Subclass 190 Police Certificates 2026: AFP and Overseas Checks, Form 80 and 1221
Which police certificates a 190 application needs in 2026: AFP complete disclosure rules, overseas checks, military records, Forms 80 and 1221.
If you have spent a total of 12 months or more in Australia in the last 10 years since turning 16, your Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190) application needs an Australian police certificate — and only one kind counts: a complete disclosure National Police Certificate issued by the Australian Federal Police (AFP). Standard disclosure certificates and certificates issued by Australian state or territory police are not accepted. This reflects the character document list published on the Department of Home Affairs' Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190) official page, as at the July 2026 version of that page.
Do I need an Australian police certificate at all?
The test published on the official page is cumulative time, not visa history: 12 months or more in Australia in the last 10 years, counted from when you turned 16. Stays on different visas are added together, and the months do not need to be continuous.
Suppose an applicant spent seven months in Australia on a student visa and then returned for another six months on a graduate visa, with both stays falling inside the last 10 years and after they turned 16. On the published wording, that is a total of 13 months, so an Australian police certificate is required — even though neither stay reached 12 months on its own.
If you have never reached a 12-month total across that 10-year window, the Australian certificate limb is not triggered. The overseas limb, described below, is separate and applies on its own terms.
Why does Home Affairs only accept the AFP complete disclosure certificate?
Because the official page states it directly. It names the AFP's National Police Check service as the issuing channel and rules out the other two options applicants commonly arrive with.
| Document | Accepted for a 190? |
|---|---|
| AFP National Police Certificate — complete disclosure | Yes, this is the required document |
| AFP standard disclosure certificate | No |
| National police certificate from an Australian state or territory police force | No |
The practical trap is ordering the wrong product. A certificate obtained for employment or volunteer screening is often a standard disclosure check, and a state police certificate is a different document again. Neither substitutes for the AFP complete disclosure certificate, regardless of how recent it is.
How long is an AFP certificate valid?
For immigration purposes, Australian police certificates are valid for 12 months from the date of issue. The clock runs from the issue date printed on the certificate, not from the date you upload it.
That matters because of the invitation structure described on the same page: once you are invited to apply, you have 60 calendar days to lodge, and Home Affairs states it cannot extend that period. A certificate issued months before an invitation arrives may already be well into its 12-month life by the time it is used. If you did not attach all of your documents when you applied, attach them as soon as you can in ImmiAccount.
Which overseas countries need a police certificate?
Every one where you meet the same threshold: a total of 12 months or more in the last 10 years since turning 16. The official page specifies "every country, including your home country," so the country of your citizenship is not exempt and neither is a country you left years ago if the residence falls inside the 10-year window.
The page sets the trigger for overseas certificates but does not publish a validity period for them comparable to the 12-month rule for Australian certificates. Where a foreign authority issues its own certificate with a shorter stated validity, the safer course is to treat the official subclass 190 page and the latest published Home Affairs guidance as the reference point for what is current.
Do military service records belong in this bundle?
Yes, if they exist. The character documents section requires military service records or discharge papers if you served in the armed forces of any country. There is no minimum service period attached to this requirement on the official page; it is triggered by the fact of service, not by how long it lasted.
What are Form 80 and Form 1221 for?
Both are listed as character documents that must be completed and provided:
- Form 80 — Personal particulars for assessment including character assessment. A long-form account of your personal history: addresses, employment, travel, and identity details over an extended period.
- Form 1221 — Additional personal particulars information. A supplementary personal details form used to complete the picture the department assesses.
They are not alternatives to a police certificate. The police certificates evidence your record; the two forms give the department the structured history it uses to read that evidence and to identify any country or period that might also need a certificate. Because Form 80 asks for continuous history, it is the document most likely to reveal a residence period you had not counted toward the 12-month thresholds.
This article describes published requirements only and is general information rather than advice on any individual's circumstances; where your residence history is complicated, the official wording and any professional advice you choose to obtain should govern what you lodge.
Do family members need their own certificates?
The character requirement applies to you and to family members aged 16 years and over who apply for the visa with you. Family members who are not coming to Australia must also meet the character requirement.
For a partner included in the application, the official page separately lists character documents as part of the partner evidence required. In practice this means the same thresholds — Australian residence of 12 months or more in the last 10 years since turning 16, and 12 months or more in any other country — are applied to each person in the application, not just to the main applicant.
What happens if something in my documents is wrong?
The official page carries a standing instruction to provide accurate information, and links the consequences of not being able to prove identity or of providing untrue information. If you later identify a mistake in an application you have already lodged, the mechanism published on the page is Form 1023 (Notification of incorrect answers), which is attached to the application.
A related point on risk: a certificate that omits a country where you actually met the 12-month threshold is not a formatting problem. It is an incomplete character record, and the department is not obliged to request further documents before making a decision.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an AFP check if I've lived in Australia for exactly 12 months?
Yes. The threshold published on the official page is "a total of 12 months or more" in Australia in the last 10 years since you turned 16, so 12 months meets it. The months are counted cumulatively and do not need to be continuous or spent on the same visa.
Is a state police certificate acceptable instead of the AFP one?
No. Home Affairs states it only accepts complete disclosure National Police Certificates issued by the AFP, and it does not accept standard disclosure certificates or national police certificates issued by Australian state or territory police. Ordering the AFP complete disclosure product specifically is the only way to meet this limb.
How long is an AFP certificate valid for a 190 application?
Australian police certificates are valid for 12 months from the date of issue for immigration purposes. The date of issue on the certificate starts the clock, so a certificate ordered well before an invitation arrives may have a shorter remaining life than you expect.
Which overseas countries require a police certificate?
Every country, including your country of citizenship, where you spent a total of 12 months or more in the last 10 years since turning 16. The test is applied country by country and cumulatively, and it operates independently of whether an Australian certificate is also required.
Do I have to submit both Form 80 and Form 1221?
Yes. Both forms are listed among the character documents to complete and provide for a subclass 190 application. They sit alongside the police certificates rather than replacing them, because they supply the structured personal history the department uses in the character assessment.
Do my partner and older children need their own police certificates?
Family members aged 16 and over who apply with you must meet the character requirement, and family members not coming to Australia must meet it as well. For a partner included in the application, character documents are separately listed as required partner evidence.
What if I served in the military of another country?
Provide military service records or discharge papers. The official page requires these documents if you served in the armed forces of any country, and it does not attach a minimum service period to the requirement.