Form 956A: Appointment or Withdrawal of an Authorised Recipient

What Form 956A actually does

Form 956A tells the Department to send written correspondence about a visa application, visa cancellation process, sponsorship monitoring or sanction matter, or ministerial intervention request to a nominated person instead of the applicant directly. That correspondence might include requests for further information, decisions, or other case updates — and, the form's own instructions warn, it can include sensitive information about health and character, since the Department has no way to filter what goes to the authorised recipient by topic.

The form's own text is explicit about the limit: 'Do not use this form if you are appointing a registered migration agent, Australian legal practitioner or exempt person to provide you with immigration assistance and they will also be your authorised recipient' — in that case the agent completes Form 956 instead, which covers both roles at once. An authorised recipient under 956A alone is a point of contact for paperwork, not a representative. The Department cannot discuss the substance of the matter with them unless they are also acting as the applicant's registered migration agent, legal practitioner or exempt person, or the applicant has separately consented to the disclosure.

Who can be an authorised recipient — and the 10-year-jail line most guides skip

Form 956A itself doesn't restrict who can be nominated as an authorised recipient — a family member, a friend, an organisation's contact person. But the form does define, in its 'exempt person' box, who is allowed to actually give immigration assistance without being a registered migration agent or lawyer: a close family member (spouse, child, adopted child, parent, brother or sister), a sponsor or nominator of a visa applicant, a member of parliament or their staff, an official whose duties include immigration assistance, or a member of a diplomatic mission, consular post or international organisation.

That matters because of what the form says next: 'An exempt person must not charge a fee for their service. It is an offence for an exempt person to charge a fee for providing immigration assistance and penalties of up to 10 years jail can apply.' An authorised recipient under 956A alone gives no immigration assistance at all — they only receive mail — so this penalty applies to the exempt-person category, not to a plain mail-forwarding contact. But it's the reason a well-meaning friend or family member should never move from 'I'll forward your letters' into 'let me help with your case' for payment without registering as a migration agent first.

One recipient at a time, and dependants

You may only appoint one authorised recipient at any time for a particular application or matter, and the Department sends documents to the most recently appointed one — appointing a new recipient effectively supersedes an earlier appointment for that same matter. All persons listed together on one Form 956A (for example, a family group applying together) are considered to have appointed the same authorised recipient; if a dependent applicant aged 16 or over wants a different authorised recipient from the rest of the family, they need to lodge a separate Form 956A of their own.

Electronic communication (fax or email) to the authorised recipient is only used if the recipient themselves indicates agreement to it on the form — not just the applicant. The form warns that unencrypted electronic communication isn't secure and anything sent this way could in theory be viewed by others, which is worth weighing given the sensitive health and character information that can be included.

The legal effect: why deadlines still run

This is the part worth understanding properly. Under the Migration Act, once the Department sends a document to your authorised recipient, you are legally taken to have received it — the deemed-receipt rule applies to your nominated recipient exactly as it would to you directly. In practice, any response deadline attached to that letter starts running from when your recipient receives it, whether or not they tell you promptly, or at all.

This is the real risk with Form 956A. If you nominate someone and then lose contact with them, change your mind about trusting them, or they simply forget to forward an important letter, you can miss a deadline without ever having seen the request. The form is convenient, but it only works well if the person you nominate is genuinely reliable and reachable — and if you change your mind, you need to formally withdraw the appointment (see below), because an old nomination doesn't expire on its own.

Form 956 vs Form 956A — the difference that trips people up

Form 956 ('Appointment of a registered migration agent, legal practitioner or exempt person') appoints someone to actually act for you — lodge documents, respond to requests, make submissions, give advice — and, where indicated on that same form, also to receive correspondence as your authorised recipient. Form 956A appoints someone to receive letters and nothing more. A person named only under 956A cannot do any of the things a Form 956 representative can do, even if they happen to be a migration agent, unless they are separately appointed under Form 956.

The reverse note appears on Form 956 too: registered migration agents, legal practitioners and exempt persons do not complete Form 956A for themselves — their appointment as authorised recipient (if any) is handled inside Form 956. If what you actually want is someone to manage your case rather than just collect your mail, Form 956A on its own is the wrong form; see our separate guide to /blog/form-956-guide for that pathway.

Withdrawing the appointment and common mistakes

The same Form 956A is used to withdraw an authorised recipient appointment as to create one — Part A is the new appointment, Part B is the withdrawal, and you tick which you're doing at Question 1 before completing the matching part. To remove someone, complete Part B and the shared Part C declaration and lodge it the same way you lodged the original appointment. Until that withdrawal is processed, correspondence sent to the previously nominated recipient is still treated as received by you.

The most common mistakes: nominating someone without confirming they will actually forward correspondence promptly; assuming the recipient can answer questions or make submissions when they legally cannot; using an old saved copy of the form instead of the current version (Home Affairs updates these periodically — always pull a fresh copy from the form-listing page); and forgetting to formally withdraw an old appointment when circumstances change. If your situation actually calls for professional representation rather than a mailing contact, a MARA-registered migration agent appointed under Form 956 can both receive correspondence and act on the case — Migratio matches you with one and shows consultation fees upfront.

Can my authorised recipient give me migration advice?

No. An authorised recipient under Form 956A can only receive correspondence on your behalf. Giving immigration assistance or advice requires them to be a registered migration agent, legal practitioner or exempt person appointed under Form 956 instead (or as well).

What happens if my authorised recipient doesn't forward a letter to me?

The letter is still legally treated as received by you from the date it reached your authorised recipient, and any deadline attached to it still runs from that date. This is why it matters to nominate someone genuinely reliable and reachable.

Can I appoint more than one authorised recipient?

No. Form 956A's own instructions state you may only appoint one authorised recipient at a time for a particular application or matter — the Department sends documents to whoever was most recently appointed. A dependent applicant aged 16 or over who wants a different recipient needs their own separate Form 956A.

Is Form 956A the same as appointing a migration agent?

No. Form 956A only nominates someone to receive letters. Appointing a migration agent, legal practitioner or exempt person to actually act on your case is done through Form 956 — which can also cover the authorised-recipient role in one step, so agents don't complete a separate 956A for themselves.

How do I remove someone as my authorised recipient?

Complete Part B (Withdrawing an appointment) and the Part C declaration on Form 956A and lodge it the same way you lodged the original appointment. The previous nomination stays legally in effect — including deemed receipt of any documents sent to them — until the withdrawal is processed.

Can a family member be my authorised recipient?

Yes — Form 956A doesn't restrict who can be nominated to receive correspondence. It's a different question from who can be an 'exempt person' giving immigration assistance without registering as a migration agent (a narrower list: close family, a sponsor or nominator, an MP or their staff, certain officials, or diplomatic staff), which only matters if that person is also going to help with your case, not just receive your mail.

Is there a fee for charging someone to be an authorised recipient?

Being an authorised recipient under 956A alone involves no immigration assistance and no fee question. But if an unregistered person crosses into giving immigration assistance as an 'exempt person' and charges for it, that's an offence carrying penalties of up to 10 years' jail under the Migration Act — the form states this explicitly.