Our Service Agreement Terms & Conditions

1. Appointment of the Agent

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This document sets out our standard terms which apply to your engagement of us. Please read these terms subject to any other written agreement between us (Agreement). 

This agreement is made between the Client (you, your, your representative) and Skylark Migration Specialists Pty Ltd ACN 625 196 894 (Skylark, Skylark Migration, the Agent, we, us, our). For the avoidance of doubt, a reference to Skylark, the Agent, we, us, our includes employees, agents or other contractors and representatives of Skylark Migration. 
 

You hereby appoint the Agent to represent you and perform the services outlined in this agreement. 

In order to provide the most cost effective, timely and expert advice to you, it is vital that you have fully explained your goals in relation to the work you have instructed us to perform and the context in which you seek our advice and input. 

You need to inform the Agent promptly if your goals have altered during the course of this matter, in the event that there is additional or different work that you wish us to perform or if you need to discuss or clarify your original instructions to us. 

If you appoint a representative to provide the Agent with instructions on your behalf, the Agent is entitled to assume that your representative’s instructions come from you directly until you inform the Agent otherwise. 

It is always best if you confirm your instructions or any alteration or modification to those instructions to the Agent in writing. 

 

 

2. Code of Conduct

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The Agent is a registered migration agent with the Office of the Migration Agents Regulation Authority (OMARA). Therefore, the Agent is bound by the Code of Conduct ("the Code") prescribed in Schedule 2 of the Migration Agents Regulations 1998. A copy of the Code will be provided to you upon request. Alternatively, a copy of the Code can be obtained via the website of the Office of the Migration Agents Regulation Authority at www.mara.gov.au. 

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3. Provision of Service

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The relevant service will commence upon receipt of the full amount that has been requested from you, in the form of a ‘Proforma Invoice'. The relevant service will end upon finalisation of the application/submission, or upon written notice from Skylark Migration indicating that the relevant service has been completed, whichever occurs the earliest. 

Services related to an application/submission to an authority only includes: 

• providing advice regarding the documents that are required for the application/submission

• providing guidance for writing any required statements

• writing submissions, where appropriate, for the application

• compiling and reviewing the documents provided by you

• completing and submitting the forms essential to the application/submission itself

• attaching the received documents to the application and sending the documents and application/submission to the relevant authority

• repeating the above for any post-application document requests

• notifying you of any post-application correspondence within a reasonable timeframe.

 

In the provision of the relevant service(s), the Agent may be required to lodge enquiries with the Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO) system, or a similar system belonging to the Department, to ascertain the visa entitlements held by the visa applicant(s) outlined in this Service Agreement. You acknowledge that you consent to the Agent lodging these enquiries as often as required to facilitate the provision of the relevant service(s) outlined in the Service Agreement. 

Services related to an application/submission to an authority may not include: 

• document translations

• writing statements on behalf of the Client or a related party

• application/submissions to other authorities (e.g. application for police certificates).

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The Agent will advise you of all application/submission outcomes. The Agent will provide post-grant advice regarding the visa at their discretion. 

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4. Execution of Services

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Services requiring the provision of immigration assistance will be performed by a migration agent.
 

Other tasks, including but not limited to, collation of documents, scanning, sending basic correspondence, relaying advice from migration agents, assisting migration agents in the assessment of documents, drafting correspondence for migration agents, may be performed by staff members of the Agent who are not registered migration agents. Staff members will be supervised by a migration agent as appropriate.

You may be requested to provide an electronic signature and provide written authority for its use by the Agent during the provision of services. This feature of the service is merely for the convenience of all parties involved; you may opt out from the use of electronic signatures at any time.

 

5. Client Obligations

You must:

 

• pay the agency fees and disbursements;

• disclose any information to the Agent that is directly relevant to the application/submission made to the Department. These may include personal information such as health concerns and criminal history;

• notify the Agent of any changes to, or intention to change, your circumstances that may be relevant to your migration status and the application/submission. These may include, but not limited to; change of employment, departure/arrival in Australia, etc;

• respond to the Agent's requests for information and documents within the Agent’s prescribed deadline;

• provide the Agent with genuine documents and information that is true and correct to the best of your knowledge. You acknowledge the significant consequences of providing false or misleading information to government authorities;

• notify the Agent immediately when you are contacted by the Department in relation to any matter; and

• you must not contact the Department, gain access to your information or application with the Department, or provide any information or documents to the Department, without first obtaining our consent. We reserve the right to terminate this Agreement without refund if this obligation has been breached.

 
You:

• understand that the final decision made by the Department is not within the Agent's control and a positive outcome cannot be guaranteed by the Agent. You also understand that although the application/submission might meet all the requirements, there are criteria that offer Department officers discretion in making their decision; and

• releases and holds the Agent harmless for any loss arising from changes to legislation and/or policy that may occur after the application/submission has been lodged.

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If you are representing third-party applicants, you agree to ensure that the applicants have authorised you in writing to act on their behalf. You agree to provide a copy of this written authorisation to Skylark Migration Specialists before the commencement of service. 
 

You understand that the Agent does not hold any obligations to any other parties, except what is required under the Code and relevant Australian legislation. 

 

6. Agent Obligations

The Agent:

• maintains a current registration with OMARA;

• maintains the required level of professional indemnity insurance;

• does not have a conflict of interest as prescribed in Part 2 of the Code;

• will endeavour to provide all the necessary information to assist the Client in making migration-related decisions;

• will always advise the Client of any additional fees that may be payable during the course of the service. If the fee for items outlined in this agreement has increased, the Agent will only proceed with the relevant service if the Client has agreed to the increased fees in writing and if the invoice for the increased fees has been paid. If the payment of the additional fees are not mandatory for the completion of the service, you will always be offered the choice to opt out; and

• will (upon request) provide copies of the application or other related documents.

 

7. Termination of Agreement​

 

You may terminate this agreement in writing at any time. If the agreement is terminated before the application/submission is finalised, you should note that any service fees held in the client account for will be forfeited. 

 

The Agent may terminate this agreement at any time, provided that adequate notice is provided to the Client as prescribed in clause 10.1A of the Code. 

 

The Agent will have absolute discretion regarding the refund of any funds held in the client account in the event that this agreement is terminated. 

 

The Agent must terminate this agreement if a conflict of interest as prescribed in Part 2 of the Code arises. If this agreement is terminated, the Client's file will be processed in accordance with Part 10 of the Code. 

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8. Records and Confidentiality

 

The Agent:

 

• will retain all documents and information in cloud storage operated by a third party.

• will not retain credit card information. Once payments are processed, any credit card information received from the Client is destroyed to ensure the Client's financial security.

• will request for digital documents (where appropriate) in the first instance. In the interests of environmental sustainability, any non-original paper copies received from the Client will be digitised and destroyed.

• will retain all records on the Client's file for 7 years after the date of the last action taken in relation to the Client's file as required by clause 6.1 of the Code. After this date, the Agent may destroy the documents without further notice to you.

 

You agree that the Agent may maintain your file in electronic form, rather than maintain a hard copy file. You acknowledge therefore that original documents held by the Agent may not be available as hard copies. 

You acknowledge that part or all of the electronic file may be stored on servers maintained by third parties. 

If you require a copy of your file, or seek that the file be provided to you upon conclusion of the matter or termination of this agreement, the Agent will provide you with any hard copy documents which are your property, and will provide you with electronic copies of any of your documents which are held in electronic form. The Agent will not be required to provide you with hard copies of your documents which are held electronically. 

The Agent will maintain any information you provide to us or which comes into our knowledge as a result of acting for you as confidential information belonging to you unless:

• the information is not or is no longer confidential because it is or becomes publicly known (other than as a result of a breach of our obligations to you); 

• you instruct us to disclose or consent to us disclosing the information; or

• we are required by law to disclose the information, in which case we will make every reasonable effort to contact you and seek your instructions prior to disclosing the information to enable you to take such legal action as you consider necessary to prevent the disclosure.

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If you have been referred to the Agent by a referring party, the Agent will share certain details regarding services provided to you with the referring party. This clause only applies to referring parties subject to a Referral Agreement with the Agent. 

 

 

9. Lien Over Documents

 

The Agent is entitled to retain by way of lien, files, documents or other property which are in our possession or under our control as security for outstanding professional fees and expenses. 

 

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10. Disputes and Complaints

 

We aim to provide services of a high standard. If, at any time, you become concerned about any aspect of our services, please telephone us at the first instance. We hope our relationship with you will be such that you will discuss any concerns about our services with us. 

Both the Client and the Agent agree to communicate with each other to resolve any disputes or complaints that may arise from the services provided or this agreement. If a resolution is reached, it will be transcribed in written form and signed by both parties. 

If one party initiates the process of dispute resolution, the other party must respond within 72 hours. Resolutions should be finalised within 28 days. 

If both parties cannot reach a resolution within 28 days, both parties agree to escalate the case to the Australian Disputes Centre (ADC). The ADC is an independent, not-for -profit organisation that aims to resolve commercial disputes. Any fees incurred by this process will be paid for by both parties equally. 

If parties are unable to resolve their dispute through ADC, either party may initiate legal proceedings no earlier than 28 days after the escalation of the case to ADC. 
If it can be established that the Department requires that the Client depart Australia before the aforementioned deadlines, the Client may alter any clauses in this section of the agreement in order to accommodate the time constraints. 

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11. Expenses and Disbursements

 

In addition to our professional fees you will be responsible for payment of disbursements plus GST incurred in relation to your matter. 

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12. Accounts, Payment, and Interest

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In addition to upfront payment, you have the right to receive a bill from us in event there is out of scope work or work that has not been accounted for. 

To meet your entitlement to receive an account we will send you a narrated bill for the period of time in which the additional work was undertaken for both professional fees and expenses. The invoice will be a tax invoice for GST purposes. 

Payment in Australian dollars must be made within 5 days (or the timeframe as specified on your Proforma Invoice) of receipt of our Proforma Invoice. If our accounts remain unpaid, we will not commence any work on your matter, or will cease any scheduled work on your matter.

You may consent to receiving bills electronically by email to an actively accessed email address specified by you.

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We reserve the right to any interest earned from funds held in the client account, and the interest will be realised and managed in accordance with the Code of Conduct.

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13. Engagement of Third-Parties

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The Agent may recommend third-party business partners for services that would be utilised during the migration process. Please note that the Agent is entitled to receive financial benefit in the form of referral fees, commissions or other benefits from these recommendations, unless otherwise stated. 

Where the Agent are required to engage a third-party on your behalf, the Agent will discuss this with you and consider your wishes when briefing the third party. 

You will be provided an interpreter upon request. However, any interpreting services utilised will be paid for by you separately. 

If the services of a third-party service provider are used, you agree to allow the Agent to only share information that is essential for the provider to complete their service. 

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14. Accounts and Payment

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Your privacy is also important to us. Our Privacy Statement is available on our website at 
https://www.skylarkmigration.com.au/privacy-policy. Alternatively, we will provide you with a copy of the Statement upon your request. 

We will always handle all documents and information belonging to you in compliance with the Australian Privacy Principles as prescribed in Schedule 1 of the Privacy Act 1988.

 
You agree the Agent may collect, hold, use and disclose personal information to: 

• operate loyalty programs and referral programs

• promote ourselves and our products and services (including new properties that you may be interested in), including through direct marketing, events, competitions and social media

• procure products and services for our business

• perform research and statistical analysis, including for marketing, customer satisfaction, product development and service improvement purposes 

• protect the security of our offices, staff, customers and merchandise (including fraud and loss prevention)

• answer queries and resolve complaints

• recruit staff and contractors

• improve business efficiencies through the use of third-party software and AI

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You agree for the Agent to collect, hold, use and disclose personal information for other purposes explained at the time of collection, or which are required or authorised by or under law, or for which you have provided your consent. 

You agree that the Agent may share your personal information with third parties where appropriate for the purposes set out above, including: 

• our solicitors and other professional advisors

• our business partners or referral partners

• financial institutions for payment processing

• referees whose details are provided to us by job applicants

• our contracted service providers, including:

a) information technology and data storage providers

b) referrers
c) third party software providers
d) venues and event organisers
e) research and statistical analysis providers
f) call centres
g) hard copy and electronic mail houses
h) regulatory or government bodies to comply with laws
i) external business advisers (such as recruitment advisors, accountants, auditors and lawyers)

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In each case, we may disclose personal information to the service provider and the service provider may in turn provide us with personal information collected from you in the course of providing the relevant products or services. 

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15. Intellectual Property

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Unless specifically agreed by us in writing to the contrary, we own the intellectual property rights (including copyright, patents, trademarks and other rights and the right to apply for the registration of such rights) in all work, documents and materials we create as a result of acting on your behalf. 

We grant you a non-exclusive, royalty free and worldwide licence to use any material we have created and deliver to you in the course of providing you with our services. 

 

Generally, we do not assert the moral rights in work of which we are the authors. We will notify you if we do require the recognition of our moral rights. 

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16. Electronic Communications

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Unless you specifically request us not to, we will communicate with you using electronic mail via the public internet. We may also provide some services to you via online methods such as via websites. We are dependent upon third parties such as telecommunications carriers to provide these services. Whilst generally secure and reliable we cannot ensure the security or reliability of communications with you via the internet and you agree that we are not required to do so. 

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17. Changes by Others to Our Work Product

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Some of our work product will be provided to you in forms that can be changed after it leaves our control. We accept responsibility for the content of any material we provide directly to you, but cannot and do not accept any responsibility for the accuracy, reliability, legal effect or lawfulness of any material that has been changed by you or a third party. If you have any doubts about whether a document has been changed or the effects of a change, please contact us. 

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18. Acceptance of This Agreement

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You may formally accept the terms of this agreement by signing and returning the attached copy to us. 

 

In any event, if you continue to instruct us to undertake work on your behalf, we are entitled to assume that you accept this agreement even if you do not sign it. We are also entitled to understand that payment of our accounts is confirmation of your acceptance of this agreement. 

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19. Jurisdiction

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The terms of this Agreement are governed by the law in force in Victoria, Australia. The parties irrevocably submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Victoria, Australia. 

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20. Severance

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If any provisions of this Agreement are found to be invalid or unenforceable, then that provision will be read down or severed and that invalidity or unenforceability does not affect the validity or enforceability of the other terms and conditions. 

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21. Waiver and Exercise of Rights

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A single or partial exercise or waiver of a right relating to the terms of this Agreement does not prevent any other exercise of that right or the exercise of any other right. No party will be liable for any loss or expenses incurred by another party caused or contributed to by the waiver, exercise, attempted exercise, failure to exercise or delay in the exercise of a right. 

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22. No Merger

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The warranties, undertakings, agreements and continuing obligations in this Agreement do not merge on completion. 

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