Is my education agent allowed to give me migration advice in Australia in 2026?

Plain-language guide · general information, not immigration advice

Usually not. Under Standard 4.6.1 of the National Code of Practice for Providers of Education and Training to Overseas Students 2018 (National Code 2018), as published by the Federal Register of Legislation, a registered provider must not accept students from an education agent if it knows or reasonably suspects that the agent is providing migration advice — unless that education agent is authorised to do so under the Migration Act 1958. That is the position in the official legislative text as of September 2026.

The rule does two things at once. It sets the limit on your agent, and it puts your school on the hook: once the provider knows or reasonably suspects the line has been crossed, it has to stop taking students from that agent.

Who is allowed to give migration advice in Australia?

Someone authorised to do so under the Migration Act 1958. The National Code does not invent its own test — Standard 4.6.1 simply refers to authorisation under the Migration Act, and Part A of the National Code describes the ESOS legislative framework as being complemented by the Migration Act 1958 and the Migration Regulations 1994.

Being an education agent is a separate role with separate expectations. Under Standard 4.3, a provider must require its education agent to declare and avoid conflicts of interest, deal with students confidentially and transparently, act honestly and in good faith and in the student's best interests, and have appropriate knowledge of the international education system in Australia — including the Australian International Education and Training Agent Code of Ethics. None of that is a migration-law qualification. An agent can be excellent at course selection and still have no authorisation to tell you which visa pathway to take or how to stay on afterwards.

What must the provider do if it suspects its agent is giving migration advice?

Stop accepting students from that agent. Standard 4.6 is written as a prohibition on the provider, not just on the agent: the provider "must not accept students" where it knows or reasonably suspects any of the listed circumstances applies.

Two other duties sit behind that. Under Standard 4.4, if the provider becomes aware, or has reason to believe, that the agent or an employee or subcontractor has not complied with the responsibilities set out in Standards 4.2 and 4.3, it must take immediate corrective action. Under Standard 4.5, where the concern is false or misleading recruitment practices, the provider must immediately terminate its relationship with the agent, or require the agent to terminate its relationship with the person who engaged in those practices.

These are not internal guidelines. Part A states that the National Code has legal effect as provided for by the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 (ESOS Act), and that breaches by a registered provider can result in action under Division 1A of Part 6 of the ESOS Act, including suspension or cancellation of registration.

What else puts an agent on the "must not accept" list?

Migration advice is the first of four grounds in Standard 4.6, and they are worth reading together, because the same suspicion that triggers one often triggers another.

Ground in Standard 4.6	What it covers
4.6.1	Providing migration advice, unless the agent is authorised to do so under the Migration Act
4.6.2	Engagement, or having previously been engaged, in dishonest recruitment practices, including deliberately trying to recruit a student where this clearly conflicts with the provider's obligations under Standard 7 (Overseas student transfers)
4.6.3	Facilitating the enrolment of a student the agent believes will not comply with the conditions of his or her visa
4.6.4	Using PRISMS to create Confirmations of Enrolment (CoEs) for other than bona fide students

Standard 7 is the transfer rule referred to in 4.6.2: a provider must not knowingly enrol an overseas student wishing to transfer from another registered provider's course before the student completes six months of his or her principal course (or, in the school sector, until after the first six months of the first registered school sector course), except in certain circumstances. An agent who recruits you into a transfer that clearly conflicts with that rule is creating a problem for the receiving provider, not only for you.

What has to be in place before an agent can represent a provider?

A written agreement, and a record in PRISMS. Under Standard 4.1, the registered provider must enter into a written agreement with each education agent it engages to formally represent it, and enter and maintain the agent's details in PRISMS — the Provider Registration and International Student Management System.

That agreement must cover, among other things: the provider's own responsibility for compliance with the ESOS Act and the National Code at all times; its requirements of the agent under Standard 4.3; its processes for monitoring the agent's activities and for ensuring the agent gives students accurate, up-to-date information about the provider's services; the corrective action available under Standard 4.4; the grounds for termination, including the circumstances in Standard 4.5; and the circumstances under which information about the education agent may be disclosed by the registered provider and the Commonwealth or state or territory agencies.

For you, the practical point is narrow but useful: a genuine representative relationship is documented and recorded in PRISMS. An agent who is not recorded against the provider has no formal standing to represent it.

How can you tell whether your agent is on the right side of the line?

Three checks follow directly from the Standards:

Ask directly whether the person is authorised to give migration advice under the Migration Act 1958, and treat silence or vague assurance as an answer.
Ask the provider to confirm that the agent is recorded in PRISMS as formally representing it, which Standard 4.1 requires.
Watch for the topics that move an agent from education advice into migration advice: which visa to apply for, how to structure a pathway to permanent residence, whether you can work or stay on afterwards, or how to handle a visa problem.

Red flags beyond the advice itself include pressure to transfer before you have completed six months of your principal course, suggestions that your visa conditions are flexible, or willingness to enrol you in a course you have no intention of attending. Each maps onto a specific ground in Standard 4.6, and each is a reason for a provider to refuse the referral.

What does this mean for your enrolment?

Consider a hypothetical. Suppose an applicant is recruited offshore by an agent who also lays out a post-study migration plan, names the visas to apply for, and says the enrolment is mainly a step toward that plan. If the agent is not authorised under the Migration Act, Standard 4.6.1 applies. The provider that knows or reasonably suspects this must not accept students from that agent, which in practice means the application may not progress through that channel — regardless of whether the applicant personally did anything wrong, and regardless of how strong the course choice was.

The reverse is also worth understanding: nothing in Standard 4 says a student is penalised for the agent's conduct. The obligation runs to the provider and the agent. What changes for the applicant is the channel, and the reliability of everything the agent told them.

This article is general information about how the National Code 2018 rules operate, not advice about your circumstances, and it is not a substitute for the official legislative text or for a properly authorised adviser on your own facts.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can my education agent give me migration advice in Australia?

Only if the agent is authorised to do so under the Migration Act 1958. Standard 4.6.1 of the National Code 2018 requires a registered provider not to accept students from an education agent it knows or reasonably suspects is providing migration advice without that authorisation.

What is the difference between an education agent and someone who can give migration advice?

An education agent is engaged by a provider to represent it, under a written agreement recorded in PRISMS, and must meet the conduct requirements in Standard 4.3. Giving migration advice is a separate activity that Standard 4.6.1 ties to authorisation under the Migration Act 1958.

What happens to my school if its agent gives unauthorised migration advice?

The provider must not accept students from that agent under Standard 4.6.1, and may need to take immediate corrective action under Standard 4.4 or terminate the relationship under Standard 4.5. Breaches of the National Code can lead to action under Division 1A of Part 6 of the ESOS Act, including suspension or cancellation of the provider's registration.

Does my enrolment get cancelled if my agent broke the rules?

Standard 4 places the obligation on the provider and the agent, not on the student: the provider must refuse students referred by an agent who trips any ground in Standard 4.6. The practical consequence is that the referral channel closes, not that an existing student is automatically penalised under this Standard.

How can I check that an agent is properly linked to a provider?

Standard 4.1 requires the provider to enter into a written agreement with each agent it engages to formally represent it and to maintain that agent's details in PRISMS. You can ask the provider to confirm that relationship, and ask the agent whether they are authorised to give migration advice under the Migration Act 1958.

Does this rule change in 2026?

Standard 4.6.1 contains no sunset date. The only dated provision in Standard 4 is the commission rule in Standard 4.8.1, which refers to a student who becomes an accepted student of the provider on or before 31 March 2026; that rule concerns agent commission, not migration advice.