What Migration Agents Actually Charge for a Consultation: 674 Real Quotes
Migratio Editorial · Last updated
TL;DR: Across 674 real consultation-fee quotes submitted by 58 MARA-registered agents on Migratio between April and August 2026, the median initial consultation fee was $250, and four out of five quotes fell between $150 and $300. Fees barely differ by visa type — skilled, partner and employer-sponsored consultations all cluster around the same $250 median. These figures cover the initial consultation only, not full case engagements, which are typically quoted separately after a consult.
Almost every guide to migration agent fees relies on estimates, survey anecdotes or a handful of published price lists. This page is different: it reports what agents actually quoted, drawn from Migratio's own marketplace. When an applicant submits a case brief on Migratio, MARA-registered agents respond with the fee they would charge for an initial consultation. Between 29 April and 11 August 2026, that produced 674 quotes of $50 or more from 58 different registered agents — every one attached to a real case, not a survey answer. Here is what that data shows, along with exactly how it was collected and what it does and doesn't cover.
| Where you look | Quotes | Median fee | Middle range | Lowest–highest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skilled (189/190/491) | 237 | $250 | $200–$280 | $100–$500 |
| Partner / family | 116 | $250 | $176–$280 | $100–$500 |
| Employer sponsored | 93 | $250 | $175–$275 | $100–$440 |
| Student / graduate | 56 | $220 | $150–$250 | $150–$500 |
| Parent visas | 13 | $200 | $150–$250 | $110–$350 |
| Citizenship | 11 | $200 | $175–$235 | $100–$350 |
| Refusals / appeals | 10 | $200 | $200–$254 | $150–$350 |
| All case types | 674 | $250 | $175–$280 | $100–$500 |
The headline numbers
Across all 674 quotes, the median initial consultation fee was $250 and the average was $239. The spread is tighter than most people expect: 167 quotes (25%) sat between $150 and $199, 152 (23%) between $200 and $249, 188 (28%) between $250 and $299, and 128 (19%) between $300 and $399. Only 23 quotes (3%) were $400 or more, and only 16 came in under $150.
Put another way: if an agent quotes you somewhere between $150 and $300 for an initial consultation, they are quoting inside the range that four out of five registered agents in this dataset used. Quotes materially above $400 were rare, and quotes below $150 were rarer still.
Fees barely move by visa type
The most surprising finding is how little consultation fees vary by case type. Skilled visa consultations (subclasses 189, 190 and 491), partner visa consultations and employer-sponsored consultations all share the same $250 median. Student and graduate visa consultations ran slightly cheaper at a $220 median, and parent, citizenship and refusal consultations came in around $200 — though those three categories have smaller sample sizes, so treat them as indicative rather than definitive.
This makes sense once you consider what an initial consultation is: a fixed block of the agent's time, usually 30 to 60 minutes, spent understanding the case and explaining the realistic options. The complexity differences between visa types show up later, in the full engagement quote — not in the price of the first conversation.
What this data is — and what it is not
Every figure on this page comes from consultation-fee quotes submitted by MARA-registered agents responding to real applicant briefs on Migratio between 29 April and 11 August 2026. Test records were excluded, as were placeholder quotes under $50. The 674 quotes came from 58 distinct registered agents; no single agent contributed more than a sixth of the dataset. All figures are aggregates — no individual agent's pricing is identifiable.
Two important limits. First, these are quotes for an initial consultation only. A full case engagement — preparing and lodging an application — is typically quoted separately after the consult, and commonly runs into the thousands of dollars depending on the visa type and complexity; our separate guide on migration agent costs covers those ranges. Second, the agents in this dataset chose to respond to briefs on a marketplace, so the sample skews toward agents actively taking on new clients. Fees charged by agents who work purely on referral may differ.
Why consultation fees exist at all
A recurring question from applicants is why an initial conversation costs money at all. The practical answer from the data: a consultation is where a registered agent applies their professional judgement to your specific facts — which pathways are realistic, what the risks and rough costs look like, and what order to do things in. That is regulated migration advice, which only a MARA-registered agent or an Australian legal practitioner can lawfully provide, and it is often the most valuable 45 minutes in the whole process because it can stop you spending thousands on the wrong pathway.
Some agents credit the consultation fee toward the full engagement if you proceed with them — a detail worth asking about directly, since practice varies agent to agent.
How to use these numbers
These figures are a benchmark, not a recommendation — a cheap consultation is not automatically good value and an expensive one is not automatically better. What the data is genuinely useful for is calibration: if you are comparing agents, you now know what the market actually quotes, rather than guessing from a handful of websites that publish prices.
If you want quotes for your own case rather than aggregates, that is exactly what Migratio does: you describe your situation once, and MARA-registered agents respond with their real consultation fee for your case. Comparing them is free, and every agent can be checked against the public register. For the figures on full case engagements — the costs after the consultation — see our migration agent cost guide.
Frequently asked questions
What is the average migration agent consultation fee in Australia?
In Migratio's marketplace data — 674 real quotes from 58 MARA-registered agents between April and August 2026 — the median initial consultation fee was $250 and the average was $239. Four out of five quotes fell between $150 and $300.
Do consultation fees differ by visa type?
Less than you'd expect. Skilled, partner and employer-sponsored consultations all showed a $250 median in our data, with student consultations slightly lower at $220. The big cost differences between visa types appear in the full engagement quote after the consult, not in the consultation itself.
Is the consultation fee the same as the agent's full fee?
No. The consultation fee covers the initial appointment only. Preparing and lodging an application is quoted separately afterwards and typically runs into the thousands of dollars depending on the visa type. Some agents credit the consultation fee toward the full engagement if you proceed — worth asking each agent directly.
Where does this data come from?
From consultation-fee quotes submitted by MARA-registered agents responding to real applicant case briefs on Migratio between 29 April and 11 August 2026. Test records and placeholder quotes under $50 were excluded, and all figures are anonymised aggregates. The dataset will be refreshed as more quotes accumulate.
Compare MARA-registered migration agents
Related: How Much Does a Migration Agent Cost in Australia? · How to Check If Your Migration Agent Is MARA Registered · How to Check If a Migration Agent Is MARA Registered (OMARA Lookup Guide) · The State of Australian Migration Agents in 2026 · Questions to Ask a Migration Agent Before You Hire Them