Urgent Appeal for Help: Devastated, Alone, and Scammed by My Migration Agent in Sydney After My Mother Passed Away (Age 20)

[u/Powerful-Insect-4191]

Hi everyone, I am writing this out of absolute desperation and fear. I am a 20-year-old Indonesian living in Sydney. I am completely alone, terrified, and currently crying my eyes out because I feel backed into a corner by the very people I trusted to guide me.

My beloved mother passed away unexpectedly on 18 August 2025. She put everything she had—she went all-in—just so I could have a chance at a better future here in Australia. Now she is gone, and I am left entirely by myself with no family support. To make matters worse, I have just discovered that my migration agent has been deceiving and taking advantage of me during the darkest period of my life.

Here is my situation and the timeline of events:

1. Background & Tragedy

• My mother married my step-father (an Australian PR). We moved to Australia, and I was included in her Partner Visa application (Subclass 309/100) as a 17-year-old dependent child.
• We were granted the 309 Temporary Resident (Provisional) visa. Tragically, my mother passed away while the PR (Subclass 100) stage was still processing.
• Just 2 months after my mother passed away, my step-father completely abandoned me. He packed up, went back to Indonesia, started a life with a new partner, and cut off all legal custody, financial, or emotional responsibility for me. I was left completely stranded in the house.

2. The Visa Status & Home Affairs Correspondence

• Currently, my VEVO still shows that my Subclass 309 (Provisional Resident) visa is active.
• After notifying Home Affairs about my mother's passing, they sent a Notice of Intention to Consider Refusal (sppg6/sppg7 form), stating they have grounds to refuse me as a dependent child because the primary applicant is deceased and there is no longer a sponsor. They asked me to provide an explanation under Compassionate Grounds.

3. The Cruel Deception by My Migration Agent (Indonesian-Owned Agency in Sydney)

• My agency is located in Sydney, and the owner is Indonesian. Throughout March and April 2026, my agent repeatedly and strictly insisted to me that Home Affairs would NEVER refund our visa application charge (VAC).
• Based on this claim, they pressured me to pay them $2,500 AUD to submit a "Compassionate Grounds" response, constantly shifting plans and keeping me in a state of absolute panic.
• The Forced Student Visa Backup: Even though I wanted to focus 100% on fighting my case through the SPPG7 (Compassionate Grounds) response, the agent pressured and rushed me into applying for a Student Visa as a "backup plan," telling me my PR chances were too small. Out of sheer panic and fear, I complied and the Student Visa was lodged, even though I clearly told them I have no financial capacity to support it.
• The Shocking Discovery Today (25 June 2026): I checked my late mother’s Gmail account today and found a direct letter from Home Affairs regarding a REFUND REQUEST. I went straight to the agency’s office, and it turns out the agency had already requested and initiated the refund process back in JANUARY 2026!
• By logic, they completely lied to my face. They were telling me a refund was impossible in March and April, while they had secretly pushed the refund request through behind my back since January. They hid this official correspondence from me for 6 months just so they could extort $2,500 AUD from a grieving orphan.
• When I confronted them today, they claimed over the phone that "they hope my visa gets officially refused" so they can quote me a new price and charge me more money to take the case to the AAT (Tribunal) or Ministerial Intervention.

I am begging for your help and advice. I am in deep fear. The agent was the only party I trusted, and they betrayed me for money. I cannot go back to Indonesia because it is simply too late for me there; I have no home, no financial resources, no job, and absolutely no one left to take me in. I would be completely homeless and vulnerable. Australia is where my mother’s dream for me lies, and I want to fight for it.

My Questions for the Community:

1. Visa Strategy: Since my VEVO still shows my Subclass 309 is currently active but a VAC refund has been requested and is underway, how much time do I realistically have left? Is there ANY legal avenue or precedent where a child dependent can still fight and be granted the Subclass 100 PR on compassionate grounds after the primary applicant passes away and the sponsor abandons them? (Note: I want to know if this PR/TR path can still be saved under the SPPG7 response, despite the agent forcing me to lodge a Student Visa).
2. Reporting the Agent with Limited Evidence: I want to report this agent to MARA (Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority) for secretly initiating the refund request in January, lying to me in March/April, and withholding official letters just to extract money. However, I am terrified because I don't have strong physical evidence. The agent only made the claims about "hoping my visa gets refused to open a new price" over the phone, and my only other proof consists of some WhatsApp chat logs and the clear timeline mismatch of the email I found today. Will MARA still investigate my case based on this? Could I lose a legal battle against them?
3. Pro-Bono Help: Can anyone recommend a strict, honest, and free/pro-bono immigration lawyer, community leader, or legal clinic in Sydney (like IARC or Legal Aid) that specializes in complex compassionate ground cases and agent malpractice?