Do I need a lawyer or a migration agent?

Many visa applications are lodged directly. A registered migration agent or immigration lawyer helps with complex or refused matters.

What is a Section 48 bar?

It limits the visas you can apply for while unlawfully in Australia after a refusal or cancellation. A professional can map your options.

Can I appeal a refused visa?

Often yes — the Administrative Appeals Tribunal reviews many decisions, but strict time limits apply.

Unlawful immigration assistance on a BVB in 2026: who is allowed to charge you

Only registered migration agents, legal practitioners and exempt persons can charge for BVB immigration assistance — how to check before you pay.

As at the August 2026 version of the Australian Department of Home Affairs' official Bridging visa B (Subclass 020) page, only three kinds of people can be appointed to give you immigration assistance on a BVB: a registered migration agent, a legal practitioner, or an exempt person. The same official material tells applicants to read Home Affairs' "Who can help with your visa application" guidance before paying anyone. So if a person who is not in one of those three categories charges you a fee to help with your BVB, they are charging for work the department does not treat them as appointed to do — and the risk that follows lands on your application and your travel plans.

The rule is short and easy to test. Home Affairs states it directly on the BVB step-by-step page: only some people can help you with your application, and anyone you appoint to give you immigration assistance must be a registered migration agent, a legal practitioner, or an exempt person.

Who can be paid for immigration assistance on a BVB?

Home Affairs splits the work into two roles, and the restriction attaches to only one of them.

Role	Who can do it	Which form
Give immigration assistance on the visa matter	A registered migration agent, a legal practitioner, or an exempt person only	Form 956
Receive your documents and correspondence	Anyone you appoint	Form 956A

"Exempt person" is a category Home Affairs defines on its own page, so if someone tells you they qualify as one, that page is where the description sits. The other two categories also have dedicated Home Affairs pages explaining what registration or legal practice means in this context.

The practical consequence for fees is narrow but firm: a fee for immigration assistance is only consistent with the department's framework if the person being paid is one of those three. A fee for merely receiving your correspondence is a different arrangement, and that role is open to anyone you appoint.

Is receiving my mail the same as giving me immigration assistance?

No, and the form you sign is what tells the department which role the person has. Form 956A is the appointment or withdrawal of an authorised recipient — someone who receives correspondence about your visa matter. Form 956 is the appointment of a registered migration agent, legal practitioner or exempt person, and it is the form used when someone is providing immigration assistance.

This distinction matters because the two roles are often blurred in practice. A person may offer to "just receive your letters" for a fee while in fact advising you on what to write, when to apply, or what to say about your travel reasons. What they actually do decides which category they fall into, not what the invoice calls it. If the work is advice and handling of the visa matter, only the three listed categories may be appointed to do it.

What goes wrong when the person helping you is not authorised?

The damage is usually indirect: it shows up as a timing failure, a bad answer on the form, or a promise that was never going to hold.

Timing. Home Affairs advises applying for a BVB no more than three months and not less than two weeks before you want to travel. If the visa is not granted before you leave, you may not hold a visa that lets you return. You would then have to apply for and be granted a substantive visa before you could come back, with no guarantee of being granted one.
Travel period. A BVB allows travel outside Australia until a set date. If you have not returned before that date, the BVB ceases and you need a new visa to return.
Accuracy. Your application must contain accurate information. If incorrect answers were given, Home Affairs asks you to tell it as soon as you can and to complete Form 1023 Notification of incorrect answers. Mistakes introduced by someone helping you still sit on your application.
Promises about speed. Home Affairs states that it does not give updates on application processing times. Anyone selling a faster decision, or a guaranteed grant, is offering something the department itself does not provide. A BVB must also be granted while you are in Australia.

None of this means a poor outcome is automatic. It means the safeguards the department publishes — the eligible-categories rule, the accuracy requirement, the correction form — all operate on your file, and an unauthorised helper is not recognised within them.

How do you check the person before you pay?

Ask three questions, and pay attention to whether the answers are specific.

Which of the three categories are you in? A registered migration agent, a legal practitioner, or an exempt person are the only valid answers for someone giving immigration assistance.
Which form will be lodged? Form 956 means immigration assistance; Form 956A means receiving correspondence only. If someone is advising you but only wants you to sign Form 956A, the paperwork does not match the work.
Can you describe the fee in terms of the role? Home Affairs' guidance is to read who can help with your visa application before you pay anyone, and that check is easier to do before money moves than after.

These checks are general information about how the published rules work, not advice tailored to your circumstances; if your situation is unusual, the more reliable step is to have someone in one of the three recognised categories look at your actual facts, alongside the official page current at the time.

What if you have already paid, or the application already contains mistakes?

Two things can be fixed from your side, and both are described on the official BVB page.

First, incorrect answers: tell Home Affairs as soon as you can and complete Form 1023 Notification of incorrect answers. Correcting the record does not guarantee any particular decision on the BVB, but leaving known errors in place is the worse option.

Second, who is involved: Form 956A appoints or withdraws an authorised recipient, and Form 956 is the appointment form for a registered migration agent, legal practitioner or exempt person. If you applied for your substantive visa online, the written notification or forms are uploaded to ImmiAccount; if you applied on paper, they go to the office assessing your application, as shown in the contact details on the acknowledgement letter.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a friend or family member help me with my BVB for free?

They can certainly be appointed to receive documents and correspondence on your behalf, using Form 956A, and Home Affairs says anyone can play that role. Giving immigration assistance is the restricted activity: for that, the department requires the person to be a registered migration agent, a legal practitioner, or an exempt person. The exempt person page is where Home Affairs sets out who else counts.

What is the difference between Form 956 and Form 956A?

Form 956 appoints a registered migration agent, legal practitioner or exempt person to provide immigration assistance. Form 956A appoints or withdraws an authorised recipient, who receives correspondence about your visa matter. Put simply, 956 covers advice and handling of the case; 956A covers receiving the mail.

Can I pay an unregistered consultant to fill in my BVB application?

Only the three listed categories may be appointed to give immigration assistance, and Home Affairs advises reading its "Who can help with your visa application" guidance before paying anyone. If the work is limited to receiving your correspondence, that is a separate role using Form 956A and is open to anyone you appoint. Filling in and lodging the application itself is assistance work, not correspondence work.

What should I do if incorrect information was given on my BVB application?

Tell Home Affairs as soon as you can and complete Form 1023 Notification of incorrect answers. If you applied online, the form is uploaded to ImmiAccount. Notifying the department does not guarantee any outcome, but it is the published way to put the record right.

Will my BVB be refused because I used an unregistered helper?

The published factors are whether you hold a Bridging visa A or B, whether you applied in Australia for a substantive visa that can be granted while you are in Australia, and whether you are in Australia when the decision is made. The risk from unregistered help is indirect: poor timing, wrong information or missed requirements can put those factors in jeopardy, and the consequences fall on your application rather than on the helper.

What if someone promised my BVB would be granted before I fly?

Treat that as a warning sign. Home Affairs states that it does not give updates on application processing times, and the visa must be granted before you leave if you want to return on it. No one can honestly sell a date or a result that the department itself does not provide.