Health checks and police certificates for subclass 143: when to do them in 2026

Wait for the request in both cases. According to the Australian Department of Home Affairs Contributory Parent visa (subclass 143) page, current as at July 2026, you should not arrange a police check until you are asked to, and the Department will tell you when health examinations need to be completed. Neither is something you must have finished before lodging.

Those two instructions sit behind two separate eligibility requirements — the health requirement and the character requirement — which you and any family members applying with you must meet. The requirement is yours to satisfy, but the timing of the check belongs to the Department. What follows is general information drawn from those published requirements rather than personalised immigration or legal advice, so your own position is best checked against the Department's current published requirements or with a registered migration agent or legal practitioner.

When does the Department actually ask for each one?

Timing follows where each item sits in the published steps, and the two are not in the same place.

Health examinations are listed under the "after you apply" stage. The page states: "We will let you know when you need to complete health examinations." There is no step asking applicants to arrange them at lodgement.

Police certificates appear earlier, in the "gather your documents" stage, listed as a character document: "We might ask you for character documents, including police certificates. Do not arrange a police check until we ask you to." Being at that stage does not make the certificate due — the request itself is the trigger.

	Health examinations	Police certificates
Sits under	The health requirement	The character requirement
Triggered	After you apply; the Department notifies you	Only when the Department asks for character documents
Key instruction	"We will let you know when you need to complete health examinations."	"Do not arrange a police check until we ask you to."
Who must meet it	You and any family members applying with you; other non-migrating family members may also be asked	You and any family members applying with you; other non-migrating family members may also be asked

In practice your job at this point is to be contactable and ready to respond, rather than to front-run either request.

Do they need to be done before I lodge?

No. Lodgement does not depend on either one.

Health examinations are notified after you apply, so the page's own sequencing rules them out as a lodgement prerequisite. On the police certificate side the instruction is stronger: arranging one before you are asked is specifically what the page tells you not to do.

What the lodgement-stage checklist does call for is the material that establishes the application — identity documents for you and anyone included, your sponsor's documents, evidence for the balance of family test, relationship and dependency documents for a partner or children, and recent photographs. Those you can prepare in advance; the health and character checks are requested separately.

Who else in my application has to complete them?

The health and character requirements cover you and any family members who apply for the visa with you, and the page also notes the Department might ask other non-migrating family members to meet both.

The document checklists give a clearer steer on where character documents attach. For a dependant aged 18 or over, the checklist asks for identity documents, evidence of the relationship, documents about other relationships where applicable, character documents, and proof of dependency. For a partner it asks for identity documents, character documents, and evidence of the relationship. For a dependant under 18, character documents appear as "if applicable".

Assume an applicant lodges with a partner and a 20-year-old dependent child who relies on them. Both are in scope for character documents in the same way the main applicant is, and both should be handled on request rather than arranged up front; the health requirement applies across the same group.

Does getting them early make my application faster?

There is nothing in the published process that rewards having either one ready early.

For police certificates the page does not merely permit waiting — it instructs it. For health examinations there is no applicant-initiated step at all, because the Department tells you when. Front-running either request does not create progress; it only adds documents to manage outside the sequence the Department controls.

The more useful preparation is being reachable. The Department notes it may need to contact you directly even where you have nominated a sponsor's email address, appointed an authorised recipient, or appointed someone to give you immigration assistance. If you lodged online or imported your application, messages sent to you are also viewable through those online services, which is another reason current contact details matter more than an early certificate.

What if my family unit or details change after I lodge?

Later additions and changes can bring extra people into scope, and those people get their own checks.

You might be able to add family members before a decision is made, using Form 1436 Adding an additional applicant after lodgement, along with evidence of the relationship and a copy of the family member's passport. Keep in mind that the health and character requirements follow anyone included, so an addition is not merely a paperwork update.

You also need to tell the Department about changes to your phone number, email, address, passport, relationship status, and family composition, including the birth of a child. Keeping those details accurate protects the channel the requests travel through.

The same request-first pattern shows up elsewhere in the process: biometrics may be asked for and the Department will tell you if they are needed, and you will be told when the Assurance of Support has to be provided.

Frequently Asked Questions

When should I arrange my police certificate for subclass 143?

Only after the Department asks you to. The page states that applicants might be asked for character documents including police certificates, and adds the instruction not to arrange a police check until asked. Arranging one earlier has no stated role in the process.

Do health examinations need to be completed before lodging the application?

No. Health examinations sit in the stage after you apply, and the page says the Department will let you know when they need to be completed. Nothing in the lodgement steps asks for them to be done beforehand.

Who else needs health checks and police certificates?

You and any family members applying with you must meet the health and character requirements, and non-migrating family members may also be asked to meet both. The document checklists confirm the pattern: character documents are listed for partners and for dependants aged 18 or over, and for dependants under 18 where applicable.

Will arranging them early make processing faster?

No published step rewards it. Police certificates are expressly not to be arranged until asked, and health examinations have no applicant-initiated trigger at all. Waiting for the request costs nothing in the published process.

How will I find out when my checks are due?

The Department notifies you. It may contact you directly even if you have nominated a sponsor's email address, appointed an authorised recipient, or appointed someone to give you immigration assistance, and messages sent to you are viewable through the online services if you lodged online or imported your application. Keeping your contact details current is therefore the practical safeguard.

What happens if I add a family member after I have lodged?

You can ask to add them before a decision is made using Form 1436 Adding an additional applicant after lodgement, with evidence of the relationship and a copy of their passport. Because the health and character requirements apply to anyone included, that person's checks follow the same request process rather than being arranged upfront.

References

Australian Department of Home Affairs — Contributory Parent visa (subclass 143)