What the licence structurally changes
A licensed agency exists inside a system built specifically to hold it accountable: it applied for and holds a licence issued by a named regulator, which can investigate complaints, and has the power to suspend or cancel that licence for cause. That structure exists whether or not you ever need to use it, and it’s a direct consequence of the licence itself, not something the agency has to promise separately.
An unlicensed middleman, whatever they call themselves, an "agent," a "consultant," someone offering to "help find a maid," has none of that behind them. There’s no licence to suspend, no register entry to check, and operating this way is itself a criminal offence under s.7(2), regardless of how the arrangement is described.
Why this is worth checking before anything else
This distinction is independent of how trustworthy, professional, or helpful someone seems in conversation, and that’s exactly why it’s worth checking as a first step rather than a last resort: manner and presentation don’t tell you whether a licence exists. JTKSM’s public register resolves the question directly, searchable by the exact company name or a licence number in a few minutes.
If a licence check comes back clean, you’re dealing with someone operating inside the accountable system Act 246 built. If it doesn’t, whatever else the conversation has covered, that’s the fact that matters most before anything moves forward.