When must a migration agent give a client the consumer guide?

The consumer guide is not a discretionary handout. The Code of Conduct treats it as a precondition: a migration agent must not give immigration assistance to a client until a copy of the guide has been given to that client. The service agreement then has to carry a statement that this happened, with an express cross-reference back to the same provision. The instrument sets the order — guide, then assistance, with the agreement recording the fact.

The quotations below are from the compilation of the Code in force from 1 April 2026.

1. The rule: no immigration assistance until the guide has been given

“A migration agent must not give immigration assistance to a client unless a copy of the consumer guide has been given to the client.”

Three features of that sentence carry the obligation.

• It restricts giving immigration assistance itself, not entering into paperwork. A signed agreement that references the guide does not satisfy a provision aimed at the assistance.
• The words are “must not”, and the condition is stated without qualification. No exception is written into the provision.
• The condition is that a copy “has been given to the client” — a completed act, delivered to the client, before the assistance is given.

Section 42(1) imposes the same gate for the service agreement, as a separate precondition:

“Subject to section 43, a migration agent must not give immigration assistance to a client unless:”

Paragraph (a) of that subsection requires a service agreement covering the assistance to be in force. Two separate things must therefore be in place before assistance is given: the guide, under s 38, and the agreement, under s 42(1). Neither substitutes for the other.

2. Which guide: produced under the Migration Agents Regulations 2026

Section 38 carries two notes that identify the document and where it is published.

“The Authority arranges for the production of the consumer guide: see subsection 43(1) of the Migration Agents Regulations 2026.”

“The consumer guide could in 2026 be viewed on the Authority’s website (http://www.mara.gov.au).”

Note 1 identifies the document s 38 refers to. It is produced under the Migration Agents Regulations 2026, arranged by the Authority — OMARA. Note 2 records where the guide could be viewed in 2026: the Authority’s website at mara.gov.au. An agent checking for the current edition starts there.

3. The service agreement must state that the guide was given

Subsection 42(3) lists what a service agreement must include. Item (d) is the consumer guide statement, and it points back to s 38.

“The service agreement must include the following:”

“a statement that a copy of the consumer guide has been given to the client (see section 38);”

The cross-reference is explicit: the statement the agreement must contain is a statement about the act s 38 requires. The agreement documents the delivery; it does not perform it, and it does not replace it. An agreement missing the statement does not meet s 42(3), and a statement in an agreement does not satisfy s 38 if the guide was never given.

4. The initial consultation exemption is about the agreement, not the guide

Section 43(1) relieves agents of the service agreement requirement for advice at a first consultation.

“Despite section 42, a migration agent may give immigration assistance of a kind mentioned in paragraph 276(1)(b), (2)(b) or (2A)(b) of the Act (advice) at an initial consultation with a client or potential client without a service agreement that covers the immigration assistance being in force.”

The opening words matter: “Despite section 42”. The dispensation is from the service agreement requirement in section 42. Section 38 is a different provision, and it is not mentioned. On its face, the guide requirement attaches to the giving of immigration assistance whether or not that consultation requires a service agreement.

Note the different nouns as well. Section 38 speaks of a client; section 43(1) speaks of a client or potential client. This article states what the provisions say; it does not resolve how s 38 applies where the person is only a potential client.

What this requires in practice

• Give a copy of the consumer guide to the client before giving immigration assistance — before the first advice or act on the matter, not alongside or after it.
• Take the guide from the source Note 1 identifies, and check the Authority’s website for the current edition, as Note 2 describes.
• Include the s 42(3)(d) statement in every service agreement, and sign the agreement only when that statement is accurate.
• Keep the delivery in the client file. Section 56 requires the file to include copies of all service agreements and all written communications between the agent and the client, which is where the delivered guide and the agreement’s statement belong.

Practice takeaway. Section 38 is a precondition, not paperwork. A copy of the consumer guide must have been given to the client before the agent gives immigration assistance, and s 42(3)(d) requires the service agreement to state that it was given, with an express cross-reference back to s 38. The order is guide first, assistance second, and an agreement that records it.