Form 956 Explained: Appointing a Migration Agent With Home Affairs
What Form 956 authorises, the three kinds of representative it covers, how it differs from Form 956A, and why it's worth checking a MARA registration before you sign. Figures as at September 2026.
Read the full guide, with official sources →
Watch
Chapters
- 0:00 Form 956:
- 0:14 Three kinds of representative
- 0:25 Exempt persons are a narrow category —
- 0:37 What an appointed representative can do
- 0:49 Form 956 vs Form 956A
- 1:01 The form itself:
- 1:12 Check the MARN on the official register
- 1:25 The Department still decides the visa —
- 1:36 Changing or ending an appointment
- 1:48 Missing signatures.
- 2:02 Where to read more
Transcript
Before anyone can act for you on a visa case, Home Affairs needs one form on file. It's called Form 956, and it names exactly who is allowed to act.
It can appoint one of three kinds of representative: a registered migration agent with a MARN, an Australian legal practitioner, or a narrow category called an exempt person.
An exempt person is narrow by design — someone who can lawfully give immigration assistance without being a registered agent, such as a member of federal parliament assisting a constituent.
Once Form 956 is lodged, that representative can lodge documents on your behalf, respond to requests for more information, make submissions, and receive the Department's correspondence about your case.
That's not the same as Form 956 A. That form only appoints someone to receive letters — it gives them no authority to give advice or act on the case at all.
The form is free to download and free to lodge. Nobody should ever charge you a fee for the paperwork itself — any fee you agree to pay is for the agent's professional service.
Because this hands someone real authority over your case, check their registration before you sign anything. Every legitimate migration agent has a MARN, searchable on the official register.
Appointing an agent doesn't change who's responsible for the accuracy of your application, and it doesn't decide the outcome. The decision on the visa itself still sits with the Department.
Changing agents means lodging a fresh Form 956 for the new representative. Ending an appointment with nobody replacing them means contacting the Department or ImmiAccount directly.
The most common mistakes are missing signatures, mixing up Form 956 with Form 956 A, and assuming someone is registered without checking. Comparing agents before you sign is worth the few minutes it takes.
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.
Talk it through with a registered agent
Every agent on Migratio is on the official OMARA register. Compare agents and their consultation fees.