Can Siblings and the Child's Own Children Join a Subclass 102 Application in 2026?
Two siblings adopted together need separate Subclass 102 applications — but the child's own dependent children can join theirs.
If you are adopting two siblings and hoping to lodge once, the published rule is blunt: each child needs their own Adoption visa (Subclass 102) application. The Australian Department of Home Affairs' official Adoption visa (Subclass 102) page, as at August 2026, states that siblings who want this visa must be covered by separate applications, while the adopted child's own dependent children can be included in that child's application when it is lodged, or added at any point before a decision is made.
That one distinction — relatives across the family line versus children down the family line — decides how many forms, fees, sponsorships and health examinations a family has to manage.
Do two adopted siblings go on one Subclass 102 application?
No. Siblings are not bundled. Each child is the main applicant in their own file, and each file is assessed on its own evidence against the same criteria: the adoption pathway (an intercountry adoption arranged with an Australian state or territory central authority, an adoption between two Hague Adoption Convention countries other than Australia, or an expatriate adoption), an approved sponsor, being under 18 at the time of adoption, at lodgement and at the date of decision, the health requirement, the character requirement for children aged 16 or over, any debt owed to the Australian Government, and the best interests of the child.
| Siblings | The child's own dependent children | |
|---|---|---|
| Can they share the child's application? | No — a separate application each | Yes — included at lodgement or added before the decision |
| Visa application charge | A base charge for each application | An additional charge for each dependent child |
| Health | Assessed within each child's own application | Must meet the health requirement |
| Sponsorship | Each application carries its own sponsorship, approved before grant | Covered by the child's application |
| When the door closes | Not applicable — a sibling can never be added to another sibling's application, and nothing requires both siblings to lodge at the same time; each lodges their own application separately | At the date of decision |
What does a separate application mean in practice for each sibling?
Subclass 102 is a paper-only visa. Each application is made on Form 47CH with Form 40CH sponsorship, posted or couriered to the Child and Other Family Processing Centre in Perth, and the application charge must be paid before the papers are sent. Applications cannot be lodged in person, and the child must be outside Australia when the application is submitted. The Department says it will acknowledge an application within approximately one month of lodgement, and it does not give progress updates inside its published global processing times.
Two consequences follow. First, the same adoptive parent can sponsor both children, but each sponsorship is assessed and approved separately, and a pending registrable offence charge against the sponsor or their partner will result in refusal of that sponsorship and that application. Second, siblings posted together are still decided on their own timelines, and there is no refund of the application fee if an application is refused — so a two-child adoption carries two sets of fees at risk, not one.
Can the adopted child's own children be included in the same application?
Yes — and this is the case that surprises families. The official page uses the phrase "the child's dependent children", meaning children of the child being adopted: in practice, the adoptive parents' grandchildren.
Suppose an applicant is 17, has an infant of their own, and is being adopted by an Australian citizen. The infant can be included in that 17-year-old's Subclass 102 application as a dependent child, rather than waiting for a separate visa later. The Department's position is that a dependent child can be included when the child applies, or added to the application at any time before a decision is made.
What does the dependent child have to provide and satisfy?
The dependent child must meet the health requirement, and the Department may also ask a dependent child who applies for the visa to meet the character requirement. The published document checklist asks for:
- four recent photographs (45 mm x 35 mm) of any dependent child included in the application, taken against a plain light-coloured background and less than six months old;
- identity documents, travel documents, and proof of the relationship with the child, such as a birth certificate, for every dependant under 18;
- police certificates and Form 80 for children over 16;
- adoption documents, which the checklist extends to any other dependent child included in the application.
There is also a caveat worth planning around: family members who are not coming to Australia may still have to meet the health requirement. Beyond the page itself, the visa criteria sit in Part 102 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994, with public interest criteria in Schedule 4, and anyone relying on the exact wording should read the current legislative text as published, since consolidated legislation is amended from time to time.
Is there a deadline for adding a dependent child?
Yes: the decision. The Department's step-by-step guide repeats the same rule after lodgement — a child's dependent child can be added to the application any time before a decision is made. The published material does not provide for adding a dependent child after that point, so the safe planning assumption is that everyone who might come should be identified before lodgement, or added as early as possible.
Adding late is possible but not free of friction. A dependent child added mid-process still has to supply identity and relationship documents and complete health examinations, and the Department warns that applications take longer where documents are missing, information needs verifying, or full payment was not made at lodgement.
What does it cost to add a dependent child, and does the Pacific and Timor-Leste concession apply?
The official page describes a visa application charge for the main applicant plus an additional charge for each of the child's dependent children who apply, and refers readers to its Visa Pricing Estimator for amounts. Health examinations, police certificates and biometrics are separate costs on top. Because siblings each lodge their own application, a two-sibling adoption incurs two main-applicant charges rather than one.
For cost concessions, from 1 July 2026 a lower visa application cost applies to eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens who lodge a valid application, recognised by a valid passport from one of the specified 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 and Vanuatu. Family members are also eligible for the lower cost, and eligibility is based on the passport of the primary applicant. On the face of that rule, a dependent child included in an application follows the primary applicant's passport; a sibling in a separate application is their own primary applicant, so that sibling's own passport is what matters.
What if one sibling is refused, or a sibling is adopted later?
Each application produces its own written decision, so one sibling's outcome does not decide the other's. Where a sibling is not part of the original adoption process, the long-term answer sits in what the visa itself allows: a Subclass 102 holder becomes a permanent resident on the day of grant and, among other things, can sponsor their relatives to come to Australia. The visa also allows indefinite stay, work and study, enrolment in Medicare, and access to citizenship pathways if eligible.
This article is general information about published requirements rather than advice on any individual family's circumstances; anyone applying these rules to a particular child or adoption should work from the current official requirements or obtain advice from an appropriately qualified professional.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do siblings adopted at the same time share one Subclass 102 application?
No. The Department of Home Affairs states that siblings who want an Adoption visa must be covered by separate applications. Each sibling is a main applicant with their own forms, charge, sponsorship and decision.
Can the adopted child's own baby be included in the same application?
Yes. The child's dependent children can be included when the child applies, or added at any time before the Department decides the application. They must meet the health requirement and supply identity, relationship and photograph documents.
Can a dependent child be added after the visa is granted?
The published rule only covers addition before a decision is made. After that point the page provides no mechanism for adding a dependent child to that application, so it is safer to include everyone from the outset.
Does each sibling need their own approved sponsor?
Yes. Every application carries its own Form 40CH sponsorship, and the sponsorship must be approved before that visa can be granted. Sponsorship can be refused where the sponsor or their partner has a pending registrable offence charge.
How old can the adopted child be?
The child must be under 18 at the time of the adoption, when the application is submitted, and when the Department makes its decision. Turning 18 during processing is therefore a live risk in any adoption lodged close to the child's eighteenth birthday.
Do siblings get the lower Pacific Island or Timor-Leste visa cost as "family members"?
Family members are eligible for the lower cost based on the passport of the primary applicant. Because each sibling is the primary applicant in their own application, eligibility turns on that child's own passport rather than a sibling's.