Get help with migration
Get help with migration
Call us for free information and advice about the law and how we can help you with your immigration problem. If we can’t help you we can refer you to other organisations that can.
Phone 1300 792 387, Monday to Friday from 8 am to 6 pm.
If you need an interpreter let us know. Read how to get help for people with hearing or speech difficulties.
In some cases may be able to help you with an appeal to the Federal Circuit Court. If we can’t help you we can refer you to other organisations that can.
Other organisations that can help
Refugee and Immigration Legal Centre
The Refugee and Immigration Legal Centre is a community legal centre that specialises in legal advice and representation in relation to refugee and general immigration matters. The centre offers a casework and advice service for asylum seekers and disadvantaged migrants in the community and in immigration detention. Services are free.
Asylum Seeker Resource Centre
The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre provides legal advice and advocacy, aid and health services for asylum seekers living in the community and in detention.
Other legal services
Your local community legal centre can also give you legal information and advice. Most services are free.
You can also find a private lawyer near you through the Law Institute of Victoria’s Legal Referral Service. All law firms included in the Legal Referral Service provide a free 30-minute interview. If you book an interview, write your questions down beforehand, so you get as much out of the free 30 minutes as possible. If you discuss getting further help from the lawyer, make sure you know how much it will cost.
Migration Agents Registration Authority
The Migration Agents Registration Authority handles complaints about the conduct of registered migration agents. It can’t help you with complaints about agents who are not registered.
If you are unhappy with the service you receive or you feel your agent has breached the code of conduct, you can lodge a complaint with the Migration Agents Registration Authority. Where agents are found to be dishonest, incompetent or in breach of the code of conduct they can be cautioned or their registration can be suspended or cancelled.
The authority does not have the power to make the agent give you a refund, pay compensation or issue criminal penalties. It does not give legal advice. Most complaints are handled within six months but may take up to 12 months.