Do You Need a Migration Lawyer for a Partner Visa?
You can lodge an Australian partner visa yourself through ImmiAccount without a lawyer, but advice on your own application is immigration assistance under ss 276 and 280 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth), and a migration lawyer's fees are not capped by law and vary between providers.
The Department of Home Affairs says you do not have to use a legal practitioner to apply for a visa. Its guidance on who can help with your application warns that anyone who says they can fast track or guarantee a visa "is lying and may be trying to scam you". This page was verified on 23 September 2026. It has not been reviewed by a lawyer.
| Lodge it yourself | Use an Australian migration lawyer | |
|---|---|---|
| Who is allowed to do it | You and your sponsor | An Australian legal practitioner, under s 280(3) |
| Professional fee | A$0 | Not capped by law; governed by the legal profession law of their state or territory |
| Visa application charge, as at 1 July 2026 | A$11,710, paid either way | A$11,710, paid either way |
| Who prepares the evidence | You and your partner | The lawyer, from what you give them |
| Who answers the Department's requests | You | The lawyer, if appointed on Form 956 |
| Who is responsible for the truth of what is lodged | You | Still you |
| What protects you | The Department's process | Professional conduct rules for lawyers, a complaints body, and the professional indemnity insurance a practising lawyer must carry |
| How to check them | Not applicable | The practising certificate, with the legal profession body in their state or territory |
Do you have to use a migration lawyer for a partner visa?
No. The partner visa is built to be lodged online by the applicant and sponsor through ImmiAccount. The step-by-step process is on the page about how to apply for a partner visa.
Some partner cases turn on discretionary or technical criteria, where the law has to be applied to the facts. Applying the law to your facts is what the Migration Act calls immigration assistance, and that is where the restriction on who can help begins.
What is immigration assistance?
Under s 276 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth), a person gives immigration assistance when they use, or claim to use, knowledge of or experience in migration procedure to help a visa applicant by:
- preparing, or helping to prepare, the application
- advising the applicant about the application
- preparing for, or representing the applicant in, proceedings before a court or the Administrative Review Tribunal.
Section 276(2) applies the same test to help given to a sponsor, such as preparing the sponsorship or advising on it.
What can a friend or family member do?
Section 276(3) says a person does not give immigration assistance if they merely:
- do clerical work to prepare an application or document
- translate or interpret to help prepare it
- tell someone they must apply for a visa
- pass on information produced by someone else, without substantial comment or explanation.
Section 280 also does not stop a close family member (as the regulations define it) or your sponsor from giving you immigration assistance (ss 280(5A) and (5C)). A friend who is neither can type, scan, translate and organise, but advising you on whether you meet a criterion is a different matter.
General information, including this page or an online tool, is not immigration assistance and does not apply the law to your facts.
Who can lawfully give you immigration advice?
An Australian legal practitioner can: a lawyer with an Australian practising certificate, restricted or unrestricted. Under s 280(3) they may give immigration assistance in connection with legal practice without registering with OMARA.
Section 280 also allows people registered with OMARA to give it, and exempts parliamentarians, officials acting in their duties, members of diplomatic and consular posts and international organisations, close family members, and a sponsor or nominator of the applicant.
Anyone else who gives immigration assistance commits a strict liability offence under s 280(1), with a penalty of 60 penalty units. The Department asks people to report unlawful providers through the Australian Border Force's Border Watch service.
What about an adviser in your own country?
This matters most for subclass 309 and 300 applicants. An adviser overseas who is neither an Australian legal practitioner nor registered with OMARA is an unregistered agent, whatever title they use.
How do you check a migration lawyer?
This site does not rank or recommend individual lawyers. This is how to check any of them.
- Ask for their full name and the state or territory where they practise.
- Check their practising certificate with the legal profession body in that state or territory.
A practising certificate shows a lawyer is allowed to practise. It is not a rating of their quality.
How much does a migration lawyer charge for a partner visa?
No government source publishes what lawyers charge for a partner visa, and no law caps it. This page therefore gives no fee range. A lawyer's costs, including the costs disclosure and costs agreement they give you, are governed by the legal profession law of their state or territory, and the Department publishes a consumer guide for legal practitioners.
Some initial consultations are charged and some are not, so ask before you book. Government charges are always extra, and the whole cost is the A$11,710 charge (as at 1 July 2026) plus the lawyer's fee, police checks, health examinations and translations. Every government charge is set out on the partner visa cost page.
When do couples commonly lodge a partner visa themselves?
Couples commonly lodge without help when:
- the applicant holds a substantive visa at lodgement, if applying onshore, so no Schedule 3 question arises
- there is no "no further stay" condition on the current visa
- there has been no visa refusal or cancellation in Australia
- the sponsor has not sponsored or been sponsored as a partner within the limits in reg 1.20J
- the relationship is well documented across the four factors
- there is no health or character issue to disclose
- both partners are comfortable with English-language forms and ImmiAccount.
Meeting all of these does not guarantee a grant. It only means the file turns on documents rather than on discretion. The order of steps is on the page about how to apply for a partner visa.
When is professional help usually warranted?
Each situation below turns on how the law applies to your facts, which is immigration assistance and the work of an Australian migration lawyer. This page is general information, not advice about your case.
Have you had a visa refused or cancelled before?
Section 48 of the Migration Act limits which visas a person can apply for in Australia after a refusal or cancellation. A person caught by s 48 can still apply onshore for a partner visa only if they have not been refused a partner visa since they last entered Australia, and they lodge the sponsor's form and two statutory declarations with the application (Sch 1 item 1124B(3)(e)). Public interest criterion 4020 can also refuse a visa for a bogus document or false information, with a three-year bar that follows. These are points where immigration assistance about your own facts is usually sought. What a refusal means is covered on the page about a partner visa refused.
Are you in Australia without a substantive visa, or does your visa have condition 8503?
An onshore applicant with no substantive visa must meet Schedule 3 criteria and, the Department says, show compelling reasons for the grant, unless they previously held a subclass 300. Condition 8503 means the holder cannot be granted a substantive visa, other than a protection visa, while in Australia, and the Department says a waiver must be approved before you can apply for a subclass 820. Both turn on a judgement about the facts, which is where immigration assistance is usually sought.
Has the relationship broken down while you wait?
The subclass 801 generally requires the relationship to continue, but cl 801.221 allows a grant after the relationship ends in limited cases: the sponsor's death, family violence, or a child of the relationship. Which one applies depends on the facts. This is a point where immigration assistance is usually sought.
Has there been family violence?
The family violence provisions are in Division 1.5 of the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth). Free, confidential help is available through community legal centres and legal aid commissions, and 1800RESPECT answers on 1800 737 732. Getting help does not have to wait for anything on this page.
Is there a character, sponsorship or health issue?
- Character: a criminal record in any country is assessed under the character test in s 501 of the Migration Act.
- Sponsorship limit: reg 1.20J generally limits a sponsor to two partner sponsorships, at least five years apart, and a sponsor who was once sponsored as a partner must wait five years from that application. The limit can be set aside only for compelling circumstances affecting the sponsor.
- Health: partner applicants must meet public interest criterion 4007, which includes a power to waive part of the health requirement in some cases.
Each of these turns on the facts, which is where immigration assistance is usually sought.
Is it worth using a migration lawyer?
| What a migration lawyer adds | What a migration lawyer does not change |
|---|---|
| An assessment of your facts against the criteria | The criteria themselves |
| Submissions on discretionary points, such as Schedule 3 and waivers | The visa application charge |
| Handling the Department's requests as your appointed representative | Your place in the Direction 117 order |
| Representation at the Administrative Review Tribunal if the visa is refused | The evidence only you and your partner can supply |
| Accountability under professional conduct rules, backed by professional indemnity insurance | Your responsibility for the truth of what is lodged |
Help is aimed at the situations in the section above. The application itself is designed to be completed by applicants.
Where do you complain about a lawyer?
Complain to the legal services authority in the lawyer's state or territory. OMARA cannot consider complaints about lawyers. The Department says complaining will not affect your visa application.
What can a migration lawyer not do?
A lawyer cannot guarantee a grant or fast-track processing. The Department says both claims are signs of a scam, and its guidance on using a legal practitioner says lawyers cannot do either.
Using a lawyer also does not move responsibility for the truth of the application. The Department says you are still responsible for giving accurate information, and false or misleading information leads to refusal or cancellation.
Where this page stops, and where to go next
This page is general information, not advice about your case. It does not tell you whether your case is straightforward, whether any situation above applies to you, whether a waiver is likely, which lawyer to use, or whether a fee quote is fair.
- Choosing the subclass comes first, on the Australian partner visa overview.
- The lodgement steps are on the page about how to apply for a partner visa.
- Every government charge is on the partner visa cost page.
- If a decision has gone against you, see partner visa refused.
- To appoint your lawyer on the application, see Form 956.
An application prepared by an Australian migration lawyer is more likely to succeed. One missed criterion refuses a partner visa, the A$11,710 charge is not refunded, and discretionary points such as Schedule 3, condition 8503 waivers and previous refusals are where a lawyer's reading of the law matters most.
Questions people ask
Do I need a migration lawyer for a partner visa?
No. You can lodge a partner visa yourself in ImmiAccount, and the Department of Home Affairs says you do not have to use a legal practitioner to apply for a visa. If you want someone to advise you, prepare the application or represent you, that is immigration assistance, and an Australian migration lawyer can give it.
How much does a migration lawyer charge for a partner visa?
No government source publishes what lawyers charge for a partner visa, and the law sets no cap. A lawyer's costs disclosure and costs agreement are governed by the legal profession law of their state or territory. The A$11,710 visa application charge is paid on top.
How do I check a migration lawyer?
Check their practising certificate with the legal profession body in their state or territory. Under s 280(3) of the Migration Act, an Australian legal practitioner may give immigration assistance in connection with legal practice without registering with OMARA, so that register is not where a lawyer is checked.
Can a migration lawyer speed up a partner visa?
No. The Department of Home Affairs says a provider who tells you they can fast track or guarantee an Australian visa is lying and may be trying to scam you, and its guidance on using a legal practitioner says lawyers cannot do either. Partner visas are processed in the order set by Ministerial Direction 117.
Can a family member help me with my partner visa application?
Yes. Section 280 of the Migration Act 1958 does not stop a close family member, or your sponsor, from giving you immigration assistance. Anyone can also do clerical work or translate for you, because s 276(3) says that is not immigration assistance.
Can legal aid help with a partner visa?
Legal aid commissions and community legal centres give free legal help to some people, and eligibility varies. Contact them directly to ask whether they can help with your partner visa matter.
Sources
Primary sources this page was checked against on 23 September 2026.
- Migration Act 1958 (Cth), ss 276 and 280, Federal Register of Legislation www.legislation.gov.au
- Department of Home Affairs, Using a legal practitioner immi.homeaffairs.gov.au
- Department of Home Affairs, guidance on registered advisers and visa scams immi.homeaffairs.gov.au