‘Fake agents’: Migration operators stripped of credentials in crackdown

Three migration agents have been suspended or stripped of their registrations after allowing unqualified people to use their credentials to provide immigration advice, in a crackdown exposing further misconduct within Australia’s migration industry.

The cases include hundreds of visa applications in which registered migration agents allowed unregistered individuals to provide migration assistance using their government-issued identity numbers, commonly known as “front agent” arrangements.

The action marks a more aggressive approach by the federal government after years of criticism over the handling of misconduct complaints and a damning Commonwealth auditor-general report that identified a host of failures in supervising the migration agents who facilitate the arrival of vulnerable people into the country.

The Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (OMARA) cancelled one agent’s registration after finding hundreds of applications lodged through three business ImmiAccounts – the department’s online portal – involved either undeclared immigration assistance or work performed by people who were not registered migration agents.

In another case, an agent was suspended after admitting his son, who was not registered, had provided immigration assistance through the business.

Investigators also identified allegations that clients had been given falsified departmental correspondence, creating the impression their visa applications had been lodged when they had not.

A third agent was suspended after knowingly allowing another business director to lodge visa applications using his registration number until the person became qualified as a migration agent.

Assistant Minister for Citizenship Julian Hill said migrants paying for professional advice should be able to trust the person handling their case was properly qualified.

He compared the practice to allowing an unqualified person to operate using the registration of a doctor, lawyer or financial planner.

“When people pay a migration agent they rightly expect a qualified person will do the work, not an untrained, unregistered fake agent,” Hill said.

OMARA, which sits within the Department of Home Affairs, can caution agents, suspend or cancel their registrations and bar former agents from re-registering. Its investigations team can take disciplinary action when agents breach professional obligations or are found not to be fit and proper to provide immigration assistance.

Only registered migration agents, Australian legal practitioners or exempt people can legally provide immigration assistance in Australia.

In March, the federal government announced migration agents would have to undertake yearly ethics training and regular refreshers on their obligations to continue helping people obtain Australian visas.

A 2024 Australian National Audit Office report found Home Affairs’ regulation of migration agents was not effective, with inadequate monitoring and failures to take timely action on complaints.

The audit found the department had failed to properly investigate an agent suspected of involvement in sex trafficking after being alerted by Australian Border Force.

It also found an automated renewal system had approved agents despite complaints alleging fraudulent behaviour. One complaint took five years to resolve, while allegations involving cash-for-visa arrangements were dismissed over a technicality.

The audit’s findings came after then-home affairs minister Clare O’Neil pledged to overhaul the integrity of the migration system following a series of reports in this masthead exposing the way criminals were hijacking visa schemes for their own gain.

Migration Institute of Australia chief executive Peter van Vliet said this year that despite more than 4000 registered agents nationwide, only a “very small” number were sanctioned each year.

He also warned that negative media narratives were contributing to migration agents becoming “punching bags” in public debate despite their role in helping migrants and businesses comply with Australian law.

A spokesman for OMARA said the sanctioned operators damaged the reputation of the broader profession and undermined confidence in migration advice.

“While the vast majority of [registered migration agents] act with integrity and professionalism, there is a small cohort who intentionally seek to undermine the migration program for personal gain,” the spokesman said.

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