Who Is Allowed to Give Immigration Help on a Subclass 836 in 2026?

On a Carer visa (Subclass 836) application, only three kinds of people can be appointed to give you immigration assistance: a registered migration agent, a legal practitioner, or an exempt person. This is the position set out on the Australian Department of Home Affairs' Carer visa (Subclass 836) official page, as of July 2026. A separate and much wider group — effectively anyone you choose — may be appointed to receive documents on your behalf, and the two roles use two different forms.

Who exactly are the three permitted categories?

The Department's page lists the categories without ranking them. Each one is described on its own Home Affairs page.

Registered migration agent — a person registered to give immigration assistance.
Legal practitioner — a lawyer, dealt with separately from migration agents on the Department's "using a legal practitioner" page.
Exempt person — a category the Department defines on its "exempt person" page.

The wording on the Carer visa page is conditional: if you appoint someone to give you immigration assistance, they must fall into one of those three. There is no fourth category listed.

What is the difference between immigration assistance and receiving documents?

This is the distinction that most Subclass 836 applicants get wrong, and it is the one the Department draws explicitly.

Providing immigration assistance is restricted to the three categories above. Receiving correspondence about your visa matter is not: the Department states you can appoint anyone to receive documents on your behalf relating to your visa matter. A relative who collects your letters, scans them, and posts them to you is doing something different from a person who advises you on what to write, how to frame your claims, or what evidence to gather.

Form titles make the split concrete. Form 956 is titled "Appointment of a registered migration agent, legal practitioner or exempt person." Form 956A is titled "Appointment or withdrawal of an authorised recipient." The form you need tells you which side of the line the person sits on.

Which form does what?

What you want	Form to use	What it does
Someone to give immigration assistance	Form 956	Appoints a registered migration agent, legal practitioner, or exempt person
Someone to receive your correspondence	Form 956A	Appoints an authorised recipient
Stop someone receiving correspondence	Form 956A	Withdraws an authorised recipient
Stop someone giving immigration advice	Form 956	Ends the appointment for immigration assistance

You only need the form that matches the role you actually want to give. If you want one person to do both jobs, both appointments sit in these two forms rather than in one combined document.

How do you make the appointment on a paper application?

A Subclass 836 must be applied for on paper, using Form 47OF, sent by post or courier to the Child and Other Family Processing Centre in Perth. Your appointment forms travel with it.

Complete Form 956 if you want someone to provide immigration assistance.
Complete Form 956A if you only want someone to receive your correspondence.
Attach the completed form or forms to your paper application.
Send the application, with Form 47OF and your supporting documents, to the address on the form.
Keep a copy of the completed application and supporting documents for your own records.
After you receive your acknowledgement letter, import the application into ImmiAccount using your application ID, date of birth, and identity document number.
Use ImmiAccount to upload any further forms or documents after that point.

If you cannot use ImmiAccount, the Department directs you to attach completed forms to the Other Family Visa Processing Centre online form instead.

Can you change or end the appointment later?

Yes, and the mechanism is the same pair of forms. The Department asks you to let it know if you no longer want someone to receive your correspondence (Form 956A) or to provide immigration advice (Form 956). Upload the completed form in ImmiAccount, or attach it to the Other Family Visa Processing Centre online form.

Ending an appointment does not by itself remove the rest of your obligations. You still have to tell the Department about changes such as a new address, phone number or passport, a change in marital or de facto status, the birth of a child, or that you want to withdraw the application.

Does appointing someone change what you must prove?

No. The appointment governs who may act or advise for you; it does not move any part of the substantive case onto them. The carer relationship, the Bupa Medical Visa Services certificate, identity documents, character documents, and the sponsorship all remain yours to satisfy.

Timing matters here. The Department will not accept the application unless the Bupa assessment process has at least begun, and if you did not provide the medical certificate when you applied, you should provide it within 3 months of applying. If the certificate is still missing when the decision is made, the visa will not be granted.

This article describes how the Department's published rules are framed and is general information only; it is not advice about your own circumstances, and because categories, forms and contact arrangements can change, the current official pages should be treated as the authority.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a family member receive my letters without being registered?

Yes. The Department states you can appoint anyone to receive documents on your behalf relating to your visa matter, and you do this with Form 956A. Receiving correspondence is a separate function from giving immigration assistance, which is limited to registered migration agents, legal practitioners, and exempt persons.

What if the person helping me is not in any of the three categories?

The Carer visa page requires that anyone you appoint to give you immigration assistance be a registered migration agent, a legal practitioner, or an exempt person. Form 956 has no option for appointing anyone outside those categories, so an appointment outside them does not fit the framework the Department provides.

Do I need both Form 956 and Form 956A?

Only if you want both roles filled. Use Form 956 for immigration assistance and Form 956A for an authorised recipient who receives correspondence. If you need just one of those functions, lodge just the matching form.

How do I stop someone from acting for me?

Complete the same form again: Form 956 to end immigration assistance, or Form 956A to withdraw an authorised recipient. Upload it in ImmiAccount if you have imported your application, or attach it to a completed Other Family Visa Processing Centre online form.

Is a lawyer treated the same as a migration agent?

They are listed as two separate categories on the Department's page — legal practitioner and registered migration agent — alongside exempt persons. Form 956 is the appointment form for all three, so the paperwork is the same even though the categories are not.

Do I have to appoint anyone at all?

No. Appointing someone is optional, and the Department's guidance is conditional on your choosing to appoint a person. If you apply on your own, you simply lodge the paper application yourself and deal with the Department directly.