956A (Design date 03/18) - Page 1© COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA, 2018
Appointment or withdrawal of
an authorised recipient
Form
956A
Department of Home Affairs
Who should use this form?
This form should be used to notify the Department of Home
Affairs (the Department) that you are:
• appointing an authorised recipient to receive documents
that the Department would otherwise have sent to you; or
• withdrawing the appointment of your authorised
recipient.
Return the completed form to the office where you lodged
your application or for any other matter (eg. proposed
visa cancellation), to the office of the Department that is
responsible for that matter. If you are unsure which office is
responsible for your matter, this form may be submitted to the
nearest office of the Department.
Do not use this form if:
• you are appointing a migration agent or exempt
person to provide you with immigration assistance and
they will also be your authorised recipient.
In this case the migration agent or exempt person should
complete form 956 Advice by a migration agent/exempt
person of providing immigration assistance.
Who is an exempt person?
The following people do not have to be registered as
migration agents in order to provide immigration assistance:
• a close family member (spouse, child, adopted child,
parent, brother or sister);
• a sponsor or nominator of a visa applicant;
• a member of parliament or their staff;
• an official whose duties include providing immigration
assistance;
• a member of a diplomatic mission, consular post or
international organisation.
An exempt person must not charge a fee for their service. It is
an offence for an exempt person to charge a fee for providing
immigration assistance and penalties of up to 10 years jail can
apply.
Authorised recipient
An authorised recipient is a person appointed to receive
documents from the Department relating to matters arising
under the Migration Act 1958 (the Act) or the Migration
Regulations 1994 on behalf of another person.
The most common times an authorised recipient would
be appointed is during visa application processes, visa
cancellation processes, sponsorship processes (including
monitoring or sanctions) or ministerial intervention requests.
The Department cannot discuss matters relating to you with
the authorised recipient unless they are also acting on your
behalf as your migration agent/exempt person, or you have
separately provided the Department with consent to disclose
your personal information to them.
You may only appoint one authorised recipient at any time
for a particular application or matter. The Department will
send documents to the most recently appointed authorised
recipient.
The Department is required under the Act to send your
authorised recipient any documents relating to your matter
(eg. visa application or cancellation of a visa), that would
otherwise have been sent to you. Under most circumstances,
you will not receive a separate copy of the documents. You are
taken to have received any documents sent to your authorised
recipients as if they had been sent to you.
You should be aware that the documents sent to your
authorised recipient might include sensitive information about
matters such as your health and character.
If you change your authorised recipient or end their
appointment you must promptly advise the Department. You
may use this form for that purpose.
Dependent applicants
All persons listed on this form will be considered to have
appointed the same authorised recipient.
If a person 16 years of age or older wants to appoint a
different authorised recipient they should complete a separate
form 956A.