---
title: "Sub-agent meaning in international education recruitment"
description: "A sub-agent recruits students under a master agent's school agreement and is paid a share of the commission. How the split, the timing and the risk actually work."
lastModified: "2026-08-27"
wordCount: 372
url: https://qualyhq.com/glossary/sub-agent
---
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# Sub-agent

> A sub-agent recruits students under a master agent's school agreement and is paid a share of the commission. How the split, the timing and the risk actually work.

**A sub-agent is an agency or individual counselor who recruits students under another agency's agreement with a school, rather than holding that agreement themselves. The sub-agent contracts with — and is paid by — the master agent, not the institution. Their reward is a share of the commission; splits most commonly land between 50/50 and 70/30 of it, weighted toward whoever did the recruiting.**

The arithmetic first, because it's what everyone asks. A university pays 15% commission on a AUD 20,000 enrolment: AUD 3,000. On a 70/30 split, the sub-agent who found the student keeps AUD 2,100 and the [master agent](/glossary/master-agent.md) keeps AUD 900 for holding the contract, running the invoicing and carrying the risk. Treat those split ranges as what practitioners report, not a published rate card — these agreements are confidential.

The split gets the attention; the timing does the damage. The school pays nothing until the student survives the census date, then pays the master within its stated terms — often 30 days. The master then reconciles, matches students, and pays the split. Every step is sequential, so a sub-agent's money for a July enrolment can land months later, and a sub-agent who doesn't understand the cascade reads the delay as theft. The paperwork that keeps the relationship honest is a per-student [remittance advice](/glossary/remittance-advice.md) with every payout.

Two things a sub-agent should know they're carrying. First, [clawbacks](/glossary/commission-clawback.md) flow downhill if the sub-agent agreement says so — read that clause before signing, and be suspicious of one that recovers 100% of a loss the sub-agent took 70% of. Second, in Australia a sub-agent has no regulatory record of their own: their students, refusals and dropouts all book against the master agent's name, which is why serious masters now vet sub-agents like underwriters rather than recruiters.

The mechanics are covered in [sub-agent commission payments](/blog/sub-agent-commission-payments.md) and [master agent and sub-agent commission splits](/blog/master-agent-sub-agent-commission-splits.md); paying the splits automatically is what [Qualy's master and sub-agent payments](/features/master-and-sub-agent-payments.md) does.

*Reviewed July 2026.*

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