A Carer visa application includes your partner and your dependent children on the same Form 47OF, at A$1,365 for each extra applicant aged 18 or over and A$680 for each child under 18. Each person must still be a member of your family unit on the day the visa is decided, and after a queue the Department estimates at 12 years for new applications, that is the test most easily overlooked.
Can a Carer visa include your partner and children?
Yes, a Carer visa includes your partner and children when they are members of your family unit and apply on your Form 47OF. Schedule 1 of the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth) allows a family member's application to be combined with the carer's (items 1123A(3)(b) and 1123B(3)(c)). The sponsorship of the carer covers them too (cl 116.312, 836.312).
Two tests apply to each of them, not just one. At the time of application they must be members of your family unit (cl 116.311, 836.311). At the time of decision they must be members of the family unit of the carer who is granted the visa (cl 116.321(2), 836.321(2)). The location rule follows the subclass: family members of an 836 applicant are in Australia, and family members of a 116 applicant are outside Australia, both when applying and at grant.
Who counts as a member of your family unit?
Three kinds of people count as members of your family unit for a Carer visa:
- Your partner. A spouse, or a de facto partner. For a de facto partner, the Carer visa pages ask for proof of at least 12 months together before you apply, except in limited circumstances.
- Children and step-children (yours or your partner's) who are not engaged, married or in a de facto relationship:
- under 18;
- 18 to 22 and dependent on you or your partner, meaning wholly or substantially reliant on you for food, clothing and shelter (reg 1.05A(1)(a));
- 23 or over and dependent because they cannot work, through total or partial loss of bodily or mental functions (reg 1.05A(1)(b)).
- A dependent child of such a child.
Parents, brothers, sisters and cousins are not members of your family unit. They need their own visa.
When is Form 47A needed for a Carer visa?
Form 47A is needed for every member of your or your partner's family unit aged 18 or over, whether or not that person is migrating. Form 47A, "Details of child or other dependent family member aged 18 years or over", carries the design date 10/20. Form 47OF question 57 makes it compulsory for everyone listed in Part F.
With each Form 47A, send proof of the relationship, such as a birth or adoption certificate, and proof of financial dependency, such as bank statements, money transfers and rent receipts. For a child who is 23, or likely to turn 23 while the application is processed, also send a report from a qualified medical practitioner. It must state that the child depends on you or your partner through total or partial loss of bodily or mental functions.
When is Form 1229 needed for a child?
Form 1229 is needed when a child under 18 is migrating without a parent, or without another person who has the legal right to decide where the child lives. Form 1229, "Consent to grant an Australian visa to a child under the age of 18 years" (design date 11/23), is signed by that parent or person.
The Carer visa pages accept alternatives: a statutory declaration giving consent, an Australian court order allowing the child to migrate, or proof that the laws of the child's home country allow them to leave. Attach a certified copy of the child's birth certificate and an identity document of the consenting person that shows their signature and photo. The consent requirement is a legal criterion at decision (public interest criteria 4017 and 4018, cl 116.326 and 836.324).
How much does each extra person cost on a Carer visa?
Each extra person costs A$1,365 (aged 18 or over) or A$680 (under 18) when you lodge, plus a A$2,065 second instalment before grant, on the Department's current price list (from 1 July 2026).
| Family (standard passports) | First instalment | Second instalment | Charges total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carer alone | A$2,720 | A$2,065 | A$4,785 |
| Carer and partner | A$4,085 | A$4,130 | A$8,215 |
| Carer, partner and two children under 18 | A$5,445 | A$8,260 | A$13,705 |
These totals leave out health examinations, police certificates, biometrics, translations and card surcharges. The Department may set the second instalment at nil for the carer on severe financial hardship, but its Carer visa pages state that it will not waive the second instalment for anyone applying with the carer. Where the carer holds a passport from an eligible Pacific country or Timor-Leste, family members pay the lower first-instalment rates of A$1,120 and A$560.
Every charge is added up, with the costs outside the visa charges, in a worked total.
Do family members staying behind need health checks?
Yes, family members staying behind usually need health checks, because members of your family unit who do not apply must still meet the health criteria. Clauses 116.226A and 836.224A require them to satisfy public interest criteria 4001 to 4004. They must also satisfy criterion 4005, unless the Minister is satisfied that asking for the assessment would be unreasonable.
They are still listed on Form 47OF (Parts D to G) and, if they are 18 or over, on a Form 47A. By signing the Form 47OF declaration, you also accept that anyone not included has no automatic right to migrate later through this application. The health test itself, and why it cannot be waived for a Carer visa, is explained under the PIC 4005 health requirement.
Can you add a new partner or baby while the Carer visa is queued?
Yes. A baby born after lodgement is added automatically, and a new partner or a dependent child can be added by written request before the decision.
A baby born after lodgement
Under regulation 2.08, a child born after the application is made and before it is decided is taken to have applied for the same visa, combined with your application. Tell the Department as soon as possible. Send Form 1022, "Notification of changes in circumstances", with a colour scan of the birth certificate and, if the baby has one, the passport pages. Form 1496i (design date 10/24) sets out these documents. A baby born in Australia is an Australian citizen at birth only if a parent is a citizen or permanent resident at the time of birth, although a child born in Australia who is ordinarily resident here for their first 10 years becomes a citizen at age 10 (Australian Citizenship Act 2007 (Cth) s 12(1)).
A new partner or dependent child
Under regulation 2.08A, a spouse, de facto partner or dependent child is added by a written request before the decision, with the additional applicant charge paid (A$1,365 or A$680). When the request and the payment arrive, the person must meet the same location rule as the rest of the family: in Australia for an 836, outside Australia for a 116. The Department's form for the request is Form 1436, "Adding an additional applicant after lodgement" (design date 11/20), sent to the address on your acknowledgement letter.
Births, marriages and new relationships are all changes the Department expects to hear about promptly. The forms and channels are covered in telling the Department about changes.
What if a child turns 18 or 23 during the Carer visa queue?
A child who turns 18 during the queue must then be dependent on you. A child who turns 23 must be dependent because of incapacity, or the child drops out of the application.
The arithmetic is unforgiving. With the Department's estimate of 12 years for a new Carer application (as at 31 May 2026), a child aged 11 or over at lodgement would be 23 or older by the time the application is released. At 18, a child needs a Form 47A and dependency evidence, and character checks start from 16, including police certificates. From 23, only dependency through incapacity keeps them in.
A child of any age stops being a member of the family unit on becoming engaged, married or in a de facto relationship.
What if you separate from your partner during the queue?
If you separate from your partner during the queue, the former partner is no longer a member of your family unit and cannot be granted the visa through you, unless the family violence provisions apply. Tell the Department about the separation.
Schedule 2 keeps a path open where the relationship has ended and the primary applicant committed family violence against the former partner, a member of their family unit or a dependent child. The former partner and their family members can still be granted the visa in that case (cl 116.311(1)(b) and 116.321(3)–(4); cl 836.311(1)(b) and 836.321(3)–(4); Division 1.5). The Department's page on family violence provisions explains how the violence is shown.
If you are already separated when you apply, Form 47OF question 23 asks for a statutory declaration. It gives your partner's name, the date of marriage or when the de facto relationship began, the date of separation, and whether a divorce is intended.
Which Carer visa checks does each family member face?
Each family member faces three checks for a Carer visa:
- Identity and relationship. Passport pages, birth or marriage certificates and any change-of-name documents, as certified copies.
- Character. Family members aged 16 or over applying for an 836 send police certificates at lodgement, starting with the AFP National Police Certificate for a Carer visa. Family members of a 116 applicant wait until the Department asks.
- Health. Each person has the visa health examination after the application is released from the queue.
Every family member's documents go into the same envelope as the carer's. The order is set out in the guide to post a Carer visa application, and the rest of the visa is mapped from Carer Visa Australia.
A registered professional makes a grant more likely
A child who ages out, a partner added from the wrong country or a birth never reported can each cost a family member their place after years in the queue. A registered migration agent or an Australian legal practitioner maps each person's age and status against the likely release year, which makes it more likely the whole family is granted together. No adviser can guarantee the result.
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