Education Agent Australia: How They're Paid, and What They Can't Do
What an education agent actually does, how they're paid, the 2026 ban on paying agents to poach already-enrolled students, and why only a MARA-registered migration agent can legally give you visa advice. Figures as at September 2026.
Read the full guide, with official sources →
Watch
Chapters
- 0:00 Education agent, migration agent: not the same job
- 0:13 What an education agent does
- 0:27 Paid by the provider —
- 0:40 Since 21 January 2026:
- 0:52 Exceptions still apply
- 1:05 Only a registered migration agent
- 1:17 Assessing your visa chances
- 1:27 Check before you commit
- 1:40 Where to read more
Transcript
"Education agent" and "migration agent" get used interchangeably. They're not the same job, and only one of them can legally give you visa advice.
An education agent's job is your enrolment. Matching you to a course and provider, checking entry requirements, lodging the application, and guiding you through your electronic Confirmation of Enrolment, your eCoE.
They're paid commission by the provider when you enrol, not by you. That's why using one shouldn't add a separate fee — but it also means their income depends on you enrolling, not on it being your best option.
Since the twenty first of January, twenty twenty six, Standard 4.7 of the National Code bans a provider from paying an agent commission for recruiting a student who's already studying with another provider.
There are transitional exceptions. Commission can still be paid if the student became accepted on or before the thirty first of March, twenty twenty six, or for the course their visa was actually granted for.
The legal line: under sections 280 and 281 of the Migration Act 1958, only a registered migration agent may give immigration assistance, or charge a fee for it.
If an education agent who isn't MARA-registered tells you what visa to apply for, or fills in your visa forms, that's exactly the conduct the law exists to stop.
Before you commit: ask the provider for their published agent list, ask how your agent is paid, and check any visa advice against a MARN on the OMARA public register — never take a business card's word for it.
The full guide, with the official sources, is on migratio.com.au. The link is in the description. And if you'd like to talk it through, you can compare registered migration agents there, and see their fees before you book anything.
Short versions
- Your education agent can't legally give you visa advice (0:35)
- The 2026 rule on education agent commissions (0:35)
Talk it through with a registered agent
Every agent on Migratio is on the official OMARA register. Compare agents and their consultation fees.