The Department of Immigration and Border Protection has issued advice to help visa applicants understand how it deals with migrant agents.

Many people applying for visas use a migrant agent, but there have been a number of high profile examples of things going wrong due to rogue agents.

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There have recently been a number of high profile 'rogue agent' cases involving migration agents in Oz​

The DIBP points out that all agents should be registered and if an applicant uses an agent, then the department's first point of contact is the agent rather than the applicants.

'This means that if we want to discuss your visa application, we will generally contact your registered migration agent first rather than you,' said a spokesman.

Depending on the contract of services an applicant has with a registered migration agent, a visa processing officer may discussing the visa application with the agent and send written communication about the application to the agent, if the agent is also the authorised recipient.

Communication with agents can include an acknowledgement of receipt of the applicant's visa application, a formal request for more information in support of the application, and a request for an interview.

Information about any associated bridging visas and work rights while an applicant waits for a decision can also be done via the migration agent, as can the decision to either grant, refuse or cancel a visa application.

'Depending on your contract, your registered migration agent could prepare documents for your visa application such as your visa application form, and other departmental forms and evidence collected from you to support your application,' the DIBP spokesman said.

'Any document they submit to us is regarded as having been sent on your behalf. Registered migration agents must not make statements in support of an application or encourage the making of statements, which they know or believe to be misleading or inaccurate,' he explained.

'If you have appointed your registered migration agent as your authorised recipient, all written communications in relation to your matter, for example visa application or cancellation of a visa, will be sent to them. Most of the time, you will not receive a separate copy of the documents. You are taken to have received any documents sent to your authorised recipient as if they had been sent to you. However, you can request us to provide you with copies,' he pointed out.

'Once you receive an outcome for your visa application, communication between us and your registered migration agent comes to an end. This means that if you want to apply for review of a visa decision or apply for another visa, you will need to re-appoint a registered migration,' he added.