Older dependent children on the 2026 Partner visa PR pathway: Subclass 445 age rules
How the Subclass 445 age rule applies to children over 18 on a parent's Partner visa pathway, and what dependency must continue until grant.
Yes — a child who has turned 18 can still travel to Australia with a parent on the Partner visa pathway, but only as a financially dependent child, and that dependency has to hold at the time the visa is decided, not just when the form is posted. According to the Australian Department of Home Affairs official page for the Dependent Child visa (subclass 445), as at the July 2026 official page, the child must be either under 18, or over 18 and financially dependent on the parent who holds the temporary Partner or Dependent Child visa. The subclass criteria in the Migration Regulations 1994 go further and require that, at the time of decision, the parent continues to hold a qualifying temporary visa and the applicant continues to be that parent's dependent child.
That last point is what most families underestimate. Subclass 445 is not a permanent visa and it is not an alternative to the parent's permanent Partner visa (subclasses 100 and 801). It is the bridge that lets the child be in Australia, lawfully, while the parent's permanent application is still on foot.
Who is the parent the child has to be dependent on?
The dependency has to run to a parent who holds one of the temporary visas the official page lists: Partner (Provisional) visa (subclass 309), Partner visa (subclass 820), or a Dependent Child visa (subclass 445) already held by that parent. The subclass criteria in the Regulations define the "visa-holding parent" by reference to a wider group that also covers subclasses 310 and 826, so the operative question is always whether the parent still holds a temporary Partner-category visa at the moment the department decides the child's case.
If the parent's permanent Partner visa has already been granted, the 445 route is closed, because the parent is no longer a holder of a temporary Partner visa. This is a structural sequencing problem rather than a paperwork problem: the child's 445 application needs to be lodged and decided while the parent is still in the temporary stage.
There is also a separate route worth ruling out early. The official page notes that a child born outside Australia to a parent who was an Australian citizen at the time of the birth may apply for Australian citizenship by descent instead of a visa. Where that applies, the 445 analysis is unnecessary.
At what age does a child stop qualifying automatically?
Eighteen is the dividing line, but it is not a cut-off. Under 18, dependency is effectively assumed from the relationship and age. At 18 and over, the applicant has to prove dependency, and the adult child also takes on extra personal requirements that a younger child does not:
- an Australian Values Statement, which requires having read, or had explained, the Life in Australia booklet
- the character requirement, which applies from age 16
- police certificates, Form 80, and medical evidence of incapacity where that is the basis claimed
| Under 18 | 18 and over | |
|---|---|---|
| Dependency | Assumed through age and relationship | Must be evidenced as financial dependency for basic needs |
| Consent to travel | Written consent from everyone who can legally decide where the child lives, or the home country's law permits departure, or consistency with an Australian child order | Not required |
| Australian Values Statement | Not required | Required |
| Character and police certificates | Below 16, not required | Required (police certificates apply from 16) |
| Best interests of the child | May be weighed against grant | Not the operative test |
What does "financially dependent" actually mean for an over-18 applicant?
The official page frames it as dependency on the parent for basic needs — food, shelter and clothing — and asks how long the support has been provided. The step-by-step document list gives three examples of acceptable evidence: bank statements, money transfers and rent receipts.
Two features of that wording matter. First, the test is about basics, not lifestyle; support that covers university fees but not housing does not address shelter. Second, "how long this support has been provided" is part of the question, so a pattern of regular transfers reads differently from a lump sum moved shortly before lodgement. The official page does not present full-time study on its own as a route for an over-18 applicant; the two routes it sets out are financial dependency for basic needs, and medical evidence where the applicant cannot work.
Assume an applicant who is 22, living in the parental home rent-free, with a parent transferring a set amount every fortnight for food and utilities for the past two years, evidenced by the parent's bank statements and the tenancy record. That is the shape of the case the criteria describe. Assume instead a 22-year-old in full-time work in another city receiving occasional parental transfers — the dependency limb is weak, regardless of the family relationship.
Is there a separate pathway if the adult child cannot work?
Yes, and it is documented separately in the official step-by-step list. Where the applicant is over 18 with a disability, the department asks for evidence from a qualified medical practitioner that the applicant has a total or partial loss of mental or body function that stops them from working.
Note the precise test: it is loss of function preventing work, not a diagnosis label. The evidence has to come from a qualified medical practitioner, and it has to connect the condition to the inability to work. This route does not replace the sponsorship, health, character or values requirements.
How is dependency checked while the case is being assessed?
The department's procedural guidance (PAM3) describes a working assumption that where an over-18 applicant was assessed as dependent within the preceding six months, dependency continues; beyond six months, the officer is expected to take reasonable steps to verify that there has been no substantial change. The same guidance records that policy statements are not legally binding and that officers may depart from policy in an individual case after discussion and recording of reasons.
The practical implication for a long-running Partner case is that dependency evidence has a shelf life. A file assembled at lodgement may still be accurate eighteen months later, but the applicant should expect the department to look at whether anything has materially changed — a new job, a move out of the parental home, a marriage — rather than at the historical snapshot alone.
Why does dependency have to survive to the grant?
Because the Regulations decide the case at two points in time. At application, clause 445.211 requires the applicant to be a dependent child of a visa-holding parent and to be sponsored by that parent's nominator or sponsor. At decision, clause 445.221 requires the parent to continue to be a visa-holding parent, clause 445.222 requires the applicant to continue to be a dependent child of that parent, and clause 445.224 requires the sponsorship to have been approved and still be in force.
This is where the permanent-residence framing matters. The official eligibility page states that the child must apply to be added to the parent's permanent Partner visa application once the 445 is granted, and the procedural guidance refers to that step being done by Form 1002 before the parent's permanent visa is decided. The 445's validity is tied to the parent's temporary visa; if the parent's permanent visa is granted without the child having been added, the child is left outside the permanent outcome rather than carried into it. Dependency, sponsorship and the parent's temporary status therefore all have to be intact through to the same decision point.
Who sponsors the child, and what breaks the sponsorship?
The child must be sponsored by the same person who sponsored or nominated the parent's permanent Partner visa application, and the department must approve the sponsorship before the visa can be granted. The official page sets two hard sponsorship limits: if the sponsor, or their spouse or de facto partner, has a pending registrable offence charge, the department will refuse the sponsorship and the visa application; if there is a registrable offence conviction, sponsorship can be approved only in very limited circumstances. The Regulations provide for a different sponsor in narrow cases — where the original nominator or sponsor has died, or the relationship has ceased and the visa-holding parent has sought consideration under the family violence or parental arrangements provisions.
What else does an over-18 applicant personally have to satisfy?
Beyond dependency, the adult child carries their own criteria:
- Health. The child, and any dependent children applying with them, must meet the health requirement; family members not travelling to Australia may also have to meet it.
- Character. Applicants aged 16 and over must provide a police certificate from every country where they spent 12 months or more in the last 10 years since turning 16. For Australian certificates, the department accepts only National Police Certificates applied for under Code 33 – Immigration/Citizenship, issued by the Australian Federal Police; state and territory police certificates and standard disclosure certificates are not accepted. Certificates are valid for 12 months from the issue date. Applicants over 16 must also complete Form 80, and anyone who has served in a country's armed forces must provide military service records or discharge papers.
- Identity and relationship. Passport pages showing photo, personal details and issue and expiry dates; a national identity card if held; proof of change of name; and relationship evidence such as a birth, marriage, adoption or family status certificate.
- Photographs. Four recent passport-size photos (45mm x 35mm), under six months old, in colour, full face against a plain light background.
- Debt to the Australian Government. Any debt must be repaid or subject to a formal repayment arrangement.
How is the application actually lodged?
Subclass 445 is a paper application. The applicant completes Form 918 (Application for a subclass 445 (temporary) visa by a dependent child) and sends it by post or courier to the Child and Other Family Processing Centre in Perth, using the addresses on the official page. The application charge must be paid before posting, proof of payment must be enclosed, and the department will not process the application until the charge is paid. Forms must be completed in English; only certified copies should be sent, not originals. Applications lodged at another office, in person, or by any other method are not valid and will not be considered further.
After lodgement, the paper application can be imported into ImmiAccount once the acknowledgement letter arrives, which allows documents to be uploaded, status to be tracked and a Bridging Visa to be applied for. The child's own dependent children can be added at any time before the decision. If the child was in Australia when the application was submitted, they are granted a bridging visa that starts if their current visa expires before the decision; a child in Australia cannot hold another visa with a "No further stay" condition. Changes of circumstances — address, contact details, relationship status, the birth of a child — must be notified, and incorrect answers corrected using Form 1023.
At decision, the child may be inside or outside Australia. A grant notice sets out the visa grant number, start date and any conditions; a refusal notice sets out the reasons and whether there is a right to review. The application fee is not refunded if the application is refused.
This article is general information about published criteria, not an assessment of any individual family's circumstances, and outcomes in a live case turn on the current official requirements and on evidence the department may still request.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a child over 18 still be included on a parent's Partner visa pathway in 2026?
Yes, but not automatically. The official page requires an over-18 applicant to be financially dependent on the parent who holds the temporary Partner or Dependent Child visa, and the Regulations require the applicant to still be a dependent child at the time of decision.
What evidence proves financial dependency for an adult child?
The department asks for evidence of dependency for basic needs — food, shelter and clothing — and of how long the support has been provided, with bank statements, money transfers and rent receipts given as examples. Evidence should show a continuing pattern rather than a single recent payment.
Does full-time study on its own make an adult child dependent?
The official page does not set out study as a standalone basis. It sets out financial dependency for basic needs, and separately asks for a qualified medical practitioner's evidence where an over-18 applicant has a total or partial loss of mental or body function that stops them from working.
What happens if the parent's permanent Partner visa is granted before the child's 445?
The parent would no longer be a holder of a temporary Partner visa, which the Regulations require at the time of decision, so the 445 cannot be granted on that basis. This is why the child must be added to the parent's permanent Partner visa application after the 445 is granted.
Who has to sponsor the child?
The same person who sponsored or nominated the parent's permanent Partner visa application, and the sponsorship must be approved before the visa can be granted. Sponsorship and the visa must be refused where the sponsor or their partner has a pending registrable offence charge.
Do over-18 applicants have extra requirements beyond dependency?
Yes. They must sign an Australian Values Statement after reading, or having explained to them, the Life in Australia booklet, and they remain subject to the character requirement that applies from age 16, including police certificates and Form 80.
Is the application fee refunded if the visa is refused?
No. The official page states that the department will not refund the application fee if the application is refused, and it also will not process an application until the charge has been paid.