What Police Certificates Does Subclass 858 Need in 2026?

Explains which police certificates Subclass 858 applicants and family members need, from age 16 and the 10-year residence test.

Published: 8 October 2026

For the National Innovation visa (Subclass 858), you need a police certificate from Australia if you have spent 12 months or more in Australia in the last 10 years since turning 16, plus an overseas police certificate from every other country — including your home country — where you spent 12 months or more in that same 10-year window since turning 16. Australia accepts only a complete disclosure National Police Certificate issued by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) for the Australian leg. This comes from the Department of Home Affairs official page National Innovation visa (Subclass 858), current as at August 2026, alongside the character requirement set out in the Migration Regulations 1994. This article is general information only and not advice about your individual circumstances — check your own position against the official page or take professional advice before you lodge, since the Department is not obliged to ask you for missing documents before making a decision.

Who has to provide police certificates?

The character documents rule attaches to each person, not to the application as a whole. The official page states that you and any family members above 16 years of age who apply for the visa with you must meet the character requirement, and police certificates are the core evidence used to test that. Family members below that age threshold are not captured by this particular document requirement.

Because the test is "above 16 years of age", turning 16 during processing matters. Assume an applicant adds a child who turns 16 between lodgement and decision: once they are 16 or over, the same reasoning — Australia plus every country with 12 months or more of residence since turning 16 — applies to them, even though their cumulative time since their 16th birthday will be short at that point.

Which countries are on your list?

Work backwards ten years from your application, counting from the day you turned 16, and list every country where your stays add up to 12 months or more. Short trips that combine into a year across several years still count, because the test is cumulative residence rather than continuous residence. Then match that list against two rules:

Your situation	What is required
12 months or more in Australia in the last 10 years since turning 16	AFP National Police Certificate, complete disclosure only
12 months or more in another country in the last 10 years since turning 16	Police certificate from that country, including your home country
Served in the armed forces of any country	Military service records or discharge papers

Three details trip people up. First, your home country is included — you cannot leave it off the list because you hold its citizenship by birth. Second, the Australian certificate is separate from the state-based check many employers accept; the Department specifically says it does not accept standard disclosure certificates or police certificates issued by Australian state or territory police. Third, this evidential list is not the whole character test: the underlying standard in the Migration Regulations 1994 is a public interest criterion, and a certificate with disclosures starts a separate assessment rather than closing the question.

What counts as a valid Australian certificate?

Only a complete disclosure National Police Certificate issued by the AFP. A standard disclosure certificate shows fewer outcomes, which is why the Department excludes it, along with anything issued by a state or territory police force. Ordering the wrong product and uploading it is a common reason for follow-up requests, and there is no second-instalment-style workaround for it — you simply have to obtain the right certificate.

What else sits alongside the certificates?

If you served in the armed forces of any country, you must provide military service records or discharge papers. Beyond that, the Department may ask you to complete two personal particulars forms: Form 80 (Personal particulars for assessment including character assessment) and Form 1221 (Additional personal particulars information). Treat these as "may be required" rather than automatic — the page frames them as forms you may be requested to complete and provide.

What if a country will not issue one, or it arrives late?

Some countries require a letter from the Department before they will release a certificate. The Department provides those letters after you have made your application, so this is not something to solve before lodging. Where obtaining character documents is delayed, the page directs you to upload evidence of your attempts to obtain them to your ImmiAccount. That means keeping receipts, appointment confirmations, request reference numbers or email correspondence as you go, rather than explaining the delay later in prose.

This is also the point at which health timing is worth separating clearly. Health exams operate on the opposite logic: if you did not complete them before applying, you should wait for a request from the Department rather than completing them unprompted. Character certificates should be chased early; health examinations should generally be reactive.

Do family members who are not coming to Australia need certificates too?

Yes. The eligibility criteria state that family members not coming with you to Australia must also meet the character requirement, even though they are not migrating. In practice that means the same document set — Australia plus every qualifying country — can be demanded for someone who never boards a plane. The health requirement runs in parallel: family members not travelling may also need to meet it. Assume an applicant leaves a sibling-dependent or former partner out of the migration plan: excluding them from travel does not remove them from the character assessment, so plan for their certificates as part of the same timeline.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the 12-month test start from my 16th birthday?

Yes. The Department frames both the Australian and overseas tests as "12 months or more in the last 10 years since you turned 16". Time lived in a country before your 16th birthday does not count toward the threshold, but stays afterwards combine across calendar years.

Do I need an AFP certificate if I have lived in Australia for years but also hold another passport?

Residence, not citizenship, drives the requirement. Twelve months or more in Australia in the relevant window requires the AFP complete disclosure certificate, and any other country where you spent 12 months or more requires that country's police certificate — including your country of citizenship, even if you have not lived there recently.

Why was my state police check rejected?

The Department accepts only complete disclosure National Police Certificates issued by the AFP and explicitly does not accept standard disclosure certificates or certificates from Australian state or territory police. Order the AFP product directly if you meet the 12-month residence test.

My former spouse is not migrating with me. Are they exempt from documents?

No. Family members not coming to Australia must still meet the character requirement, and the health requirement may extend to them as well. Their age determines whether the police certificate obligation applies, not their travel plans.

What should I do if a certificate cannot be obtained before I want to lodge?

Lodge with what you have and upload evidence of your attempts to obtain the outstanding certificate to your ImmiAccount. Where a country requires a Departmental letter before issuing one, that letter is provided after you make your application.

Are Form 80 and Form 1221 always required?

They are listed as forms you may be required to complete and provide, not as automatic lodgement documents. Prepare them if asked, and note that the Department may decide the application without requesting further documents.