Who Can Be Included in a Subclass 116 Carer Visa Application in 2026?

Who can be included in a 2026 Subclass 116 Carer visa application: partners, dependent children over 18, health and character rules, and sponsorship

Published: 10 July 2026 Reading time 12 min

Yes — a Subclass 116 Carer visa application can cover your partner and dependent children, provided each of them is included when you lodge, meets Australia's health and character requirements, and is covered by the sponsorship behind your own application. According to the Australian Department of Home Affairs Carer visa (Subclass 116) page, you can include members of the family unit in your application when you apply. The Migration Regulations 1994 criteria for secondary applicants in this subclass require those people to lodge together with you rather than join afterwards; later changes such as a new child or a new relationship are things the Department asks you to notify, not additions that flow into the decision automatically.

This article is general information only and is not tailored migration or legal advice for your circumstances, so treat any read of your own situation as provisional and confirm the current official page and legislative text before acting on it.

Who counts as a member of the family unit for a 116 application?

The page uses "members of the family unit" as the test, and in practice that group divides into three: your partner, your dependent children under 18, and dependent children over 18 who meet the dependency tests below. A partner can be a spouse — evidenced by a current marriage certificate — or a de facto partner, evidenced by at least 12 months in that relationship immediately before you apply, with limited exceptions.

The deciding factor is rarely affection or shared history; it is whether each person fits one of those categories on the day you lodge and whether you can document it.

What documents does your partner need to be included?

For each partner you include, the page requires identity documents, character documents, and documents about former relationships where relevant. Relationship evidence then takes one of two forms:

Your current marriage certificate, or
Proof that your de facto relationship existed for at least 12 months before you applied, except in limited circumstances.

Documents that can prove a de facto relationship include joint bank account statements, billing accounts in joint names, joint leases or mortgages, and documents showing your partner lives or has lived at your address. Evidence that is spread across several of those categories tends to carry more weight than a single document, because each one independently fixes the shared address or shared finances at a point in time.

Can a dependent child under 18 be included, and what do they need?

Yes, and their document set is comparatively light. For every dependent under 18 applying with you, provide identity documents, proof of your relationship with them such as a birth or marriage certificate, and character documents where applicable.

Two overlay requirements still apply. The Department may refuse the visa if granting it would not be in the best interests of an applicant under 18, and the Migration Regulations 1994 contain additional public interest criteria for applicants under 18 dealing with welfare and the consent of parents or guardians. Provision numbers change with amendments, so check them against the current text of the Migration Regulations 1994.

What is the age-23 rule for dependent children over 18?

A child over 18 can still be included, but only through one of two doors. They must be over 18 but not yet turned 23 and dependent on you or your partner, or over 23 and unable to earn a living to support themselves because of physical or cognitive limitations, while also being dependent on you or your partner.

Dependency has to be shown, not asserted. Provide:

Identity documents
Documents about their other relationships, if applicable
Character documents
Proof of the relationship, such as a birth certificate or adoption papers
A completed Form 47a Details of a child or other dependent family member aged 18 years or over
Proof of financial dependency, such as bank statements, money transfers and rent receipts

If the child is 23, or is likely to turn 23 while your application is being processed, you must also provide a report from a qualified medical practitioner stating they are dependent on you or your partner due to the total or partial loss of their bodily or mental functions. This is the point at which many applications stall: a child who is 22 at lodgement but turns 23 mid-processing needs disability-based dependency evidence ready, not merely financial records.

Which health, character and other requirements apply to everyone included?

Health and character are individual tests, and each included person must pass their own. Family members who apply with you must meet the health requirement, and even family members not coming to Australia may have to meet it. Character is assessed for you and for family members aged 16 and over applying with you, and the Department may also ask other family members to meet it.

A few related requirements work alongside those tests:

Debts to the Australian Government. If you or any family members owe the Australian Government money, including those who do not apply for the visa with you, it must be repaid or arrangements made to repay it.
Identity. If you cannot prove your identity, the Department will refuse your application and might not grant any family members listed on it a visa for 10 years. A single weak identity case can therefore sink every person on the form.
Australian values. Anyone 18 or over must have read, or had explained to them, Life in Australia and must sign an Australian Values Statement.
Health checks, police certificates and biometrics. These may be requested per applicant, and the Department will tell you when that happens — do not arrange police certificates until asked.

Does your sponsorship have to cover everyone you include?

It does. Under the secondary applicant criteria in the Migration Regulations 1994, the sponsorship supporting your case must extend to each secondary applicant (116.312), and each secondary applicant must have a qualifying sponsor at the time of decision (116.322). On the Department's side of the same requirement, your sponsorship must be approved by the Department before it can support anyone.

There is one carve-out worth knowing: the Regulations preserve a pathway for a former spouse or de facto partner whose relationship ended because of family violence, along with that person's own family members. It sits alongside the Department's instruction to notify changes to your marital or de facto status after lodgement, including its family violence provisions.

What extra costs and concessions apply to included family members?

There is a charge for each family member who applies with you, alongside the charge for the main applicant. The Department's Carer visa page refers applicants to the Visa Pricing Estimator for an individual costing, which does not include the second instalment or separate costs for health checks, police certificates and biometrics.

Two cost rules cut specifically against secondary applicants:

Second instalment waivers do not extend to them. The Department may reduce the primary applicant's second instalment to nil where payment would cause severe financial hardship to them or the person they care for, but it will not waive the second instalment for anyone applying with you.
One concession does pass through. From 1 July 2026, a lower visa application charge applies to eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens lodging a valid application, and family members are also eligible for the lower charge based on the passport of the primary applicant. Eligibility depends on the primary applicant holding a valid passport from one of the listed countries — the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu or Vanuatu.

What does each person need to lodge with the application?

Every application is made on Form 47OF Application for migration to Australia by other family members, and every form must be completed in English. The paper application goes by post or courier to the Child and Other Family Processing Centre in Perth, at the address on the form, along with your sponsor's form and documents. Send certified copies rather than originals, and keep your own copy of the complete submission.

Two details are easy to overlook when several people are on one form. Each person included needs 4 recent passport-size photographs (45mm x 35mm), less than 6 months old, in good-quality colour with a full-face view against a plain light-coloured background. And you must be outside Australia when you apply and when the Department decides the application — if the above steps are incomplete, the application may be treated as invalid and not processed at all.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I add my partner or child to my Subclass 116 application after I have lodged it?

Family members can be included when you apply, and the secondary applicant criteria in the Migration Regulations 1994 require them to lodge together with you. Changes after lodgement — including a new partner, a new child, or a change to your marital status — are matters the Department asks you to notify, which is a separate process from joining this decision.

Does my partner have to meet health and character requirements too?

Yes. Any family member applying for the visa with you must meet the health requirement, and character is assessed for family members aged 16 and over. Even family members who are not coming to Australia may be required to meet the health requirement.

My child turns 23 while my application is being processed — what happens?

You will need evidence that the dependency is disability-based rather than purely financial. Specifically, a report from a qualified medical practitioner stating the child is dependent on you or your partner due to the total or partial loss of their bodily or mental functions, alongside Form 47a and financial dependency documents.

What proves that an adult child is financially dependent on me?

The Department's examples are bank statements, money transfers and rent receipts, supported by proof of the relationship such as a birth certificate or adoption papers. A completed Form 47a is required for every dependent family member aged 18 or over included in the application.

Will including family members affect what the visa costs or any waiver I might get?

Each family member attracts their own charge, and the hardship concession on the second instalment does not extend to them — the Department will not waive the second instalment for anyone applying with you. The reduced charge for eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste applicants does extend to family members, based on the primary applicant's passport.

What happens if I cannot prove my own identity?

The Department will refuse the application and may decline to grant another visa for 10 years, and may also decline to grant a visa for 10 years to any family members listed on your application. Providing false or misleading information carries its own consequences under the Regulations.