Family Violence Provisions and the Partner Visa PR Pathway in 2026

How family violence provisions can keep the 801 or 100 permanent Partner visa assessment open after a relationship ends.

Published: 10 October 2026

Yes — a relationship that ends because of family violence does not, by itself, close off the Partner visa route to permanent residence. According to the Australian Department of Home Affairs' Partner Visa Frequently Asked Questions page (as at the October 2026 official page), an applicant experiencing domestic and family violence "may still be eligible for the grant of your permanent visa", and the Department points such applicants to its Family Violence Provisions material. The provisions are the mechanism that keeps the permanent stage — subclass 801 for onshore applicants, subclass 100 for offshore applicants — capable of being assessed after the spousal or de facto relationship has ceased.

What do the family violence provisions actually protect in a Partner visa case?

Partner visa applications are lodged as a pair of subclasses: subclass 820 and 801 together for onshore applicants, subclass 309 and 100 together for offshore applicants. The temporary visa comes first, and the permanent visa is assessed at a second stage. As a general matter, the continuing relationship is what carries an applicant from the first stage to the second; where that relationship has ended, the family violence provisions are the route by which the permanent stage can still be considered.

They are not a separate visa and they do not replace the application you have already lodged. They operate inside that application, standing in for the relationship evidence that can no longer be provided because the relationship has broken down. The Department's own framing on the FAQ page is deliberately open: it says it "may be able to help you" if you are experiencing domestic and family violence, and that you may still be eligible for the grant of the permanent visa.

Do I have to tell the Department that the relationship has ended?

Yes. A change in your relationship with your sponsor is a change in circumstances that the Department expects to be told about, and the same is true if your sponsor has died. The notification step is separate from the family violence provisions themselves; notifying does not defeat the permanent claim, but leaving the Department unaware of the change will usually make the rest of the process harder.

The sequence is short:

Log in to ImmiAccount.
Open the 'Update Details' tab.
Complete the Notification of Relationship Cessation form.
Attach a signed and completed Form 1022 — Notification of changes in circumstances, made under section 104 of the Migration Act 1958.

If you cannot access ImmiAccount, the Partner processing enquiry form is the alternative channel for telling the Department the relationship has ended or changed.

Because notifications and visa records can be a point of control for an abusive former partner, the Department also publishes safety steps for this situation: change your ImmiAccount password as soon as possible, avoid using saved passwords to log in, and change your email password or set up a new email account. The eSafety Commissioner's online safety checklist covers the wider digital safety picture.

If the relationship later resumes, that too has to be reported through the Partner processing enquiry form, with statutory declarations from you and from your sponsor describing the circumstances, plus identity evidence for both of you.

When does the 801 or 100 stage become assessable?

The trigger is time, not the state of the relationship. If you hold a temporary Partner visa (subclass 309 or 820), two years must have passed since you applied for that visa before you can be assessed for the permanent visa. The two years run from the date of the temporary visa application, not from the date it was granted.

Once that point is reached, the assessment is lodged through ImmiAccount:

Select 'New application', then 'Family'.
Select 'Stage 2 - Permanent Partner Visa Assessment (100, 801)'.
Complete the online form using your application ID.

Your application ID appears in the Department's correspondence, including the acknowledgement of application received letter and the notification of visa grant letter. If your original Partner visa was not lodged through ImmiAccount, you need to create one first.

This timing matters most for anyone whose relationship ends early. Consider a hypothetical applicant: she holds a subclass 820 from a combined 820/801 application, and the relationship ends fourteen months after the application was lodged. The family violence provisions may preserve the eventual 801 claim, but the permanent stage still cannot be assessed until the two-year mark passes. Eligibility detail for each subclass is set out on the subclass 801 and subclass 100 pages under 'Visa Requirements'.

Health checks are worth timing around the same window. Health examination results are valid for 12 months from completion, and a health undertaking is valid for 6 months, so the Department may ask for them again if they expire before a decision is made.

What does a family violence claim need to establish?

The FAQ page states the principle but not the detail of how a claim is made. That detail is dealt with on the Department's Family Violence Provisions page, which is the material to read before lodging a claim.

One condition is stated plainly and applies regardless of the provisions: you must meet all relevant legislative requirements before the Department can grant an application. The family violence provisions address the relationship element; they do not dispense with character, health, or any other requirement that applies to the subclass.

This article is general information about how the published rules fit together, not advice on any individual case, and it should not be read as a prediction of outcome; because the criteria and the evidence categories are set by the Migration Act 1958 and the regulations under it, check the current official pages or obtain advice from a registered professional about your own circumstances.

Can family violence get the case decided faster?

Sometimes, but it is not automatic and it is frequently refused. Under Ministerial Direction 117, the Department may prioritise a Partner visa application where it involves special circumstances of a compassionate nature and there are compelling reasons to depart from the normal order of priority. There is no guarantee of a higher priority, because other applicants may have equally or more compelling circumstances, and the Department states that most requests for priority processing cannot be approved. Requests are only considered where all supporting documents and information have been submitted.

There is also a hard limit for family violence cases raised early. If you hold a subclass 309 or 820 and the two years have not yet passed, the Department cannot consider a priority processing request at all.

On processing order generally, Ministerial Direction 117 gives the highest priority to onshore subclass 820 and 801 applications, with lower priority — and therefore likely longer waits — for offshore subclass 309 and 100 applications and for subclass 300. The published visa processing time guide shows times for recently decided applications only; it is a guide and not specific to any one application.

What if the sponsor withdraws, or the sponsor is the person using violence?

Sponsorship can be withdrawn at any time before the Department decides the permanent Partner visa application. That is a real risk in family violence cases, because the sponsor's cooperation is often the thing that has broken down. The provisions exist precisely so that the permanent claim is not dependent on a sponsor who is no longer supporting it, though whether it succeeds still turns on the evidence and the criteria on the Family Violence Provisions page.

Sponsors who are themselves experiencing domestic and family violence are also covered by separate Departmental material, set out on the Information for Partner visa sponsors page, which points to the same eSafety online safety checklist.

One mechanical point is easy to miss: a Partner visa application covers both subclasses together, so withdrawing it withdraws both — 820 and 801, or 309 and 100. Any applicant aged 18 or over included in a withdrawal must consent, with a signed statement from each.

What happens if the permanent visa is refused?

If your subclass 801 or 100 application is refused, you no longer hold a temporary Partner visa. The Department advises checking your status through VEVO rather than assuming a bridging arrangement continues.

Your refusal notification letter will state whether you have the right to seek review. The Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) has jurisdiction to review certain visa decisions made under the Migration Act 1958; its fees and charges are published on the ART's website. Separately, a visa application charge can only be refunded in certain circumstances, and there is no standard timeframe for processing refund requests.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I still get permanent residence after the relationship ends because of family violence?

The Department's Partner Visa FAQ page states that an applicant experiencing domestic and family violence may still be eligible for the grant of the permanent visa. The family violence provisions are the route by which the subclass 801 or 100 stage stays open after the relationship has ceased.

Is the family violence claim a new visa application?

No. It operates within the Partner visa application you have already lodged, standing in for the relationship evidence that can no longer be provided. You still reach the permanent stage through the Stage 2 assessment in ImmiAccount once the two-year period has passed.

When can the permanent stage be assessed?

Two years must have passed since you applied for the temporary Partner visa (subclass 309 or 820). At that point you lodge the Stage 2 - Permanent Partner Visa Assessment (100, 801) through ImmiAccount using your application ID.

Will reporting family violence speed up my application?

Possibly, but not reliably. Priority processing under Ministerial Direction 117 requires compassionate and compelling circumstances, most requests are not approved, and a request cannot even be considered until two years have passed since the temporary visa application.

Can my sponsor stop the permanent visa by withdrawing sponsorship?

A sponsor can withdraw sponsorship at any time before the permanent Partner visa application is decided. The family violence provisions are designed so the permanent claim does not depend on the sponsor's continuing support, but the outcome still depends on the evidence and the legislative criteria.

What if my permanent Partner visa is refused?

You no longer hold a temporary Partner visa, and you should check your current visa details and conditions through VEVO. Your refusal letter will say whether you can seek review by the Administrative Review Tribunal, which reviews certain visa decisions made under the Migration Act 1958.