How much does a migration agent cost in Australia? Real fees by visa type

Migration agent fees are one of the most opaque costs in the Australian visa system. Most firms don't publish their prices online. You have to book a consultation (sometimes paid) just to find out what you'll be charged. And even then, the quoted fee rarely tells the full story once you add government charges, health exams, translations, and everything else that comes on top.

We've spent years researching migration agent pricing across Australia, talking to applicants about what they've paid, and analysing the industry through FOI data and public records. This guide puts real numbers on the table so you can budget properly and decide whether a migration agent, a technology platform, or a DIY approach makes the most sense for your situation.

How do migration agent fees work?

Migration agents in Australia typically charge a flat fee per visa type rather than billing by the hour. The fee covers a defined scope of work, and most agents will give you a written costs agreement before you engage them (they're required to under the OMARA Code of Conduct).

What the fee usually includes

A standard migration agent fee typically covers:

• Initial consultation and case assessment: Reviewing your situation and advising on the best visa pathway
• Form preparation and completion: Filling out the visa application forms on your behalf
• Evidence guidance: Advising on what documents you need and how to present them
• Lodgement: Submitting the application to the Department of Home Affairs
• Follow-up: Handling requests for additional information from case officers

What's usually NOT included

This is where the quoted fee can be misleading. Most agent fees do not cover:

• Government visa application charge (VAC): Always separate, always non-refundable. This ranges from free (eVisitor) to AUD $9,365 (partner visa)
• Health examinations: $400-600 per person, required for most visa types beyond short-stay visitor visas
• Police certificates: $50-100 per country you've lived in for 12+ months in the last decade
• NAATI-certified translations: $50-200 per document for non-English materials
• Skills assessments: $500-2,000 for skilled and some employer-sponsored visas
• English language tests: $400-600 for IELTS, PTE, or OET
• Appeal or review fees: If your visa is refused and you want to challenge it, that's a separate engagement

When an agent quotes you $3,000 for a skilled visa, the real cost to you might be $8,000-$12,000 once you add the government fee and all the extras. Always ask for a breakdown of total expected costs, not just the agent's fee.

How much do migration agents charge by visa type?

Migration agent fees in Australia range from around $500 for a simple visitor visa to $15,000 or more for a complex partner or skilled visa. The tables below break down typical fees for each major visa category, including the government charge and what you'd pay through Tern as a comparison point.

Visitor visas (Subclass 600)

The Subclass 600 visitor visa is one of the most common Australian visas, covering tourism, family visits, and short business trips. The government fee is AUD $200, and migration agents typically charge $500-$1,500 on top of that.

For a straightforward visitor visa from a low-risk country, an agent fee of $500-$1,500 is hard to justify. The application process is relatively standardised, and the main risk factor is usually your nationality and personal circumstances rather than the complexity of the form itself. That said, if you're from a high-risk country or have a previous refusal on your record, the guidance an experienced agent provides on evidence preparation can genuinely make a difference.

Most visitor visa applicants fall somewhere in the middle: not complex enough to warrant thousands in agent fees, but anxious enough about the outcome that DIY feels risky. That's the gap Tern was designed to fill.

Working holiday visas (Subclass 417 and 462)

The Working Holiday visa (Subclass 417) has a 99% approval rate for most eligible countries. Let that sink in for a moment. If an agent is quoting you $1,500 to handle a visa that's approved 99% of the time, you should ask yourself what that $1,500 is actually buying.

The Subclass 462 (Work and Holiday) is slightly more involved, with some countries requiring government support letters or proof of functional English. Agents are somewhat more justified here, but the process is still highly standardised.

The honest take: for the 417, most people do not need a migration agent. The application is designed to be self-service, and unless you have complicating factors (health conditions, character concerns, or you're from a country with a lower approval rate on the 462), the money is better spent on your first month's rent in Sydney.

Student visas (Subclass 500)

Student visa fees from migration agents range from $2,000 to $5,000, and the service often includes help with the Genuine Student (GS) requirement, evidence of financial capacity, and coordinating with your education provider. The government fee is AUD $2,000.

The student visa is where agent fees start to add real weight. With the government fee at AUD $2,000 (the most expensive student visa in the world), an additional $2,000-$5,000 in agent fees pushes the total into the $4,000-$7,000 range before you've paid for tuition, health cover, or living expenses.

The Genuine Student requirement is the part that trips people up. It's a written statement explaining why you've chosen this course, this provider, and Australia. A weak or generic statement is one of the most common reasons for student visa refusals. Good agents earn their fee here by helping craft a statement that addresses exactly what case officers look for. But you don't necessarily need to pay thousands for this: Tern's platform, with rules configured by immigration lawyers, guides you through the same process at a fraction of the cost.

Partner visas (Subclass 820/801 and 309/100)

This is where agent fees get serious, and for good reason. The partner visa is one of the most evidence-intensive visas in the Australian system, and the financial stakes are enormous. The government fee alone is AUD $9,365, which is non-refundable even if you're refused.

Migration agents typically charge $4,000-$10,000+ for partner visa assistance. At the upper end, that means a total cost approaching $25,000 before health exams, translations, and police certificates.

The partner visa is one category where professional help is almost always worth it. With AUD $9,365 in government fees at stake, plus the emotional weight of a decision that affects your relationship, cutting corners on preparation is a false economy. The question isn't whether to get help, but how much you need to pay for it.

Skilled visas (Subclass 189 and 190)

Skilled migration agents typically charge $3,000-$8,000+ for the 189 (Skilled Independent) or 190 (Skilled Nominated) visa. The government fee is AUD $4,910.

Skilled visa applications involve navigating points tests, skills assessments, occupation lists, and (for the 190) state nomination requirements. The rules shift frequently, and the difference between a well-timed EOI at the right points threshold and a poorly timed one can be months or years of waiting.

Agents who specialise in skilled migration earn their fee through strategic advice: maximising your points, choosing the optimal occupation code, and timing your Expression of Interest. For applicants near the points threshold, this guidance can be the difference between receiving an invitation and waiting indefinitely.

Employer-sponsored visas (Subclass 482 and 186)

Employer-sponsored visa agents typically charge $3,000-$8,000+, though the cost dynamic is different here because the sponsoring employer often covers part or all of the fees.

Most migration agents working in the employer-sponsored space deal directly with the employer, handling the sponsorship, nomination, and visa application as a package. If your employer is covering the costs, the agent fee is less of a personal concern. If you're paying out of pocket, clarify exactly which costs fall to you before you engage anyone.

What are you actually paying for?

When you pay a migration agent $5,000 for a partner visa, you're not just paying for someone to fill in a form. You're paying for:

Knowledge of what case officers look for. An experienced agent has seen hundreds of decisions. They know which evidence carries the most weight, which statements raise red flags, and which gaps in documentation lead to requests for further information (or refusals).

The intangibles that don't appear in any guidebook. Immigration policy shifts, case officer expectations evolve, and what worked two years ago may not work today. A good agent develops a feel for what strengthens an application and what weakens it through sheer volume of cases. They pick up on nuances, trends in decision-making, and unwritten patterns that you cannot learn from reading the Department's website. That kind of pattern recognition is hard to put a price on, but it is often the difference between a clean approval and a request for further information.

Evidence preparation guidance. For complex visas, how you present your evidence matters as much as what evidence you have. A partner visa application isn't just a stack of photos and bank statements. It's a structured narrative that demonstrates your relationship across four categories of evidence (financial, social, household, and commitment). A good agent ensures that narrative is coherent and addresses potential scepticism.

Quality checking and consistency. One of the most common reasons for visa complications is inconsistency between documents. A date that doesn't match, an address that contradicts another form, a statement that conflicts with something you wrote on a previous application. Agents review everything for these issues before submission.

Risk mitigation on non-refundable fees. For a AUD $200 tourist visa, a refusal is annoying. For a AUD $9,365 partner visa, a refusal is financially devastating. Part of what you're paying an agent for is reducing the probability of that worst-case outcome.

Communication with the Department. After lodgement, case officers may request additional information, ask for clarification, or raise concerns. An experienced agent knows how to respond effectively and on time.

When is the cost of a migration agent justified?

Migration agents serve a genuine and important role in the Australian immigration system, and there are situations where their fees are not just justified but essential.

High-risk nationalities. Based on our analysis of 4.5 million visa decisions, applicants from high-risk countries face refusal rates between 20% and 40% for some visa types. When your baseline approval odds are already working against you, a well-prepared application isn't optional. It's the only lever you have. You can't change your passport, but an experienced agent can help you submit an application so thorough that even a sceptical case officer has no grounds for refusal.

Previous visa refusals. A refused visa stays on your immigration record permanently, and you must disclose it on every future application. How you address a previous refusal, what has changed since, and how you frame the circumstances, can determine whether your next application succeeds or follows the same path. An agent who has handled post-refusal cases knows how to navigate this.

Complex cases requiring legal arguments. Some visa applications involve genuine legal complexity: relationships that don't fit standard patterns, occupation classifications that are ambiguous, or circumstances that require a persuasive written submission. This is where agents (and particularly immigration lawyers) add value that no DIY approach can match.

Complex visas with high government fees. For partner (AUD $9,365), skilled (AUD $4,910), and employer-sponsored (AUD $3,210-AUD $4,910) visas, the non-refundable government fee alone means the cost of getting it wrong dwarfs any agent fee. These visa types also carry heavier evidence requirements, more moving parts, and longer processing times where a single mistake can set you back months. Professional help on these applications is less of an optional extra and more of a reasonable insurance policy.

When are you overpaying for a migration agent?

Not every visa application needs professional help, and for some, agent-level fees are hard to justify.

eVisitors and ETAs. The eVisitor (651) is free. The ETA (601) costs $20. Both are largely automated, with most applications processed within minutes. You do not need a migration agent charging $500-$1,500 for either of these. Applying yourself is a reasonable option for most travellers. That said, both visas involve navigating Australian government systems (ImmiAccount for the eVisitor, a dedicated app for the ETA) in English, and the process is not intuitive if you are not comfortable with online government portals. If you have a previous visa refusal or a criminal record, even these straightforward visas can be referred for manual processing, making guidance more valuable. For travellers who want a guided process without the complexity of DIY, a low-cost platform is a more proportionate option than agent-level fees.

Simple tourist visas from low-risk countries. If you're a UK, US, Canadian, or Japanese citizen with no complications (no previous refusals, no criminal record, straightforward trip), a Subclass 600 tourist visa is well within DIY territory. Paying $800-$1,500 for an agent to handle a AUD $200 visa is hard to justify when the approval rate for these nationalities is above 95%.

Working holiday 417. With a 99% approval rate, the Subclass 417 is about as close to guaranteed as any visa gets. Unless you have specific complications, an agent adds cost without meaningfully changing your outcome.

When the agent is just filling in the form. The value of a migration agent lies in their knowledge and judgment, not their typing skills. If all an agent is doing is transferring your information onto government forms without providing strategic advice, evidence guidance, or risk assessment, you're paying a premium for a service that a good platform can automate for a fraction of the cost.

The pattern is straightforward: the simpler your visa and the more straightforward your circumstances, the less value a migration agent adds. Save your budget for the situations where professional expertise genuinely changes your outcome.

Government visa fees (always separate)

Government visa fees are paid directly to the Department of Home Affairs and are completely separate from any agent or platform fees. They are non-refundable regardless of outcome, and they increase on 1 July each year. For current fees across every visa subclass, see our complete Australian visa cost guide.

Frequently asked questions

Migration agent fees are a significant cost on top of already expensive government visa charges. For complex cases (partner visas, skilled migration, previous refusals, high-risk nationalities), that cost is usually justified by the expertise and risk mitigation a good agent provides. For simpler cases (tourist visas from low-risk countries, working holiday 417s, eVisitors), you're often paying for a service you don't need.

The most important thing is to go in with your eyes open. Know the total cost (agent fee plus government fee plus extras), understand what's included, and choose the level of help that matches your actual level of risk. Overpaying for simple applications wastes money. Underpreparing for complex ones can cost you far more than any agent ever would.

If you're looking for a middle ground between DIY and full agent fees, Tern offers guided applications with lawyer oversight from $55.