Written agreements and client files under the immigration adviser code of conduct

The engagement at a glance

1. 1
   Show the licenceClause 14

   The licensed immigration adviser gives the client evidence of being licensed.

2. 2
   Agree any consultation fee firstClause 16

   If an initial consultation is charged for, the client consents in writing to the fee and its payment terms before the consultation.

3. 3
   Provide the code and complaint documentsClause 17

   The summary of professional responsibilities is provided and explained, with how to read the full code, and the internal complaints procedure is provided.

4. 4
   Provide the written agreementClause 18(a)

   Once the client and the licensed immigration adviser decide to proceed.

5. 5
   Explain all significant mattersClause 18(b)

   Before the agreement is accepted, not when work is already under way.

6. 6
   The client accepts itClause 18(c)

   Every party signs it or confirms in writing that they accept it; changes are recorded and accepted in writing too.

7. 7
   Keep the file as the work goesClause 26

   Material discussions confirmed in writing, lodgement confirmed in writing, timely updates, and a copy of everything on the file.

8. 8
   Confirm the end in writingClause 28

   However the engagement ends, the client is told in writing.

What comes before the written agreement

Clause 17(b) is an explanation duty of its own, separate from clause 18(b). The written agreement must then record that the summary was provided and explained, and that the complaints procedure was provided (clause 19(m) and (n)).

Explaining significant matters and keeping the evidence

Clause 18 says a licensed immigration adviser must ensure that:

In its webinar on written agreements, client engagement and maintaining records, held on 16 September 2026 and published on 1 October 2026, the Immigration Advisers Authority set out what it expects:

• The explanation is given verbally, by the licensed immigration adviser personally, not by administrative staff and not by email alone
• It comes before the agreement is accepted, so the client can ask about anything unclear
• A clause in the agreement saying the significant matters were explained may not be accepted as evidence that they were
• The IAA recommends confirming to the client in writing, separately from the agreement, that the significant matters and the professional responsibilities were explained verbally

The Immigration Advisers Complaints and Disciplinary Tribunal said much the same in a decision of February 2025:

The same paragraph adds that an explanation given only when the agreement was sent would come too late, since the code contemplates the significant matters being explained before work starts. A sanctions decision of 2024, [2024] NZIACDT 9, records a failure to give a verbal explanation of the professional responsibilities and the significant matters.

Acceptance by the client personally

Clause 18(c) requires every party to sign the written agreement or confirm in writing that they accept it, and clause 18(d) requires any change to be recorded and accepted in writing by every party. A signature is not essential; written confirmation of acceptance is an alternative.

In the same webinar the IAA set out what it looks for:

• The client accepts the agreement personally. A parent, a son or daughter, an employer or a travel agent cannot accept it on the client's behalf, unless there is a disability or another compelling reason
• A family member or agent may help with the practical arrangements, but the licensed immigration adviser cannot hand over the responsibility for getting the client's acceptance
• The file should show which version of the agreement the client accepted
• Declining to act is not itself a breach, and may be the safer course where the client's informed acceptance cannot be obtained

What the written agreement must contain

Clause 19 lists the contents. Some apply to every agreement, others only where fees, disbursements or a particular licence type are involved.

The IAA's webinar added points on drafting:

• Describe the actual matter rather than listing visa categories that do not apply to the client
• Where interest may be charged, say when it starts and at what rate
• Write a refund policy that leaves room to consider what is fair and reasonable, rather than one that settles the outcome in advance; clause 24(a) requires refunds to be fair and reasonable
• Where no competing interest has been identified, record that

The same webinar showed how often agreement issues came up in the IAA's own inspections. Written agreements were the most common issue it identified:

Fees, invoices and client money

The client file

Clause 26(a) requires a hard copy or electronic file for each client, which must include:

• A full copy of the client's application or other immigration matter
• Every written agreement and every change to it
• All written communications between the licensed immigration adviser, the client and anyone else, including file notes of material oral communications and electronic communications
• All invoices and receipts
• Copies of the client's personal documents supplied
• Evidence that the client's original documents were safely returned

The IAA's webinar suggested following each material phone or video discussion with a short email summarising the options discussed, the risks explained and what the client decided. It also said administrative staff can help with filing, but the responsibility for the file stays with the licensed immigration adviser.

Recording client meetings and the Privacy Act

Some practices record consultations, or use a transcription service, as the record of what was explained. The code does not require a recording, and a recording is personal information about the client, so the Privacy Act 2020 applies to it.

Section 11 of the Act matters for transcription and storage services. Where a service only holds or processes the recording on the practice's behalf, the information is treated as held by the practice, wherever the service is based, and passing it to the service is not a disclosure. If the service uses the information for its own purposes, it holds the information too.

What the Tribunal can order

Where a complaint is upheld, section 51 of the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007 lets the Immigration Advisers Complaints and Disciplinary Tribunal impose:

• Caution or censure
• Specified training, or another remedy, within a set period
• Suspension for the rest of the licence, or until the Registrar is satisfied that specified conditions are met
• A downgrade of the licence type, for example from full to limited or provisional
• Cancellation
• An order preventing a new application for a licence, for a period the Tribunal sets or until the Registrar or the Tribunal is satisfied
• A penalty of up to $10,000
• The costs of the investigation, inquiry or hearing
• A refund of all or part of the fees and expenses paid
• Reasonable compensation to the complainant or another person

The suspension until conditions are met, the downgrade and the open-ended bar on reapplying were added on 30 March 2025 by the Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Act 2025. Every published decision is in the decisions archive.

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