You do not need a migration lawyer for a Carer visa, because the Department accepts a paper application lodged by the carer with the sponsor's Form 40, but advice on your own circumstances is immigration assistance under section 276 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth). Get it from an Australian migration lawyer, because an unregistered agent who gives it breaks section 280. Before paying a lawyer, check their practising certificate with the legal profession regulator in their state or territory, and ask for the services and the estimated fees in writing before any work starts.
This page is neutral. It does not name, rank or recommend any lawyer or practice.
| Who | May they charge? | Where to check them | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australian legal practitioner (a migration lawyer) | Yes, in connection with legal practice | The legal profession regulator in their state or territory | Migration Act ss 280(3), 281(3) |
| Someone registered with OMARA | Yes | The OMARA register | Migration Act s 280(1) |
| Exempt person: the sponsor, a close family member, a member of parliament, diplomatic or consular staff | No, never | Form 956 names them | Migration Act ss 280(2), (5A)–(6), 281 |
| Anyone else | No, and giving the help at all is unlawful | Report through Border Watch | Migration Act s 280(1) |
Do you need a migration lawyer for a Carer visa?
You do not need a migration lawyer for a Carer visa, and the Department's pages and forms are written for families who lodge themselves.
No Carer visa criterion requires a representative. The Department gives no pre-lodgement advice: its Other Family Visa Processing Centre form page says "We do not provide pre-lodgement advice." In 2024–25, 58.6% of decided Other Family visa applications were refused, according to the Department's 2024–25 Migration Program Report. That category includes the Carer visa with the Remaining Relative and Aged Dependent Relative visas; the report does not give a Carer-only figure.
Whether to use a lawyer is a judgement for each family. Where the medical evidence, the proof that care is not available or the family's visa history is borderline, an Australian migration lawyer makes a grant more likely. No lawyer makes a grant certain.
Can you lodge a Carer visa yourself?
You can lodge a Carer visa yourself by paying the first instalment in ImmiAccount and posting Form 47OF, Form 40 and the evidence to the Child and Other Family Processing Centre in Perth.
Applications for this visa cannot be lodged in person. Whoever prepares it, the carer stays responsible for what it says: the Department's page on getting help with an application says "You are still responsible for giving accurate information in your application." The whole sequence, from paying first to posting the bundle, is set out in the guide to a Carer visa lodged on paper.
Who can legally give immigration assistance?
Three kinds of people can legally give immigration assistance on a Carer visa: Australian legal practitioners, people registered with OMARA and exempt persons.
Section 276 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) defines immigration assistance. It covers preparing or advising on a visa application, and also preparing or advising on a sponsorship, so help with Form 40 is regulated too. It also covers preparing for, and representing someone in, proceedings before a court or the Administrative Review Tribunal. Under section 276(3), a person who only does clerical work, translates, or passes on information without comment is not giving immigration assistance.
- Australian legal practitioners. Lawyers who hold an Australian practising certificate may give immigration assistance in connection with legal practice without registering with OMARA (section 280(3)), and may charge for it (section 281(3)).
- People registered with OMARA. OMARA is part of the Department of Home Affairs, and section 280(1) allows the people on its register to give immigration assistance.
- Exempt persons. The sponsor, a close family member (spouse, child, adopted child, parent, brother or sister, as Form 40 lists them), a member of parliament, and diplomatic, consular or international-organisation staff.
Exempt persons must not charge. Under section 281(1), anyone outside the first two groups who asks for or receives a fee for immigration assistance faces up to 10 years' imprisonment.
How do you check a migration lawyer's practising certificate?
Ask for the lawyer's full name and the state or territory that granted their practising certificate, then look them up with that state or territory's legal profession regulator. Complaints about a lawyer also go to that regulator.
The Department's page on getting help with an application (updated 24 February 2026) warns about anyone who says they can fast-track a visa or promise one, and says such a person "is lying and may be trying to scam you".
What does a migration lawyer do on a Carer visa?
A migration lawyer does five main jobs on a Carer visa, from checking eligibility to representing you at review.
- Checks eligibility. They test the three links (the condition, the assessment, the carer and the care) and which subclass fits.
- Prepares the forms and evidence. Form 47OF, Form 40, the statutory declarations and the evidence that care is not reasonably available.
- Manages the carer assessment. They make sure the medical evidence is current and that the certificate reaches the Department within 3 months of lodgement.
- Acts as the contact. Appointed on Form 956, they can also be the authorised recipient who receives the Department's letters.
- Responds and represents. They answer requests and natural-justice letters, and they represent the applicant or sponsor at the Administrative Review Tribunal (section 276(1)(c) and (d)).
Where does an Australian migration lawyer make the most difference?
An Australian migration lawyer makes the most difference in three places: the evidence that care is not available, the refusal and review deadlines, and the eligibility check before any money is paid.
- Care evidence. Regulation 1.15AA(1)(e) asks whether the care can reasonably be provided by another relative in Australia or obtained from welfare, hospital, nursing or community services. What the Department looks for when it tests reasonable access to care is the part of the application families most often under-prove.
- Deadlines after refusal. A refusal gives 28 days to apply for review in most cases, as the decision letter states, and the Tribunal cannot extend the time. The common refusal grounds show which of them the Tribunal can look at again and which it cannot.
- Eligibility before paying. The first instalment of A$2,720 is not refunded after a refusal, so it is worth running the three-link check before any money is paid.
How much does a migration lawyer charge for a Carer visa?
Migration lawyers set their own fees for a Carer visa, and no government or university source publishes a range, so compare written estimates.
A first meeting may be free or charged; if it is charged, ask for the fee in writing. Before any work starts, ask for a written statement of the services to be provided and the estimated fees and other costs, and keep the final invoice that lists the work actually done.
Professional fees are separate from the visa charges of A$2,720 and A$2,065 per person.
Can a family member or sponsor represent you instead?
A close family member or the sponsor can represent you instead, for free, because the Migration Act treats them as exempt persons.
Sections 280(5A) and 280(5C) of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) let a close family member and the sponsor give immigration assistance without registering. At the Administrative Review Tribunal, the Tribunal's immigration page says "A close family member (your spouse, child, parent, brother or sister) or the person nominating or sponsoring you can also represent you." None of them may charge a fee.
Where can you get free legal help with a Carer visa?
Free legal help with a Carer visa is limited, and legal aid covers fewer family visa questions than many families expect.
The Legal Aid NSW Immigration Service lists "sponsoring family members to come to Australia" and "withdrawal of sponsorship or assurance of support" among the matters it cannot advise on, and refers family sponsorship questions to its Refugee Service to check eligibility. Legal aid commissions in other states and territories set their own guidelines.
How do you get a migration lawyer to review your Carer visa case?
Get a migration lawyer to review your Carer visa case in three steps: note the key facts, send them through this guide's enquiry form, and agree any paid work in writing.
- Note the facts. Who needs care and how they are related to the carer, the condition, whether the carer assessment has started, where the carer is now, and any letter from the Department with a date on it.
- Send the enquiry. Use the enquiry form on this site ("Ask about your case"). Enquiries sent through it go to a migration law practice, which may offer paid services. This guide does not name, rank or advertise that practice.
- Agree in writing. Before any work starts, ask the lawyer for a written statement of the services and the estimated fees.
How the guide is run and funded is set out on About Carer Visa Australia, and the overview of both subclasses is on Carer Visa Australia.
An Australian migration lawyer makes a grant more likely
Carer visas turn on evidence the Department does not explain in advance, and a refusal after a decade in the queue is hard to undo within a 28-day review window. An Australian migration lawyer makes a well-prepared application more likely; no one can promise or fast-track a grant.
Ask about your caseRelated guides
How to apply for a Carer visa: paper lodgement, step by stepEight steps, two checklists and one envelope to Perth: the whole paper lodgement.
Proving care is not reasonably available for a Carer visaShow that no relative or service in Australia can reasonably provide the care.
Carer visa refusal: why Carer visas are refused and what comes nextEach refusal names a failed criterion, and the ART clock starts at notification.
About Carer Visa Australia: who runs this guide and how it is checkedWho runs this guide, how it is funded, and how each page is checked.