Who Can Help With a Subclass 802 Application in 2026 — and What Forms 956/956A Do

On a Child visa (Subclass 802) application, only three categories of people may be appointed to give you immigration assistance: a registered migration agent, a legal practitioner, or an exempt person. Anyone at all may be appointed to receive documents on your behalf. That distinction — assistance versus correspondence — is what separates Form 956 from Form 956A. This follows the Department of Home Affairs' official Child visa (Subclass 802) page, as of the August 2026 version of that page.

The rules below are general information about how the published requirements fit together, not advice about any one family's case; for a specific situation the department's own pages and a suitably qualified professional remain the reference point.

Who is allowed to give immigration assistance?

The department's Step 1 for this visa is blunt about it: "Only some people can help you with your application." If you appoint someone to give immigration assistance, that person must be one of the following.

A registered migration agent — a person registered to give immigration assistance.
A legal practitioner — a lawyer entitled to practise.
An exempt person — someone who falls into an exempt category rather than being registered.

Each of these three has its own departmental explanation page, and the common thread is that the department recognises the category, not the individual's marketing. The condition attaches to who may be appointed for assistance; the official page sets no fee scale for what any of them charge you.

What is the difference between an authorised recipient and a migration agent?

This is the part applicants most often conflate. An authorised recipient is a postal and communications channel. A migration agent (or lawyer, or exempt person) is someone permitted to do immigration work on the file.

Role	Who can do it	Form	What it covers
Give immigration assistance / immigration advice	Registered migration agent, legal practitioner, or exempt person	Form 956	Helping with and advising on the visa matter
Receive documents and correspondence	Anyone you appoint	Form 956A	Departmental correspondence about your visa matter

The practical consequence: you can ask a relative, a friend, or a support worker to receive letters without them needing any registration, because receiving correspondence is not immigration assistance. The moment the same person starts preparing or advising on the application for payment, they have to fall into one of the three recognised categories and be appointed on Form 956.

Which form do you actually need — 956 or 956A?

Match the form to what the person will do.

Form 956 — Appointment of a registered migration agent, legal practitioner or exempt person. Use this when someone will provide immigration assistance. The title itself lists the three eligible categories, which is a useful check: if the person you are appointing is not one of those three, Form 956 is not the right instrument.

Form 956A — Appointment or withdrawal of an authorised recipient. Use this when someone will receive your correspondence. Any person can be named.

Both forms work in both directions. The department's post-application guidance asks you to notify it if you no longer want someone to receive your correspondence (Form 956A) or to provide immigration advice (Form 956), so appointment and withdrawal run through the same pair of forms.

How do these forms reach the department on a paper application?

Subclass 802 is a paper visa. You complete Form 47CH (Application for migration to Australia by a child) and Form 40CH (Sponsorship for a child to migrate to Australia), both in English, and send them together. Payment is made before submission through the online portal payment function in ImmiAccount, and evidence of payment goes in with the application. The package goes by post or courier to the Child and Other Family Processing Centre in Perth, at the address printed on the form; it cannot be lodged in person.

The appointment forms travel with it. The department's instruction is to send written notification or your forms with your paper application, so Form 956 or Form 956A should be inside the same envelope rather than sent separately. Only certified copies of supporting documents should be sent — no originals.

What if you appoint or remove someone after lodging?

Changes are handled in writing. If you have imported the paper application into your ImmiAccount after receiving the acknowledgement letter, the completed form can be uploaded there. If you cannot use ImmiAccount, the completed form is attached to the Child and Orphan Relative Visa Processing Centre online form.

Importing the application is worth doing regardless of who is helping you: it is what gives you access to attaching documents, viewing messages and application status, updating details, and applying for or withdrawing through online services. Having an agent or authorised recipient does not move the lodgement off paper or onto an online form.

Things worth checking before you pay anyone

Ask which of the three categories the person claims: registered migration agent, legal practitioner, or exempt person. If the answer is none of them, they cannot be appointed on Form 956.
Check that the appointment you sign matches the work being done — an authorised recipient appointment is not a substitute for a Form 956 appointment.
Remember that the child must be in Australia, and not in immigration clearance, both when the application is submitted and when the decision is made. No agent appointment changes that.
Keep your own copy of the application, the supporting documents, and any appointment form you sign.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a friend or relative be paid to fill in the subclass 802 forms?

Only if they are a registered migration agent, a legal practitioner, or an exempt person. Those are the three categories the department allows for giving immigration assistance, and that is the work Form 956 appoints someone to do.

Can I appoint someone just to receive letters?

Yes. Any person can be appointed to receive documents on your behalf relating to your visa matter, and you do that with Form 956A. Receiving correspondence is treated differently from giving immigration assistance.

What does an authorised recipient actually get?

They receive departmental documents and correspondence about the visa matter, which is why the form is titled "Appointment or withdrawal of an authorised recipient". It does not authorise them to prepare or advise on the application.

How do I remove someone I have appointed?

You notify the department using the same form you used to appoint them: Form 956A if they were receiving your correspondence, Form 956 if they were providing immigration advice. Both forms cover withdrawal as well as appointment.

Does appointing an agent change how the application is lodged?

No. The application still goes on paper — Form 47CH plus Form 40CH, paid through ImmiAccount before submission, posted or couriered to the Perth processing centre. An appointment form is simply part of what you send with it.

If the child's visa is refused, is the application charge refunded?

No. The department states that it will not refund the application charge if it refuses the application, and it will advise why it refused and any review rights.