Application errors
Claims that a lodgement, subclass or document error led to a refusal or a loss of status.
Migration Agent Professional Indemnity
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Migration Agent Professional Indemnity
Professional indemnity for registered migration agents and immigration advisers.
Immigration work runs on deadlines that cannot be reopened. A visa lodged in the wrong subclass, a bridging visa allowed to lapse, or a document filed after the cut-off can cost a client their job, their status in Australia and years of planning. Professional indemnity generally responds to claims that an error in that work caused financial loss, subject to the policy terms.
What is it?
Registered migration agents advise on and lodge visa applications, sponsorships, nominations, reviews and citizenship matters. Registration sits with the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority, which requires agents to hold professional indemnity insurance. Australian legal practitioners providing immigration assistance are no longer required to register separately, and their practising certificate carries its own cover obligation instead.
What does migration agent professional indemnity cover?
Missed deadlines
Exposure where a filing, review or bridging visa date was not met.
Eligibility advice
Claims that advice about a client's prospects or visa pathway was wrong.
What affects the cost?
- Client files lodged each year
- Visa categories handled
- Corporate sponsorship and employer work
- Complaint and claims history
- Limit and excess selected
Worth raising on the call
- Cover is claims-made, so the policy in force when the complaint lands is the one that matters.
- Costs of responding to a regulator complaint are handled differently between wordings.
- A fee refund a client demands is not always treated as a claim for damages.
Claims we are commonly asked about
Bridging visa allowed to lapse
A substantive application is lodged after the cut-off, the bridging visa ceases and the client becomes unlawful and loses work rights. The claim generally covers lost income, the cost of restoring status and in some cases relocation for the family.
Application lodged in the wrong stream
A skilled applicant is lodged under a stream they do not meet, the application is refused, and the occupation list has moved by the time the error is identified. The application charge is usually the smallest part of the loss compared with the pathway that is now closed.
Nomination fails on evidence
An employer sponsorship or nomination is filed without the labour market testing or salary evidence required, the nomination is refused and the employer loses the worker. Employer clients commonly claim recruitment costs and the disruption to the role.
Worth confirming in the wording
- Worth confirming whether the limit and terms meet the professional indemnity requirement attached to your OMARA registration for the current period.
- Worth confirming whether the cost of responding to an OMARA complaint or professional conduct investigation is covered, and to what sublimit.
- Worth confirming how the policy treats a client demanding a refund of your professional fees, since fee disputes are commonly not treated as a claim for damages.
Common questions
Do registered migration agents have to hold professional indemnity?
Registration with the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority carries a professional indemnity insurance requirement, and evidence is generally needed at registration and renewal. Australian legal practitioners providing immigration assistance are no longer required to register separately and are covered by their practising certificate obligations instead. Check the current OMARA requirement each renewal rather than relying on an older schedule.
Does it cover a visa that gets refused?
Not simply because an application was unsuccessful. The policy generally responds where a client alleges that an error, omission or wrong advice on your part caused the refusal or the loss that followed. A refusal on the applicant's own merits or a change in policy settings is usually not a professional failure, subject to the policy terms.
I am a lawyer doing migration work, is my practice cover enough?
It often is, because practising certificates carry their own compulsory professional indemnity arrangements. What is worth confirming is that immigration assistance is within the scope of the practice policy and that any non-legal migration entity you operate is also covered. Where work is split across two entities, the split is what usually creates a gap.
What does migration agent professional indemnity cost?
It depends on the practice rather than a fixed figure. Insurers rate on the number of files lodged each year, the visa categories handled, corporate sponsorship and employer work, complaint and claims history, and the limit and excess selected. Complex employer sponsored and review work generally rates differently to straightforward visitor and partner applications.
General information only. Cover, limits and exclusions depend on the PDS, TMD, eligibility, underwriting and the policy terms. See professional indemnity insurance for the wider picture.
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