Withdrawing a Carer visa application does not refund the A$2,720 first instalment in most cases. Section 49(4) of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) makes the charge non-refundable unless the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth) provide otherwise, and a change of mind is not a refund ground.
You withdraw in ImmiAccount, through the Department's online withdrawal form for paper Other Family applications, or with Form 1446, signed by every applicant aged 18 or over. An 836 applicant's bridging visa then ends 35 days after the withdrawal.
A$2,720 is the first instalment for a main applicant who lodged on or after 1 July 2026. An older application paid the charge in force on its lodgement day, for example A$2,175 before 1 July 2026, and the refund rules apply to what was actually paid.
How do you withdraw a Carer visa application?
You withdraw a Carer visa application in writing. Use ImmiAccount if the paper application has been imported; otherwise use the Department's online withdrawal form for Other Family applications or Form 1446.
- Decide who is withdrawing. One applicant's withdrawal does not withdraw anyone else's application. Dependent children are not withdrawn automatically, so include them in the request.
- If the application is in ImmiAccount, open it, choose "Update details" and then "withdrawal of a visa application". Removing the application from your ImmiAccount does not withdraw it.
- If it is not in ImmiAccount, use the Department's withdrawal web form for Parent, Child and Other Family visa applications, which lists the Carer subclasses 116 and 836. Alternatively, complete Form 1446, Withdrawal of a visa application, and upload it with the Other Family Visa Processing Centre online form.
- Expect it to take effect at once. According to the Department's withdrawal page, the application is withdrawn as soon as the request is received. The written notice can take a few days to arrive.
Once a visa is granted, there is nothing left to withdraw.
Who has to sign Form 1446?
Form 1446 has to be signed by every applicant aged 18 or over who is withdrawing, and by a parent or guardian for each applicant under 18.
- Someone acting for you. A registered migration agent, an agent outside Australia or an authorised exempt person may withdraw with the applicant's authority. That person also signs, and must give their details on the form.
- The form's age. The form still carries the 2017 design date (07/17) and the old department name, but it is the current version on the Department's site.
Is the Carer visa charge refunded after a withdrawal?
The Carer visa charge is not refunded after a withdrawal unless one of the grounds in regulation 2.12F applies. The A$2,065 second instalment is not payable at all if you withdraw before paying it.
| Instalment | Refunded when | Law |
|---|---|---|
| First instalment, must be refunded | the application was unnecessary when made; it was made because of a mistake by the Department; the applicant died before the decision | reg 2.12F(2)(a)–(c) |
| First instalment, may be refunded | the application was made because of the applicant's own mistake, is withdrawn in writing, and a refund is then requested | reg 2.12F(3) |
| First instalment, not refunded | a change of mind; a refusal | Migration Act s 49(4); the Department's refund page |
| Second instalment, if not yet paid | not payable once the application is withdrawn | reg 2.12G(1)(a) |
| Second instalment, if already paid | refunded on written request if withdrawn in writing before the decision | reg 2.12H(2)(a) |
- Who asks. A refund request comes from the person who paid, or their legal personal representative (reg 2.12F(2A)). For an applicant's death, proof of death goes with the request.
- How to ask. Use "Request Refund" in ImmiAccount, or send Form 1424, Refund request, to the processing office. An internal review of a refund decision is available once.
- When the second instalment arises. For a Carer visa it is invoiced only after release, so most withdrawals come before it is paid.
The law and the Department's page differ on one point. The Department's getting a refund page lists "the sponsorship or nomination was not successful" as a case where it must refund. Regulation 2.12F(2)(f) to (h) limits that ground to the subclass 407, 482 and 408 visas. The refund instrument in force under regulation 2.12F(1)(a)(ii), LIN 21/007, names no Carer or Other Family case. The law governs.
The death of the relative being cared for is not a refund ground. Only the applicant's own death is.
What happens to an 836 applicant's bridging visa after a withdrawal?
An 836 applicant's bridging visa ends 35 days after the withdrawal. The applicant then needs another visa, or must leave Australia.
- Older bridging visas. Form 1446 gives 28 days for a bridging visa granted before 19 November 2016.
- After the 35 days. The applicant is an unlawful non-citizen unless they hold another visa or have become an Australian citizen.
- No section 48 bar. A withdrawal made before a refusal is not treated as a refusal for section 48 (s 49(3)).
- The 116 applicant is outside Australia and holds no bridging visa for this application.
Can the sponsor withdraw instead?
The sponsor can withdraw the sponsorship in writing at any time before the Department decides the application. That withdraws the sponsorship, not the visa application.
The Department's 836 page says a sponsor "can withdraw" at any time before the decision by writing to the office where the application was lodged. Clauses 836.227 and 116.222 of the Regulations, however, require the sponsorship to be "still in force" at the decision.
This guide's reading: a withdrawn sponsorship therefore leads towards refusal, with no refund, the section 48 bar for an onshore applicant with no other visa, and a review deadline. The applicant's own withdrawal is usually the cleaner way out. The sponsor's rights and duties are set out on the page on the relative's side of the application.
Should you withdraw or wait for a Carer visa decision?
Withdraw rather than wait for a Carer visa decision only when the application is going to fail and a refusal would cost you something a withdrawal would not, such as a section 48 bar or a refusal on your record.
| Compared | Withdraw | Wait for the decision |
|---|---|---|
| Counts as a refusal | No | Yes |
| Section 48 bar (836, no other visa) | No | Yes |
| Review | None | Administrative Review Tribunal within 28 days, fee A$3,727; the 836 applicant applies, and for a 116 the sponsor applies |
| Place in the queue | Lost; a new application needs a new charge and a new queue date | Kept until the decision |
| First instalment | Not refunded | Not refunded |
For a New Zealand citizen who became eligible for Australian citizenship by conferral from 1 July 2023, the Department's Family Migration news page notes that people with a pending Other Family application "may wish to consider withdrawing". It also notes that this does not entitle them to a refund.
If the reason for stopping is a death or a move into care, first read what happens if the person you care for dies, because the timing of a withdrawal matters there.
What are the alternatives to withdrawing a Carer visa?
There are three alternatives to withdrawing a Carer visa.
- Report the change and keep waiting. File Form 1022 and keep the application alive while the family's situation settles. The charges already paid, and those still to come, are set out with a worked total on the cost page.
- Ask the Department about eligibility. Use the Other Family Visa Processing Centre online form, for example after a sponsor's death.
- Lodge a different visa. A different visa can be lodged while the Carer application stays on foot, if that visa's own criteria allow it.
What the family gives up by leaving the queue is shown on the page on the 12-year queue and release date. The whole guide starts at Carer Visa Australia.
A registered professional makes a grant more likely
A withdrawal cannot be undone, and for an 836 applicant it starts a 35-day clock on the bridging visa, while waiting for a refusal instead brings a section 48 bar and a 28-day review deadline. A registered migration agent or an Australian legal practitioner weighs those consequences against the family's next visa before anything is signed, which makes a good result more likely, though never certain.
Ask about your caseRead next
If the person you care for dies before the Carer visa is grantedWhen the person needing care dies, the carer criterion tested at decision fails.
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.