The service agreement: what the Code actually requires in it

Written for registered migration agents, and for lawyers who want to see how the Code frames the same ground their own costs rules cover.

Most disciplinary outcomes in this profession are not about migration law. They are about paperwork done in the wrong order. The sequence below is the whole of it.

The order#

Nothing in that list is difficult. What makes it dangerous is that it is a sequence, and a busy practice under pressure takes a deposit on Tuesday and sends the agreement on Friday.

What a compliant agreement contains#

The parties. Your full name, your MARN, your business name and ABN. The client's full name. If you are acting for several applicants, name them.

The scope, as a list. Not "assistance with your partner visa application" but the actual tasks: initial assessment, document checklist, preparation of forms, preparation of the evidence bundle, lodgement, responding to requests for further information, and so on.

The exclusions, as a separate list. This is the single most valuable clause in the document for both sides. Tribunal review, a second stage, a bridging visa application, a change of circumstances, a new applicant, a second request for information — say which are out.

The fee. Fixed, or hourly with an estimate of hours. Inclusive of GST. If hourly, say what happens when the estimate is reached: the answer must be that you tell the client before, not after.

Disbursements. Itemised, with estimates, and identified as third-party costs. The visa application charge belongs here, separately, with the number of applicants it assumes.

The payment schedule. Amounts, timing and what each is for. Tie stages to work, not to dates.

Client money. State that unearned money is held in a client account until earned.

Refunds and termination. What happens if the client withdraws, if you terminate, if circumstances change, if the visa is refused.

Communication. How you will keep them informed, and how quickly you normally reply. Section 45 requires you to keep them informed; committing to an interval makes it concrete.

Complaints. Your process, and the fact that they can go to OMARA regardless.

Documents and records. Return within 14 days on request (s54), file retained for seven years (s56).

The five mistakes that show up in decisions#

1. Money before the agreement#

The one that ends careers. A "consultation fee" taken on the first call, a deposit to hold a spot, a payment on the day the client says yes with the agreement sent the following week. Section 51 has no de minimis. If you want to charge for a consultation, send a short written agreement covering the consultation, get it signed, then take the money.

2. An hourly rate with no estimate#

Section 46 requires the estimate. A rate card is not an estimate. If the matter genuinely cannot be scoped, scope the first phase and re-quote.

3. A scope that does not say what is excluded#

Not itself a breach, but it is the source of most complaints and most fee disputes — and a fee dispute is how a complaint about something else usually starts.

4. Client money in the general account#

Section 50 is not a bookkeeping preference. Money paid for work not yet performed, and money paid for a disbursement not yet made, is the client's money.

5. No invoice, or an invoice after the payment#

Section 49 requires the itemised invoice before the payment and the receipt after. Both, in that order, every time — including for the visa application charge you are paying on their behalf.

Where the platform does it for you#

VisaBid generates the service agreement from the accepted quote, which removes the most common drafting error of all: an agreement that says something different from what the client was told. The clauses come from the quote's own scope, exclusions, disbursements and payment stages.

Then the software refuses to run the sequence out of order:

• The consumer guide is acknowledged, or no agreement can be issued.
• The agreement is signed by both parties, or no invoice can exist.
• Every payment is invoiced before and receipted after.
• The client-money position is stated in the agreement, and the platform never holds the money — your client pays you directly against your invoice, into your account, subject to your section 50 obligations.

There is no override. There is no admin switch. A client who is asked for money before the agreement is signed is not using this platform.

What it does not do#

It does not draft your professional judgement, it does not decide your fee, and it does not make the file competent. It removes the administrative failures, which are most of what goes wrong — not the professional ones, which are yours.

Questions people ask#

Does the platform's agreement replace my own?#

It is a complete agreement for the engagement arranged through the platform. If your practice has clauses you need — a conflicts declaration for a particular matter type, a specific communication protocol — you can add them. What you cannot do is remove a clause the Code requires.

Can I take a deposit before the client signs?#

No. Section 51 is unqualified: not before the services agreement is in place. This is the single most common breach in the disciplinary record.

What about lawyers?#

Australian legal practitioners came off the OMARA register on 22 March 2021 and are not bound by this Code. Your costs disclosure obligations, trust account rules and conduct rules under the Legal Profession Uniform Law cover much of the same ground and in several respects go further. The platform's sequence satisfies both; it is built to the stricter of the two at each step.

Is a digital signature enough?#

Section 42 requires a written agreement signed by both parties. A recorded, timestamped, auditable electronic signature is ordinarily sufficient, and it is what the platform captures. If you have a reason to want wet ink on a particular matter, use it — nothing here prevents that.

Who keeps the file for seven years?#

You do. Section 56 is your obligation, not the platform's. VisaBid keeps its own record of the engagement and gives you a full export at any time, which makes discharging that obligation easier — but the duty stays with you.