Australian High Commission email scam? South Africans, the @dfat.gov.au test takes two minutes

Tips · 2026-10-29 · 10 min read

A South African tradesman studies his phone at a kitchen table at dusk, with a closed passport and papers beside him.

An email that claims to come from the Australian High Commission is fake unless the sender's address ends in "@dfat.gov.au". That one rule, published by the High Commission in Pretoria, settles most Australian High Commission email scams in seconds. The second minute goes on what the email asks you to do: real visa business happens in ImmiAccount and shows up in VEVO, not in a WhatsApp chat, a bank deposit or a courier slip for your original passport.

Why the High Commission's name gets borrowed

A government name feels safe. A welder in Gqeberha waiting for news on a job abroad is exactly who a fake "visa approval" email targets.

The Australian High Commission in Pretoria warns about this on its visa scams page. The signs it lists include offers of a visa that cannot fail, unsolicited offers, pressure about a "once in a lifetime opportunity", requests to pay upfront to "register" interest, claims of a special relationship with Home Affairs, and demands to keep your original documents.

None of those signs depend on a logo. Anyone can copy a crest; nobody outside government can send from a real government address.

Minute one: who really sent it

Open the message and look at the full sender address, not the name shown above it. A display name can say "Australian High Commission" while the actual address is a free mailbox. On most phones you tap the sender's name to see the full address.

The part after the @ sign must match the official ending exactly:

Who the email claims to be	What the address must end in	Official rule from
Australian High Commission, Pretoria	@dfat.gov.au	The High Commission's visa scams page
Australia's Department of Home Affairs	.gov.au	Home Affairs: emails whose address does not end in .gov.au are scams
Immigration New Zealand	immigration.govt.nz or mbie.govt.nz	INZ's page on immigration scams
Anyone else using a government name	A free mailbox or a look-alike spelling	Treat it as fake and do not reply

Watch for small tricks: an extra word before the domain, a letter swapped, or ".gov.au" followed by more text so the real ending is something else entirely. INZ says on its page about immigration scams that its websites include ".immigration.govt.nz" exactly, and the same "exactly" thinking applies to every address and link in the message.

Minute two: what the email wants from you

A genuine address is the first gate, not the last. Then ask four questions.

Does it ask for money outside the official system?

For New Zealand, INZ never asks for visa fees to be paid into a bank account; it only accepts debit or credit card payment on its forms, or payment at an approved Visa Application Centre. New Zealand employers also cannot charge you fees for a job. At home, the Department of Employment and Labour tells work seekers that a request to pay anything towards recruitment is likely to be a scam.

Does it want your originals?

Demands to keep your original documents are on the High Commission's list of warning signs. Scamwatch advises never sending your passport or identity documents to an employer or recruitment firm unless you are certain they are genuine. If a real employer needs copies, SAPS certifies them free at any police station, provided you show the original and bring your own photocopies. Our guide to certified copies in South Africa explains when a copy is enough.

Does it promise an outcome?

Home Affairs says anyone promising a visa, permanent residency or citizenship is misleading you. Australia also does not issue "work permits", visa labels or Labour Market Impact Assessments, so an email selling one is a scam by definition.

Does it move you to WhatsApp or Telegram?

Scamwatch lists unexpected contact on WhatsApp, Signal or Telegram, a quick hiring process with no interview, and a "recruitment fee" or payment for training materials as job scam warning signs.

What genuine visa contact looks like

Home Affairs says you do not need to attend an Australian Embassy, High Commission or Consulate-General to apply for a visa, and most visas are applied for online through ImmiAccount. Check your application in your own ImmiAccount, never through a link in a message you doubt.

Some real requests do carry a deadline. The High Commission in Pretoria says applicants asked for biometrics must complete them within 14 days of the request. Scammers copy that kind of urgency, which is exactly why you confirm the request inside ImmiAccount before acting on any email about it.

If a visa has supposedly been granted, check it in VEVO. Home Affairs says a visa grant that cannot be found in VEVO is probably fake. For New Zealand, INZ's Visa Verification service confirms whether a visa is real.

When you need to speak to the High Commission itself, use the details on its official site: it is at 292 Orient Street, Arcadia, Pretoria, telephone +27 (0)12 423 6000, and it covers Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and eSwatini. Do not use a phone number printed in the suspicious email.

Emails that pretend to come from home

Not every fake uses an Australian name. Some claim to be from SAPS and offer to send your police clearance certificate by email for a "release fee". SAPS says it does not scan or email completed certificates, and it does not process copied or scanned fingerprints.

Australia's Home Affairs lists the SAPS Criminal Record Centre contact as crc-nameclear@saps.gov.za: a government domain, not a free mailbox.

Our breakdown of what emigration documents really cost South Africans gives you the official fees, so an invented "processing" or "release" charge stands out at once.

Your two-minute check, step by step

Tap the sender's name and read the full address. For the High Commission it must end in "@dfat.gov.au"; for Home Affairs in ".gov.au"; for INZ in "immigration.govt.nz" or "mbie.govt.nz".
Look for a request to pay into a bank account, buy vouchers or pay a "registration", "release" or "recruitment" fee. Any such request ends the check: do not pay.
Look for a request to post or courier your original passport, ID or certificates. Do not send them.
Do not click links or open attachments. Type the official address yourself and log in to ImmiAccount, or use INZ's own website, to see whether the request exists.
If the email says a visa was granted, check the grant in VEVO for Australia or with INZ's Visa Verification service for New Zealand.
If someone claims to be helping with your Australian visa, look them up on the OMARA register. Each registered migration agent has a MARN, and someone claiming to be an agent without a MARN or OMARA listing is not legitimate. For New Zealand, the Immigration Advisers Authority's public register shows whether a person is a licensed adviser.
Keep the email, take a screenshot of the full sender address, and report any request for payment towards recruitment to the Department of Employment and Labour.

Already replied, paid or sent documents?

Stop all contact and do not send anything more, however urgent the next message sounds.

Log in to ImmiAccount yourself to see what is really on file, and change the password on any email account you used with the scammer.

The Home Affairs visa scams page also warns that people who take part in visa fraud through a scam agent risk visa refusal or cancellation and being banned from Australia for up to 10 years, so never let anyone talk you into "fixing" a problem with false documents.

How a real job offer actually reaches you

On MzansiAbroad you open a listing, choose "Apply by email" or "Apply on WhatsApp", and send your CV with your trade test certificate or other qualifications. Whether you are browsing community services jobs abroad or IT roles, you apply to the employer; nobody needs your original passport to consider you.

A clear, honest CV is your best first impression with a real employer, and Build AI CV can help you put your trade, years of experience and certificates into a tidy format before you apply.

The visa itself follows the official route. Our guides to the Skills in Demand (482) visa for South Africans and the AEWV for South Africans show the real steps, so a message that skips them is easy to spot. Our post on fake overseas job offers in South Africa covers the job side of the same scams, and NaijaAbroad's guide to testing a fake Australian job offer email walks through more examples of the same trick.

Before you commit to any offer, get the pay, hours and conditions in writing from the employer, keep a copy of everything you send and every answer you get, and walk away from anyone who promises you a job or visa. MzansiAbroad does not issue, process or speed up any South African paperwork, so be wary of anyone offering shortcuts.

Common mistakes that turn a fake email into a real loss

Trusting the logo. A crest, a reference number and formal wording prove nothing. Only the sender's address and a check in ImmiAccount or VEVO do.
Paying a "registration" fee to hold a place. Upfront payment to register interest is one of the High Commission's listed warning signs.
Couriering originals. No genuine employer needs your original passport to look at your application, and keeping originals is a listed scam sign.
Believing a PDF visa grant. A grant that is not in VEVO is probably fake, however official the PDF looks.

Frequently asked questions

What email address does the Australian High Commission in Pretoria use?

The High Commission says any email from it must come from an address ending in "@dfat.gov.au". If the part after the @ sign is anything else, including a free email service or a look-alike spelling, treat the message as fake and do not reply to it.

Can a visa be approved by email or WhatsApp alone?

No. ImmiAccount is the only official website for applying for an Australian visa, and Home Affairs says a visa grant that cannot be found in VEVO is probably fake. Check the grant yourself in VEVO before you believe any message, PDF or screenshot.

Should I post my original passport or certificates to someone who emails me?

No. The High Commission lists demands to keep your original documents as a scam warning sign, and Scamwatch advises against sending identity documents unless you are certain the employer is genuine. SAPS certifies copies free at any police station when you show the original.

How do I know a New Zealand immigration email is real?

Official INZ email addresses end with "immigration.govt.nz" or "mbie.govt.nz". INZ never asks for visa fees to be paid into a bank account, and you can confirm that a New Zealand visa is real with its Visa Verification service.

Key takeaways

A real Australian High Commission email ends in "@dfat.gov.au"; Home Affairs emails end in ".gov.au"; INZ emails end in "immigration.govt.nz" or "mbie.govt.nz".
Visa applications go through ImmiAccount, and a grant that is not in VEVO is probably fake.
Never pay a recruitment, registration or release fee, and never send your originals.
Check agents on the OMARA register (Australia) or the IAA register (New Zealand).

#australian high commission email scam #visa scams #south africa #immiaccount #vevo #new zealand visa