Who can lawfully help with Australia's 408 Workplace Justice visa in 2026? Agents, lawyers and Forms 956/956A

Two different questions hide inside "who can help me", and they have two different answers. Anyone you choose may be appointed to receive documents and correspondence for you, but only a registered migration agent, a legal practitioner, or an exempt person may be appointed to give you immigration assistance on a Temporary Activity visa (subclass 408) in the Australian Government Endorsed Events (Workplace Justice Pilot) stream. That rule comes from the Department of Home Affairs official page for Australian Government Endorsed Events (Workplace Justice Pilot) (Subclass Temporary Activity visa (subclass 408)), as of the July 2026 official page, and the same page tells applicants to read its guidance on who can help with a visa application before paying anyone. What follows is general explanation of that framework, not advice tailored to your circumstances; where your own status is at stake, treat the official pages as the controlling text and get help from someone in one of the categories described below.

What is the difference between giving immigration assistance and receiving documents?

The distinction matters because it decides which form you file and who you are allowed to name on it.

The official page separates the two roles:

Receiving documents on your behalf — correspondence about your visa application going to a person you nominate. The page says you can appoint anyone for this.
Immigration assistance — the help that only registered migration agents, legal practitioners and exempt persons may be appointed to provide.

So paying a friend, a community advocate or an unregistered consultant to do the second kind of work is not the arrangement the page describes. Assume an applicant asks a friend with good English to handle the paperwork and explain the visa criteria: the friend can be the authorised recipient for letters and requests, but the applicant cannot use the appointment form for immigration assistance to name them.

What you want the person to do	Who may do it	Form used
Receive correspondence about the application	Anyone you appoint (authorised recipient)	Form 956A Appointment or withdrawal of an authorised recipient
Provide immigration assistance	Registered migration agent, legal practitioner, or exempt person	Form 956 Appointment of a registered migration agent, legal practitioner or exempt person

Who counts as a registered migration agent, legal practitioner or exempt person?

The subclass 408 page names the three categories and links each to its own Home Affairs explanation under "Who can help with your application": using a migration agent, using a legal practitioner, and exempt person. It does not set out their definitions on that page, so the practical reading is:

a registered migration agent is the registration-based category, and registration is what makes the appointment on Form 956 lawful;
a legal practitioner is a separate category from a migration agent — you are not required to use an agent rather than a lawyer;
an exempt person is a separate category again, for people who may assist without being registered agents.

Because each category has its own official page and its own eligibility conditions, the safe check before you sign anything is whether the person actually falls inside one of the three — not whether they describe themselves as experienced.

Which form do I file, and where does it go?

Both forms are uploaded to ImmiAccount, the online system used to lodge the application. The official page directs applicants to upload the written notification or the forms to ImmiAccount.

Nominating someone to receive your correspondence — Form 956A.
Nominating someone to provide immigration assistance — Form 956.

The timing is your choice, but the forms are what put the arrangement on the record; without them the department has no appointment of an authorised recipient or of a person providing immigration assistance.

Does the Workplace Justice stream change who can help?

No — the same three categories apply. What the stream changes is the evidence you must hold before you can lodge at all, and that evidence interacts with who helps you:

You must report your workplace exploitation to a participating government agency or an accredited third party so they can help resolve the claim, including certifying it.
You must have certification of your workplace exploitation claim given by a participating government agency or an accredited third party, and attach the certification when you lodge. The official page points to the legislative instrument for Who can certify your claim (F2024L00918) on this question.
You must apply online, and be in Australia but not in immigration clearance when you apply.
You must hold a temporary substantive visa with work rights with no more than 28 days remaining, or have held one that ceased within 28 days.
You must maintain adequate health insurance during your stay.
You must remain temporarily in Australia to pursue your workplace exploitation claim, and include members of your family unit in the application if they are in Australia.

The visa allows a stay of 6 months, or up to 12 months depending on your circumstances. None of this alters the rule that immigration assistance may only come from the three named categories.

How do I end or change the arrangement?

The "after you apply" part of the official page sets out three separate endings, and they are not interchangeable:

To stop someone receiving your correspondence — complete Form 956A, which covers appointment or withdrawal of an authorised recipient.
To stop someone providing immigration advice — complete Form 956, described there as Advice by a migration agent/exempt person of providing immigration assistance.
To stop someone acting for you — let the department know in writing by uploading your advice in ImmiAccount.

If the fee has been paid and the application is refused, the official page states that the application fee will not be refunded.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a friend or relative prepare and lodge my 408 Workplace Justice application for me?

They can be appointed to receive your correspondence, because the official page says you can appoint anyone to receive documents on your behalf. They cannot be appointed to give immigration assistance unless they are a registered migration agent, a legal practitioner, or an exempt person. Use Form 956A for the first role and Form 956 only for the second.

Do I have to use an agent or lawyer at all?

Nothing on the official page requires you to appoint anyone. The application is lodged online through ImmiAccount, and the forms exist for applicants who choose to nominate a recipient or a person providing immigration assistance.

Which form appoints a migration agent or lawyer?

Form 956 — Appointment of a registered migration agent, legal practitioner or exempt person. It is the form for immigration assistance, not for a person who simply receives letters for you.

Can I withdraw an authorised recipient later?

Yes. Form 956A is the Appointment or withdrawal of an authorised recipient, so the same form both appoints and ends that role. Ending immigration advice is handled through Form 956, and ending someone acting for you is done by written notice uploaded to ImmiAccount.

Is a lawyer acceptable, or does it have to be a migration agent?

Both are named separately on the official page: a legal practitioner is its own category alongside a registered migration agent and an exempt person. The choice is yours, but the person must actually fall within one of the three.

Who certifies the workplace exploitation claim for this stream?

Certification must be given by a participating government agency or an accredited third party, and it must be attached when you lodge. The official page refers readers to the legislative instrument for Who can certify your claim (F2024L00918); because the list of certifiers sits in that instrument, check the official latest published version.

If my application is refused, do I get the fee back?

No. The official page states that the application fee will not be refunded if the application is refused.