Do migration agents need a separate client account?

Yes. Section 50 of the Code of Conduct requires client money to be paid into an account with a financial institution, with nothing other than client money paid in, no interest paid in, and money paid out only for fees you are entitled to, payments to the Department or a review authority, agreed disbursements, refunds, or transfers to another registered agent on the client's instruction.

Can a migration agent charge for an initial consultation without a service agreement?

Yes. Section 43 allows advice at a first consultation without a service agreement, but the fee must be reasonable, the agent must give their MARN, the invoice and receipt rules apply, and any money received is treated like client money for refunds.

What is a statement of services?

Under section 313 of the Migration Act 1958, a registered migration agent is not entitled to a fee for immigration assistance unless they give the client a statement of services setting out each service performed and the charge for each.

How quickly must a migration agent pay a refund?

Section 52 requires refunds payable under the service agreement to be paid in line with the agreement and in any case no later than 14 days after they become payable. The agreement must include a fair and reasonable refund policy.

Client money rules for migration agents explained

Sections 43 to 52 of the Code of Conduct and section 313 of the Migration Act set strict rules on fees, client accounts, invoices, receipts and refunds. A plain guide for solo agents.

Money is where a good agent gets into trouble without meaning to. Not through dishonesty, but through a payment taken a day early, a disbursement estimate that was never written down, or a refund that took three weeks because the client account was also the business account.

OMARA’s activity reports keep returning to it. In the second half of 2025, failures involving client money and records were among the conduct behind cancellations and suspensions, and one caution cited a failure to meet financial duties and the invoice and receipt rule. We cover the rest of that report in what OMARA sanctioned in late 2025.

Here are the rules in the order a matter meets them, with the section of the Code of Conduct each comes from.

1. The first consultation has its own rules (section 43)

You can give advice at an initial consultation without a service agreement. But the fee must be reasonable, you must tell the person your MARN, they get an itemised invoice and a receipt, and any money they pay is handled like client money and must be refundable within 14 days if a refund becomes payable.

Only the first consultation on a matter counts. A second meeting, or a second day of the first one, needs an agreement.

2. No money before the agreement (section 51)

You must not receive fees or disbursement money for immigration assistance unless a service agreement covering that assistance is in force. Staff who are not registered agents are covered too: you have to take reasonable steps to stop them taking money early.

The usual way this goes wrong is kindness. A client wants to pay the visa application charge today so it is “sorted”, and the agreement is still in their inbox.

3. The agreement sets the fee and the disbursements (sections 46 to 48)

The agreement must give the fee as an hourly rate with a reasonable time estimate, or as a fixed amount, including GST. Hourly agreements must say the client will not be charged beyond the estimate unless it is updated.

Disbursements need the same care. Each likely disbursement goes in the agreement with an amount or a reasonable estimate, and whether the client pays it directly or you pay it for them. The agreement also needs payment terms and any interest on unpaid amounts.

4. A separate account, used for five purposes only (section 50)

Client money goes into an account with a financial institution, and only client money: not your fees once earned, not interest, not account charges. Money leaves it for five reasons only:

your fees, but only those you are entitled to;
amounts payable to the Department or a review authority;
disbursements under the agreement;
refunds to the client;
transfers to another registered agent, on the client’s instruction.

The total paid out for a purpose cannot be more than was paid in for it. OMARA can ask you to show that you comply.

5. An itemised invoice before you charge, a receipt after they pay (section 49)

You cannot charge a fee or a disbursement unless the client has an itemised invoice describing the work. Once they pay, they get a receipt that names the work and the invoice it relates to.

6. A statement of services before you are entitled to a fee (Migration Act, section 313)

This is the rule most solo agents have never read. Under section 313 of the Act, you are not entitled to a fee for immigration assistance unless you give the client a statement of services setting out each service performed and the charge for each. Section 50 of the Code ties into it: money cannot leave the client account to pay you a fee you are not entitled to under section 313.

In practice, the statement of services is what lets a fee move from client money to your money.

7. Refunds within 14 days (section 52)

The agreement must contain a fair and reasonable refund policy. Refunds that become payable must be paid as the agreement says, and no later than 14 days after they become payable. You also need enough funds available to cover them, which is a real question if client money and business money share an account.

The pattern behind the mistakes

Every rule above is easy on its own. The difficulty is that they have to be followed in order, on every matter, and the information sits in different places: the agreement in a document folder, payments in the bank, invoices in an accounting package, and the matter in a spreadsheet. When those four drift apart, a refund request turns into a day of reconstruction.

The test for any setup is simple. Pick one client. Can you show their signed agreement, every amount received, every invoice, every disbursement paid, the statement of services, and the current balance held for them, in one place, in under five minutes?

How Centrio handles client money

We build Centrio, so weigh this accordingly. It is what the product does today.

The agreement comes first. Onboarding generates the service agreement, and the client signs it in the portal with a recorded signature. The date you gave the Consumer Guide is recorded on the matter.
A client account per matter. Deposits, fees, disbursements, refunds and transfers between matters are recorded against the client, with a running balance.
Itemised invoices with GST, as PDFs, payable by bank transfer, or by card if you connect Stripe.
A statement of services generated from the matter.
Firm-wide reconciliation on one client accounting page, so the total you hold matches the sum of what each client is owed.
No money before the agreement. A fee or disbursement receipt cannot be recorded on a matter until its service agreement is signed.

Centrio does not hold the money; your bank account does. It keeps the record that shows the money was handled in the right order.

If you are a solo agent, the Solo plan is free for one agent and up to 10 clients. If you are choosing between products, our ten checks for migration agent software starts with client money for a reason.

This is general information, not legal, accounting or migration advice. Section numbers are from the Migration (Migration Agents Code of Conduct) Regulations 2021 as compiled at 11 April 2024 and should be checked against the current compilation.

Sources:

Client money for migration agents: the seven rules solo agents get wrong