The visa medical examination for a Carer visa applicant, which the Department of Home Affairs calls a visa health examination, is a medical examination plus a chest x-ray from age 11 and an HIV test and a kidney-function blood test (serum creatinine/eGFR) from age 15, booked with a HAP ID once the Department asks. It checks the applicant's own health against the health requirement, and it is a different examination from the carer assessment of the relative who needs care.
What is the visa health examination for a Carer visa?
The visa health examination for a Carer visa is the set of tests that each applicant, and each family member in the application, takes so the Department can decide whether they meet the health requirement. The Department's who needs health examinations page says permanent visa applicants "and any family members applying for the visa with you must have health examinations".
Family members who are not migrating are covered too. The subclass 116 page says: "Family members who are not coming to Australia might also have to meet our health requirement." The results are assessed by a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth, a doctor who advises the Department.
How is it different from the carer assessment?
The visa health examination tests the applicant's own health against public interest criterion 4005, while the carer assessment tests the relative's need for care under regulation 1.15AA of the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth).
| Compared | Your visa health examination | The carer assessment of your relative |
|---|---|---|
| Whose health | The carer and each family member in the application | The Australian relative, or the family member, who needs care |
| Legal test | Public interest criterion 4005 | Regulation 1.15AA(1)(b): an impairment rating of 30 or more, and a need for care of at least 2 years |
| Who examines | Bupa Medical Visa Services in Australia, or a panel physician overseas; a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth assesses the results | Bupa Medical Visa Services, the only provider specified for carer assessments; its certificate binds the decision-maker |
| How it is booked | With a HAP ID, online in Australia | By emailing a Statement of Assistance and medical report to Bupa; "These appointments cannot be made online" (Bupa) |
| When | When the Department asks | Before lodgement; evidence that it has begun goes with the application |
| Outcome | Meets, meets with a health undertaking, or does not meet the requirement | The Carer Visa Assessment Certificate |
| Validity | Usually 12 months | Not published |
| Waiver | None for criterion 4005 | Not applicable |
When are Carer visa applicants asked for a health examination?
Carer visa applicants are asked for a health examination when the Department reviews the application, which the Department's processing centre guidance places after release from the queue, and never before a HAP ID arrives. The Other Family Visa Processing Centre form page says the Department "will send you a request to undertake character checks and visa medical examination (with the HAP ID)" at that stage.
The Department's Other Family visas queue page also says the first assessment, which decides whether an application gets a queue date, covers "health and character requirements, where applicable", so an earlier request is possible. The same page estimates 12 years for a new Carer application (as at 31 May 2026).
That is why an upfront examination does not help. The Department's when to have health examinations page says results "are generally valid for 12 months", so an examination done before lodgement would expire long before release. Form 47OF's Question 60 asks only whether anyone had a visa health examination in the last 12 months, with the HAP ID if there is one.
If you cannot attend within the time in the request letter, the Department's arrange your health examinations page says to notify it through ImmiAccount. A paper application that has not been imported uses the Other Family Visa Processing Centre form instead.
What is a HAP ID?
A HAP ID is the identifier the Department puts in your referral letter or Health Examination List letter, and the clinic needs it to find your case. The Department's appointment page says: "The clinic will not be able to locate your case in the health processing system without your HAP ID."
A paper applicant receives the HAP ID from the visa processing officer. The results travel through eMedical, the Department's electronic health processing system, and the Department says "Anyone with a HAP ID can use eMedical to see if and when their examination results were submitted", through the eMedical client page.
Which tests does a Carer visa health examination include?
A Carer visa health examination includes 4 tests for an applicant aged 15 or over, according to the Department's what health examinations you need page, updated 21 September 2026:
- a medical examination
- a chest x-ray
- an HIV test
- a serum creatinine/eGFR test, a blood test of kidney function.
The serum creatinine/eGFR test is a recent addition: the Department's list has included it for applicants aged 15 or over since 21 September 2026.
Younger family members have fewer tests. A child under 11 has a medical examination, plus a tuberculosis screening test from age 2 if they come from a higher-risk country for tuberculosis. A child from 11 to 14 has a medical examination and a chest x-ray. A hepatitis B test is added from age 15 for anyone born in a higher-risk country, and for anyone pregnant who plans to give birth in Australia.
In Australia, the examinations are done by Bupa Medical Visa Services, booked online, and changed or cancelled through Bupa's booking system or on 1300 794 919. Outside Australia, they are done by one of the Department's approved panel physicians or clinics, listed on its Services outside Australia page.
Bring your original, valid passport, the letter with your HAP ID, your glasses or contact lenses, any specialist reports for known conditions and any previous chest x-rays, as the Department's appointment page lists. The applicant pays. Bupa Medical Visa Services' fee list (GST inclusive, seen 24 September 2026) shows A$392.00 for the medical examination and chest x-ray, A$60.90 for the HIV test and A$20.30 for serum creatinine and eGFR, which is A$473.20 for an applicant aged 15 or over, plus A$70.40 where a hepatitis B test is needed. Costs outside Australia "vary from country to country", and the Department suggests asking the clinic before the appointment.
Which health rules does the Carer visa examination test?
The Carer visa examination tests public interest criterion 4005: freedom from tuberculosis, from conditions that threaten public health, and from conditions likely to cause significant health or community-service costs or to prejudice Australians' access to services in short supply.
The Department's health requirement page says the Medical Officer "will consider what kind of services a hypothetical person with the same kind and severity of condition would need", and cannot take private insurance or personal wealth into account. Criterion 4005 has no waiver, unlike criterion 4007, which other visas use.
The full legal test, including how family members who are not migrating are assessed, is on the page about the PIC 4005 health requirement.
What happens after the Carer visa health examination?
After the Carer visa health examination, the clinic sends the results through eMedical, and the case is either cleared or referred to a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth. The Department's after your health examinations page sets out the sequence:
- The panel physician records the results and makes a recommendation to the Department; the clinic does not tell you whether you meet the requirement.
- A case with no significant health condition is cleared without referral.
- A referred case is assessed by a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth, who might ask for more information or further examinations.
- The outcome is that you meet the requirement, meet it if you sign a health undertaking (results are then valid for 6 months), or do not meet it.
- The Department then finishes the remaining checks, including police certificates, and sends the invoice for the second instalment before grant.
None of this replaces the relative's carer assessment, a separate process that starts with Bupa's Statement of Assistance and a treating doctor's report, and must have begun before the application was lodged. The examination comes late because Carer visas go through capping and queueing, and the Department asks for it at final processing.
The examination is one of the document guides for the paper application, and every other step is set out in the Carer Visa Australia guide.
A registered professional makes a grant more likely
PIC 4005 cannot be waived for a Carer visa, so a health result that fails the requirement refuses the application, and requests from a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth carry short deadlines. A registered migration agent or an Australian legal practitioner makes sure specialist reports for any known condition reach the Medical Officer on time, which makes it more likely the decision rests on complete information. No one can promise the medical outcome.
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