How to choose a relocation service in Australia

What is a relocation agent in Australia?

The words are crowded. In a search check on 7 October 2026, the results for “relocation agency Sydney” and “relocation agency Melbourne” were mostly removals firms and business relocation pages, and the firms that do rentals, schools and set-up appeared only for narrower phrases such as “relocation services” and “tenant agent”. Four different services share the vocabulary:

• A removalist moves your belongings, by road, sea or air.
• A relocation service, the meaning in this guide, finds you a rental, a school and set-up help.
• A tenant agent or renter’s agent is a person you hire to find and win a rental for you. Some relocation services are tenant agents.
• A migration agent advises on visas, and must be registered.

Some removals groups also sell destination services through a separate arm. Ask which part of the firm does your job, and who the named consultant is. Our first 90 days guide gives the order of the steps, renting in Australia as a foreigner covers the rental search, and settling-in services in Australia lists what firms do after you land.

What types of relocation service are there?

Our research on 6 October 2026 found 31 firms with an Australian base, five of them immigration-only. They fall into a few groups:

• Boutiques. Many are one-person or small home-search firms in one city or state. They sell a rental search, school search and set-up help, and some publish prices.
• Corporate relocation firms. They work for employers, and corporate programmes are priced per case and not published.
• Removals groups with a destination arm. They add home search or settling-in to a removals contract.
• Property advisers with a relocation service. A buyer’s agent or property adviser may run a relocation service for executives and families.
• Migration agents. They handle visas only, and we do not list immigration-only firms as relocation services.

EuRA, the European Relocation Association, lists seven Australian entries (EuRA member directory, counted in our research on 5 October 2026). We could not read any Australian association member list, so there is no local list to check against.

Who may give visa advice?

Only a registered migration agent, an Australian legal practitioner or an exempt person may lawfully give immigration assistance. Exempt persons are close family members and sponsors, and they cannot charge a fee. Registered agents have a Migration Agents Registration Number (MARN) and you can check it on the OMARA website. The guide also says that anyone who helps with your immigration matter cannot guarantee you a visa (OMARA consumer guide, July 2021). So if a relocation firm offers visa help, ask for the MARN of the person who gives it. If it has none, treat the offer as outside its job.

Do tenant agents need a licence?

It depends on the state, and we read only two. The NSW Government says you need a real estate agent licence to sell, lease and manage real estate for clients, including acting as an agent for a prospective purchaser, seller, landlord or tenant (NSW Government, read 7 Oct 2026). In Victoria, Consumer Affairs Victoria publishes a public register of licensed estate agents showing the licence number, the name of the licensee and any tribunal or court orders affecting it (Consumer Affairs Victoria). The page does not say which activities need the licence, so ask any firm in Victoria which licence it relies on. We did not read the pages for Queensland, Western Australia or the other states.

The property manager you meet at a viewing usually works for the landlord, and the landlord pays that agent (Consumer Affairs Victoria). A tenant agent works for you, so you pay.

What should a quote say?

Two published price pages show what to look for (Relocate Australia, Journee, both read 7 October 2026):

1. GST. One firm shows prices plus GST, and the other does not say how GST is treated. Ask.
2. Scope. Journee’s search package states six viewings, and extra single viewings start at AUD 350. Relocate Australia’s Standard package says unlimited home search.
3. What counts as an hour. Relocate Australia lists AUD 100 an hour for extras. Ask how time is counted.
4. When you pay. Relocate Australia lists 50% before the service starts and 50% on completion.
5. What is refundable. Journee’s AUD 69 advice call is refunded when you book its property search package.

Our guide to what relocation services cost in Australia has the full price lists.

What should I ask on the first call?

1. Which of these are you: a relocation service, a tenant agent, a removals firm or a migration agent?
2. Who will be my consultant, and in which city are they based?
3. Which licence or registration covers the work, and what is its number?
4. What is the fee basis, is GST included, and what is extra?
5. How many viewings or hours does it cover?
6. When do I pay, and what is refundable if you find nothing?

What are the red flags?

• A promise of a visa. Nobody can guarantee one, and visa advice needs a MARN or a lawyer.
• Charging you to view a home. In New South Wales tenants must not be charged for showing a property (NSW Government), and in Victoria rental providers cannot charge fees to view (Consumer Affairs Victoria).
• No written quote, or a quote without GST, scope and payment terms.
• A firm that cannot tell you its licence or registration, when the work needs one.
• Pressure to pay today, or to pay in full before any work.

How do I compare reviews and how does ReloFinder list firms?

Read the Google reviews of the firm’s own listing, newest first, and check that it is the same business in the same city. ReloFinder is an independent directory. Firms are ranked on one score, the Google rating of their own listing weighted by the number of reviews, and a paid profile appears in a separate band labelled “Recommended, paid placement”. The ranking itself cannot be bought, and the method is on the how we rank page. When you get matched, your request goes to one firm that serves your city, or to up to three if you ask to compare. The Australia hub lists firms by city.

What we could not source

We could not read an Australian relocation association member list. We read the licensing pages of New South Wales and Victoria only, and Victoria’s page does not say which activities need a licence. We found no official source on whether a removalist’s destination arm needs any registration. We did not use competitor blogs as sources.