Home Affairs does not require a lawyer for a 482 visa, but the sponsorship, the nomination and the visa are three linked approvals, and an Australian migration lawyer makes a successful result more likely at each one. Advice on your own circumstances is immigration assistance under s 276 of the Migration Act 1958, and an Australian legal practitioner may give it in connection with legal practice (s 280(3)). Australian Migration Lawyers gives Home Affairs a Form 956 signed by both of you to record the appointment.
Unregistered agents
An unregistered agent who gives immigration assistance on a sponsorship, nomination or visa is breaking the law (Migration Act 1958 s 280). They also carry no professional indemnity insurance, so if their mistake leads to a refusal, lost fees or a closed pathway, the worker or employer has no insurer to claim against. A practising Australian lawyer must carry that insurance.
Worth knowing
This guide explains the rules and is not advice about your situation. Enquiries from this site go to Australian Migration Lawyers, the trading name of Australian Legal Partnership Pty Ltd (ACN 656 815 539), the registered law firm behind this guide.
Who can give immigration assistance?
Immigration assistance means using knowledge of migration procedure to prepare, or advise on, a visa application or a sponsorship or nomination, or to represent someone before the ART or a court (s 276(1)–(2) of the Migration Act 1958). Help with an employer’s sponsorship and nomination documents is immigration assistance too. Clerical work, translation and passing on information are not (s 276(3)).
Giving it is restricted to an Australian legal practitioner with a restricted or unrestricted practising certificate, in connection with legal practice (s 280(3); Home Affairs using a legal practitioner).
What does a migration lawyer do at each approval?
| Item | Amount | Applies from | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard business sponsorship application | $420 | current | Home Affairs: cost of sponsoring |
| Core Skills Income Threshold (CSIT) | $79,423 | 1 July 2026 | Home Affairs: salary requirements |
| Specialist Skills Income Threshold (SSIT) | $146,576 | 1 July 2026 | Home Affairs: salary requirements |
| Administrative Review Tribunal fee, migration (Part 5) decision | $3,727 | current | Administrative Review Tribunal: fees |
| Time to apply to the ART for review of a reviewable migration decision (nomination, sponsorship, onshore visa), person not in detention | 28 days | current | Migration Act 1958, s 347(3)(b) |
| Time to respond to a notice of intention to consider cancellation, holder in Australia | 5 working days | current | Migration Regulations 1994, reg 2.44(2)(a) |
| Longest single break from sponsored work (condition 8607) | 180 days | 1 July 2024 | Migration Regulations 1994, Sch 8 cond 8607 |
| Total break from sponsored work allowed across the visa (condition 8607) | 365 days | 1 July 2024 | Migration Regulations 1994, Sch 8 cond 8607 |
| Approval | What a migration lawyer does | Common failure (and the rule behind it) |
|---|---|---|
| Standard business sponsorship | Checks the business is lawfully operating, any adverse information and, for an Australian business, its record of or commitment to employing local labour; prepares the application ($420) | Refusal for no lawful operation or for adverse information (reg 2.59); an overseas business refused approval has no ART review (reg 4.02(4A)) |
| Nomination | Sets the salary against the annual market salary rate and the CSIT of $79,423 or SSIT of $146,576; runs labour market testing (2 ads, each open 4 weeks, within the 4 months before lodging); checks the occupation, its caveats and the genuine position; works out the SAF levy | Generic salary surveys only, on which Home Affairs states it may refuse (salary requirements page); ads outside the window (LIN 18/036); a caveat that applies (LIN 24/089 s 7); a wrong turnover figure, where the levy can be refunded only if the nomination is withdrawn before a decision (reg 2.73AA(3A)) |
| Visa | Checks work experience (1 year in the last 5 years), English, any mandatory skills assessment, health, character and insurance; lodges in the right stream | A mandatory skills assessment not started before lodging makes the application invalid (IMMI 18/039; Core Skills stream page); a fully online English test is not accepted (sufficient English page) |
| Change of employer and the break limits | Sequences the new nomination with the worker’s last day and the break days already used | Starting before the new nomination is approved (change-in-situation page); passing 180 days in a row or 365 days in total (cond 8607(5)) |
| Notice of intention to cancel | Drafts the written response and gathers evidence, including workplace-exploitation certificates | Missing the 5 working days (reg 2.44), after which Home Affairs may decide without further action (ss 123–124) |
| ART review | Confirms the decision is reviewable and who applies; lodges and pays by the deadline; prepares evidence for the refused criterion | Applying after 28 days, which the ART cannot extend (s 347(5)) |
When does a migration lawyer matter most?
Where a deadline or a legal test decides the outcome:
- A refusal, where review is due within 28 days; the criteria behind most refusals are under 482 visa refusal reasons.
- A notice of intention to cancel, which a holder in Australia has 5 working days to answer (reg 2.44).
- A sponsor facing a bar or cancellation, which affects every worker it sponsors; see sponsor sanctions.
- A review at the ART, where the evidence has to answer the exact criterion refused; see 482 visa review.
Time limit
ART review: 28 days after notification. Response to a notice of intention to cancel: 5 working days for a holder in Australia.
An Australian migration lawyer makes success more likely where a deadline or a legal test decides the outcome, such as an ART application within 28 days, a response to a cancellation notice within 5 working days, or a salary and labour market testing record that has to stand up at nomination.
How is an Australian migration lawyer appointed?
- Send an enquiry through the form on this page.
- Agree the work and the fee in writing in the firm’s Costs Agreement before any assistance is given, including which of the sponsorship, nomination and visa applications the fee covers.
- Sign Form 956 with the lawyer, who sends it to Home Affairs to record the appointment.
- Decide on an authorised recipient. Form 956A names or removes an authorised recipient. Letters sent to that person are taken to reach you, so review and response deadlines start when they receive them (Migration Act s 494D).
What does a migration lawyer charge?
Home Affairs publishes no government fee scale for immigration assistance, so the fee is whatever the lawyer and the client agree. Ask for it in writing before work starts, as an hourly rate with an estimate of time or as a fixed fee, and check which of the three 482 applications it covers.
Government charges are separate: the visa application charge of $4,015, the nomination fee of $330 and the Skilling Australians Fund levy. A sponsor must not pass its sponsorship costs, including the fees of its own lawyer or other adviser, to the worker (Home Affairs sponsor obligations page; reg 2.87).
Why use an Australian migration lawyer for a 482?
Home Affairs does not require one, but a 482 is three approvals in a fixed order, and a mistake in the sponsorship or nomination stops the visa. The applicant stays responsible for accurate information whether or not a lawyer helps, and false information leads to refusal or cancellation (public interest criterion 4020). An Australian migration lawyer checks each criterion before lodgement and keeps the three applications consistent. No one can fast-track or guarantee a visa (Home Affairs guidance on paid help with an application).
Common mistakes
- Paying before checking who is giving the advice. Confirm the practising certificate first.
- Trusting a promise to fast-track or guarantee a visa. Home Affairs says a person who makes that promise “is lying and may be trying to scam you”.
- Starting without the work and the fees in writing.
- A worker paying for the employer’s lawyer. The sponsor must not recover its sponsorship costs, including its professional or adviser costs, from the worker (Home Affairs sponsor obligations page; reg 2.87).
- Forgetting the authorised recipient. Deadlines start when letters reach that person (s 494D); change it with Form 956A.
- Thinking the lawyer carries the responsibility for the information. The applicant still does (public interest criterion 4020).
Ask about your 482 case
The enquiry form at the end of this page sends your question to Australian Migration Lawyers. Sending an enquiry does not commit you to anything. What to include, and who reads it, is explained under ask about your 482 case.
In this section
Questions people ask
How much does a migration lawyer charge for a 482?
No government fee scale is published. Ask for the fee in writing before any work starts, as an hourly rate with an estimate of time or as a fixed fee, and check which of the three 482 applications it covers.
Can a lawyer help with a 482 visa?
Yes. An Australian legal practitioner with a restricted or unrestricted practising certificate may give immigration assistance in connection with legal practice without any separate registration (Migration Act 1958 s 280(3)).
Who pays for a 482 visa application?
The sponsor pays its sponsorship, nomination and levy costs, and the fees of any lawyer or adviser it engages for them, and must not pass them to the worker. The visa application charge is not in that list.
Do I need a lawyer for a 482 visa?
Home Affairs does not require one. A 482 is three linked approvals, though, and an Australian migration lawyer makes a successful sponsorship, nomination and visa more likely.