Carer visa medical assessment: how the carer assessment works, step by step

The Carer visa medical assessment is an examination of the person who needs care by Bupa Medical Visa Services, the only provider the Minister has specified, and it costs A$429.20 in a Bupa centre for appointments booked from 1 July 2026. To start it, email Bupa a signed Statement of Assistance and a signed doctor's report less than 12 months old; the certificate that follows records the impairment rating and binds the Department on the medical questions.

The assessment is about the relative, not the carer. It is the one step both sides of the application depend on: it examines the Australian relative, or the member of their family who needs care, and it decides whether the carer's visa can be granted.

1. Get the doctor's report. Ask the treating doctor for a signed report, on letterhead, dated within the last 12 months.
2. Complete the Statement of Assistance. Fill in and sign one form for each person who needs care.
3. Email the documents. Send both, with a scanned photo ID and any papers from earlier applications, in one PDF to the provider's carer visa address.
4. Book and pay. The provider phones to book the appointment and takes payment upfront.
5. Attend the examination. The person who needs care is examined at a centre that offers carer assessments, or at home.
6. Receive the certificate. The provider's medical adviser rates the impairment and issues the Carer Visa Assessment Certificate.
7. Lodge it. The carer lodges the certificate with the visa application, or lodges the provider's "assessment started" letter and sends the certificate within 3 months.

Steps and fees from Bupa Medical Visa Services, which is not a government body; seen 24 September 2026.

What is the Carer visa medical assessment?

The Carer visa medical assessment is the examination that produces the certificate regulation 1.15AA of the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth) requires before anyone counts as a carer.

The Minister specifies who carries it out. Under the Migration (Specification of Health Service Provider) Instrument (LIN 24/040) 2024, in force from 12 September 2024, that provider is Bupa Health Services Pty Ltd trading as Bupa Medical Visa Services. It carries out the assessments for the Department of Home Affairs under a contract.

The assessment is also a lodgement gate. Schedule 1 of the Regulations says an application by a person claiming to be a carer "must be accompanied by satisfactory evidence that the relevant medical assessment has been sought" (items 1123A(3)(c) and 1123B(3)(d)). The Department's subclass 836 page puts it plainly: "We won't accept the visa application unless we have evidence this process has at least begun."

What are the steps to the carer assessment certificate?

The carer assessment certificate takes 7 steps, from the doctor's report to lodging the certificate with the visa application.

1. The doctor's report. The treating GP, specialist or allied health professional writes a signed report dated within the last 12 months. The next heading lists what it must contain.
2. The Statement of Assistance. The person who needs care completes and signs the provider's form. If two people in the household need care, each has their own form.
3. Emailing the documents. Everything goes in one PDF to carervisa@bupamvs.com.au: the Statement of Assistance, the report, a scanned copy of the photo ID that will be shown at the appointment, and any documents from earlier applications. Bupa's carer page says "These appointments cannot be made online."
4. Booking and payment. Once the documents are received, the provider phones to book the appointment and takes payment over the phone.
5. The examination. The person who needs care attends a centre that offers carer assessments, with the original photo ID, or is examined at home. In most cases the examination is physical.
6. The certificate. The provider's medical adviser assesses the condition and its effect on daily life, rates the impairment and signs the certificate. The provider may first write asking for specialist reports.
7. Lodgement. The certificate goes to the carer for the visa application. If it has not arrived, the provider's letter confirming the assessment has begun goes in instead.

What is the Statement of Assistance?

The Statement of Assistance is Bupa's 7-page form in which the person needing care describes what they cannot do, who helps them now and which doctors treat them.

The form covers:

• help needed with bathing, toileting, eating, mobility, exercise therapy, transport, medication and assistive devices, and supervision by day and by night;
• for each activity, the time spent helping each day, in bands of under 30 minutes, 30 to 60 minutes, 60 to 120 minutes, and over 120 minutes;
• who helps now, with their name, age and relationship, and how often;
• the usual doctor, any specialists, and hospital admissions in the last 5 years;
• an authority for the doctors to release medical records to the provider;
• a signed declaration, and an optional consent for the provider to contact an authorised representative.

The form is written to the sponsor: "As a sponsor, you are required to undertake a Carer visa assessment at an approved clinic in Australia." The answers decide whether the examination goes ahead, so they should match what the doctor's report says.

What must the doctor's report include?

The doctor's report must meet three rules: who writes it, what it says and how recent it is.

1. Who writes it. A GP, a specialist, or an allied health professional such as a physiotherapist, psychologist or occupational therapist, on official letterhead and signed.
2. What it says. The diagnosis, the prognosis, the treatment, and the impact the condition has on the activities of daily living.
3. How recent it is. Dated within the last 12 months. Hospital discharge papers are not accepted as a medical report.

Bupa also offers a GP summary-report template. It asks the doctor, for each condition, for the diagnosis, its functional impact on daily living, the current treatment and the planned treatment, with specialist reports from the last 12 months attached.

How much does the carer assessment cost?

The carer assessment costs A$429.20 in a Bupa centre, A$579.20 to A$988.30 for a home examination depending on distance, and A$375.10 for an exceptional assessment on the papers.

These are Bupa's fees for appointments booked from 1 July 2026. They are paid upfront when the appointment is booked, and extra tests cost more. No Department page publishes the fee, and no rule says whether the carer or the relative pays; the provider takes payment from whoever books. The fee sits alongside the visa charges, which are set out in full on the Carer visa cost page.

What if the person needing care cannot attend?

If the person needing care cannot attend a centre, Bupa offers a home examination for a distance-based fee, and an assessment on the papers only in exceptional circumstances.

An authorised representative named in the Statement of Assistance can be contacted by the provider and can book the appointment. An interpreter is at the examinee's own cost, and the declaration in the form says the examination may not be completed if there are communication difficulties. The provider publishes nothing on how it assesses a person who cannot answer questions, for example because of advanced dementia, so the doctor's report and the statements of the people who give care carry more weight in that case.

What does the Carer Visa Assessment Certificate decide?

The Carer Visa Assessment Certificate decides four medical questions, and regulation 1.15AA(3) makes the Department take its opinion on them as correct.

1. The condition. The person has a medical condition.
2. The impairment. The condition causes physical, intellectual or sensory impairment of their ability to attend to the practical aspects of daily life.
3. The rating. The impairment has a rating under the Impairment Tables in section 23(1) of the Social Security Act 1991 (Cth), and the certificate states it.
4. The duration. Because of the condition, the person needs direct help with daily life and will continue to need it for at least 2 years.

The Department then compares the rating with the threshold of 30 set by the Minister in IMMI 17/126. How the score is built, and what a rating below 30 means, is explained in the guide to the Carer visa impairment rating.

Can you lodge a Carer visa before the certificate arrives?

You can lodge a Carer visa before the certificate arrives if you include Bupa's letter confirming the assessment has begun, and then send the certificate within 3 months of applying.

The Department's subclass 836 and subclass 116 pages both say: "If you did not give us the Bupa medical certificate when you applied, you should give it to us within 3 months of applying. If we don't have the medical certificate by the time we decide on your application, we will not grant you the visa." Form 47OF asks for the letter or the certificate at question 66 in Part L.

Can you challenge the carer assessment certificate?

You can challenge the carer assessment certificate only through a review by the provider itself, because regulation 1.15AA(2)(b) recognises a certificate issued on the provider's review of its own opinion.

The Department must take the certificate's opinion on the medical questions as correct. The Administrative Review Tribunal stands in the Department's shoes on review, so in this guide's reading it is bound in the same way; it can look again at the other criteria but not substitute its own medical view. The provider has not published its review procedure, fee or time limit.

A condition that has worsened since the assessment is a different matter. The Statement of Assistance asks about earlier assessments and their outcomes, so a new request can be made with fresh medical reports.

Can the assessed person change after lodgement?

The assessed person can change only if the new person is also the Australian relative or a member of their family unit under regulation 1.15AA, and gets their own certificate, because the carer test is applied at decision (clauses 836.221 and 116.221).

That is this guide's reading of the Regulations. The Department publishes no guidance on replacing the person who needs care in an application that is already lodged, so a change of this kind needs a registered practitioner's advice before the Department is told.

Is the carer assessment the same as your own visa medical?

The carer assessment is not the same as your own visa medical: the carer assessment rates the relative's need for care, while your visa medical tests you against the health requirement.

The carer's own examinations are assessed by a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth against public interest criterion 4005, which the Regulations do not allow to be waived for this visa. For a 116, the Department asks for them when the application is reviewed after release from the queue, according to its Other Family Visa Processing Centre form page. For an 836, Ministerial Direction 103 places health and character before the queue date, and updated checks can be asked for at release. In Australia both examinations are booked with the same provider, which is why families often confuse them.

Where does the carer assessment fit in the application?

The carer assessment fits at the start of the application, because the Department will not accept a Carer visa without evidence it has begun.

Before booking, it helps to know which medical conditions qualify for a Carer visa, because the assessment tests the effect of the condition, not its name. The sponsor completes Form 40 in parallel, and the carer's own forms and evidence follow the guide to how to apply for a Carer visa. The assessment is one of three links that must all hold, and the three-link eligibility check tests them in order.

Anyone paid to help prepare the medical evidence and the application must be registered or a lawyer, so check a migration agent's registration before paying. The overview of both subclasses is on Carer Visa Australia.

Read next

Carer visa impairment rating: regulation 1.15AA and the threshold of 30The Carer visa needs an impairment rating of 30, set by regulation 1.15AA. How much does a Carer visa cost? Charges, second instalment and a worked totalTwo instalments, a waiver for hardship, and every other cost added up. Who can sponsor a Carer visa? The relative's side of the applicationThe sponsor signs Form 40 and promises two years of housing and money. What medical conditions qualify for a Carer visa?A condition qualifies by its effect on daily life, never by its name.