application with a clean history, an employer nomination - a good registered agent is doing exactly the same work as a good lawyer, often with more repetitions of that specific visa behind them, and often for less.

Migration is procedural more than it is adversarial. Most files are won on evidence and completeness, not on argument.

What is the same#

Both must:

• Tell you their fees in writing before you commit
• Keep your money separate from theirs until it is earned
• Keep your information confidential
• Act competently and in your interests
• Answer a complaint
• Be checkable on a public register

The regulators differ, the rules are written differently, and the protections are comparable. Neither is unsupervised.

How to check each one#

A migration agent: search the seven-digit MARN on the OMARA register. Confirm it is current and that the name matches the person you are dealing with.

නීතිඥයෙක්: search the register kept by the law society or legal services board in their state. You are checking that the practising certificate is current and unrestricted - a restricted certificate means they must practise under supervision, which is not the same thing.

Both take about ninety seconds. Do both, for whoever you are about to pay.

What about a "migration lawyer" who is neither?#

The word "lawyer" is protected in Australia. Using it without admission is an offence in every state. But "migration consultant", "visa expert" and "immigration specialist" are protected nowhere and mean nothing.

If someone is neither on the OMARA register nor on a legal register, they may not lawfully charge you for immigration assistance - and under section 281 of the Migration Act doing so carries ten years.

මිනිසුන් අසන ප්‍රශ්න#

My lawyer does not have a MARN. Is that a problem?#

No, not since 22 March 2021. Australian legal practitioners with unrestricted practising certificates were removed from the OMARA register on that date and are regulated as lawyers instead. Check their practising certificate on the relevant state register.

Is a lawyer more expensive?#

Often, though less often than people assume, and the gap narrows on complex work. For a standard application the difference in outcome is usually smaller than the difference in price. For a refusal heading to court, the difference is that an agent cannot take it there at all.

Can a migration agent represent me at the Tribunal?#

Yes. Registered migration agents appear at the Administrative Review Tribunal regularly and many are very experienced at it. The line is the courts above it, not the Tribunal.

Should I switch to a lawyer if I get refused?#

Not automatically. A Tribunal review is within an agent's scope and a good agent who knows the file may be the better choice. What matters is that whoever runs it has done Tribunal work before, has time to do it properly, and is honest with you about the merits. Ask about all three.

Can I have both?#

Yes, and sometimes it is the sensible arrangement: a lawyer for the legal question and an agent for the application work. Just make sure it is clear who is responsible for what, who holds the file, and who is the authorised recipient - two professionals both assuming the other lodged something is a genuinely bad way to lose a deadline.

How do I compare them side by side?#

Post your case. Registered agents and immigration lawyers both quote on this platform, both show their credential, and the quotes come back in the same format - so you can see what each would charge and what each includes before you decide which kind of professional you want.