Introducing Tern: a better way to apply for Australian visas

If you've ever spent an evening spiralling through government websites, forum threads, and conflicting advice about Australian visas, you know the feeling. You're not quite sure what visa you need, whether you're filling in the form correctly, or if that one answer you're uncertain about will get your application refused.

You're not alone. The Australian visa system is complex, opaque, and often feels designed to trip you up. And the options for navigating it have traditionally been limited: figure it out yourself and hope for the best, or pay thousands to a migration agent.

We built Tern because we believe there should be a third option. One that combines technology with genuine legal expertise, at a price that makes sense.

What are your options for applying for an Australian visa?

You have three options for an Australian visa: do it yourself, hire a migration agent or immigration lawyer, or use an online visa platform. Each one trades off cost, expertise, and legal compliance. Here is an honest look at what is actually available to you right now.

Option 1: Should you apply for an Australian visa yourself?

DIY is the cheapest option (you pay only the government visa fee), but it's also the riskiest because the system is not designed to help you succeed. The Department of Home Affairs website technically has everything you need. The forms are there. The requirements are listed. In theory, you can do this yourself.

The appeal: It's the cheapest option. You pay only the government visa fee.

The reality: The system isn't designed to help you succeed. Policy documents are written in dense, official language. Requirements change by visa subclass, by stream, and even by your nationality, but these differences aren't clearly signposted. A single mismatch between documents can trigger a refusal. And if you're refused, many people have no right of appeal. You also get a black mark on your immigration record that follows you to future applications.

For straightforward cases, like a UK citizen applying for an eVisitor to visit Sydney for a week, DIY is fine. The visa is free, the process is automated, and approval usually comes within minutes.

But for anything more complex? DIY becomes a gamble. We've seen people refused for visitor visas because they didn't know their nationality required extra evidence. We've seen student visa applicants rejected because their Genuine Student (GS) statement contradicted something they'd written years earlier on a different application. This happens all the time. The stakes are high and the guidance is minimal.

Option 2: Should you hire a migration agent or immigration lawyer?

Migration agents and immigration lawyers are licensed to give Australian immigration advice. The trade-off is cost (often $500 to $15,000+) and quality that varies across the industry. Registered Migration Agents (RMAs) and immigration lawyers have passed exams and meet ongoing professional development requirements. Each is regulated: RMAs by OMARA, and lawyers by their state or territory law society.

The appeal: You get genuine expertise. Someone who knows the system reviews your case, advises you on strategy, and prepares your application.

The reality: Quality varies enormously, and prices are steep. A good migration agent might charge $500-1,500 for a visitor visa application, $2,000-5,000 for a student visa, and $5,000-15,000+ for partner or skilled visas. For complex cases, these fees can be justified. For simpler applications, they're often overkill.

There's also a consistency problem. The advice you receive depends entirely on which agent you get. Some are meticulous; others are stretched thin across too many clients. Some stay current with policy changes; others rely on outdated knowledge. Because the process is largely manual, there's significant variation in quality even within the same firm.

The numbers bear this out. According to OMARA's own data, 34% of registered migration agents have received at least one formal complaint against them. One in three. When you hire an agent, that's roughly the chance they've had a client dissatisfied enough to file an official complaint with the regulator.

We've heard from people who paid thousands to agents only to receive generic applications with errors. The expensive option isn't always the reliable option.

Option 3: Should you use an online visa platform?

Online visa platforms are easier than DIY and cheaper than an agent, but most operate outside Australia and cannot legally provide immigration advice for Australian visas. This is where it gets interesting, and where you need to be careful.

Over the past few years, a wave of offshore "visa expediting" platforms has emerged. They promise to simplify the visa process, often with slick interfaces and appealing marketing.

The appeal: Easier than DIY, cheaper than a migration agent. Modern technology instead of paper forms.

The reality: Most of these platforms operate from outside Australia. And that matters more than you might think.

Why are offshore visa platforms a problem for Australian visas?

Offshore visa platforms work outside Australian jurisdiction. So they cannot legally give immigration advice for Australian visas, and Australian authorities do not regulate them. Here is something that isn't widely understood: under section 276 of the Migration Act, only Registered Migration Agents and qualified Australian lawyers can provide "immigration assistance" for Australian visas. RMAs are regulated by OMARA; lawyers are regulated by their state or territory law society. That rule exists to protect you. It makes sure the people giving visa advice actually know what they're doing, and that someone can be held accountable when they get it wrong.

When a visa platform operates from outside Australia, they're outside the jurisdiction of the Migration Act. They're not regulated by OMARA or any state law society. They don't have to employ registered agents or admitted lawyers. And critically, they can't be held to the same standards as Australian-based providers.

What does this mean in practice?

These platforms can't legally give you immigration advice. They can help you fill in forms, sure. They can process your payment and submit your application. But they can't tell you which visa is right for your situation, whether your evidence is sufficient, or how to address potential concerns with your application. Doing so would be providing immigration assistance, which they're not licensed to do.

Some operate in a grey area, providing what looks like advice while technically avoiding the legal definition. Others simply don't care about Australian regulations because they're beyond the reach of Australian authorities.

The one-size-fits-all problem

Beyond the legal limits, there's a practical problem with how these platforms work. Most put every applicant on the same visa subclass and stream, whatever their situation. Planning a short holiday? Long-term family visit? Business trip? You'll likely end up on the same path.

They also pre-fill or skip questions entirely. Criminal history, for instance, is rarely asked about directly. The platform simply assumes you don't have one and moves on. Health conditions, previous visa refusals, time spent in certain countries: these nuances often get glossed over or defaulted to the "easy" answer.

This approach works fine when the assumptions happen to match your situation. But when they don't, you end up with either the wrong visa entirely or an application that contains inaccurate information. Neither outcome is good. The wrong visa wastes your money and time. Inaccurate information can lead to refusals or, worse, allegations of providing false statements, which can affect future applications for years.

Does this matter if you just want your visa?

Sometimes it doesn't. If you're a US citizen applying for an ETA to spend two weeks in Melbourne, these platforms can process your application just fine. You'd probably be approved regardless of who submitted it.

But when things get complicated, when you're from a country that faces extra scrutiny, when your circumstances require explaining, when you need to know whether to apply for a tourist visa or a different subclass entirely, the limitations of these platforms become painfully apparent.

What do reviews of offshore platforms tell us?

These offshore platforms aren't scams. They do process visas successfully for plenty of users, and many people have positive experiences.

But look at the reviews carefully. The major offshore visa expediting platforms all carry a meaningful chunk of one-star reviews on Trustpilot. The common complaint themes are remarkably consistent: poor customer support, delays, and a lack of help when applications hit problems.

When everything goes smoothly, these platforms work fine. When something goes wrong, customers often find themselves without meaningful support, unable to get answers, and without the legal expertise to understand what happened or what to do next.

How is Tern different from other visa platforms?

Tern is the only Australian-based digital visa platform whose rules are set by licensed Australian immigration lawyers. For lower-risk visas (visitor, working holiday, student), our system checks every application for errors and inconsistencies before submission, and complex cases go to a lawyer. For higher-stakes visas (partner, employer sponsored, skilled), an immigration lawyer reviews every application before we submit it.

We're based in Australia. That's more than a line on a marketing page. We operate under Australian migration law. We sit within DHA jurisdiction. We answer to Australian regulators. When we give you advice, it's because we have licensed professionals qualified to give it.

Every rule is set by an immigration lawyer. The platform does far more than fill in forms. Under the hood, a rules engine puts Australian migration law into code. A licensed immigration lawyer sets the rules for eligibility, evidence requirements, and visa selection. So when the platform tells you something, that advice traces back to a real professional who stands behind it.

The technology handles what technology does best. Extracting data from documents? That's automation. Cross-checking your answers for consistency? That's automation. Validating your application against our lawyer-maintained legal framework? Automation. Flagging potential issues so they can be addressed before a case officer finds them? Also automation.

What we don't automate is professional judgement. The rules behind these checks are written by lawyers who understand the law. The platform helps deliver their advice. It doesn't replace the people who create that advice in the first place.

Support that actually responds. We answer support requests within 24 hours. That might sound basic, but if you've ever been stuck waiting for a response from an offshore platform while your visa deadline approaches, you know how much it matters.

Advice in real time. You don't have to wait days for an agent to review your case and get back to you. Our platform assesses your situation as you enter your information, and gives you guidance straight away based on the rules our lawyers have set. You get the benefit of legal expertise without the wait.

Is Tern Visa legit?

Let's address this directly, because it's a reasonable question to ask about any new platform handling something as important as your visa.

Yes, Tern is legitimate.

We're an Australian company, registered and operating in Australia. We're not hiding behind an offshore structure or operating in regulatory grey areas.

Licensed immigration lawyers author the immigration advice our platform gives you. Every rule in our system traces back to a qualified professional. We don't say that lightly. It's the foundation the whole platform is built on.

What does this mean for you?

We're not the cheapest option if you compare us to doing everything yourself. But we cost much less than traditional migration agents. And we offer something the offshore platforms can't: genuine legal backing inside a compliant Australian framework.

Who should use Tern?

Tern is ideal if:

You might not need Tern if:

What is Tern building toward?

Tern is building toward full coverage of every Australian visa category. We started with visitor visas because they're the most common way into the Australian visa system. But our goal is broader: to be the platform that handles all Australian visas, and to make compliant immigration advice available to everyone, not just those who can afford premium agent fees.

We're not there yet. Building this properly, with genuine legal oversight rather than shortcuts, takes time. But every visa category we add follows the same model: technology that handles the administrative burden, rules configured by qualified lawyers, and a service that operates within Australian law.

Immigration matters. For many people, a visa application decides whether they reunite with family, finish a degree, take a job, or start a new chapter of their life. The stakes are high. The system shouldn't be a lottery where your outcome depends on whether you happened to know the right things, or could afford to pay someone who did.

We believe everyone deserves access to quality immigration guidance. That's why we built Tern.

Ready to get started?

If you're applying for an Australian visa, we can help. Our platform assesses your eligibility, recommends the right visa for your situation, guides you through the evidence requirements, and checks your application for issues before submission.

Have questions? Our support team responds within 24 hours. We're here to help you navigate the system.