Health and Character Requirements for Subclass 884 in 2026

Who must meet the Subclass 884 health and character requirements in 2026, and when the checks are requested.

Published: 9 October 2026

Yes — for the Contributory Aged Parent (Temporary) visa (Subclass 884), the health and character requirements are not limited to the parent who is the main applicant. According to the Department of Home Affairs official page for the Contributory Aged Parent (Temporary) visa (Subclass 884), as at August 2026, you and any family members who apply for the visa with you must meet both requirements, and the Department might also ask other non-migrating family members to meet them. The rest of this article sets out who is covered, when the checks are requested, and what the Regulations say sits behind them; it is general information only, not advice on an individual case, and the criteria applied to any one application should be confirmed against the official pages or with a qualified professional.

Who has to meet the health requirement?

The health requirement applies to three groups, in widening circles:

You, the main applicant.
Family members who apply for the visa with you — a partner, dependent children, or other family members included in the application.
Non-migrating family members, if the Department asks. The official page states this as a possibility, not an automatic rule: "We might also ask that other non-migrating family members meet the requirement."

The same structure appears in the family section of the page: you must include details of all your family members in your application form, even if they are not migrating, and family members who are not coming to Australia might also need to meet the health and character requirements.

Who has to meet the character requirement?

The character requirement is framed in identical terms. You and any family members applying with you must meet it, and non-migrating family members might also be asked to.

In document terms, character evidence is handled differently from most other paperwork. The Department says it might ask you for character documents, including police certificates, and that you should not arrange a police check until asked. Police certificates are also the one exception to the general instruction not to send original documents with a paper application.

When do the health exams and police certificates actually happen?

Neither check is something the official page asks you to complete before lodgement. Both are triggered later, by the Department.

Check	Who can be asked	When it is triggered	What the official page says
Health examinations	Main applicant, accompanying family members, and possibly non-migrating family members	After you apply	"We will let you know when you need to complete health examinations."
Police certificates / character documents	Main applicant, accompanying family members, and possibly non-migrating family members	When the Department requests them	"Do not arrange a police check until we ask you to."
Biometrics (fingerprints and photos)	Applicants, if requested	When the Department requests them	"We will let you know if you need to provide them."

This timing matters practically: because Parent visa applications are subject to capping and queueing, and are assessed in two stages, a request can arrive well after lodgement. Booking examinations or police checks early does not advance the queue, and the page gives no basis for treating an early result as valid for the decision.

What does this mean for family members who are not migrating?

Non-migrating family members are still part of the application in two ways. First, their details must appear in your application form. Second, each member of your family aged 18 years or over must complete Form 47A (Details of a child or other dependent family member aged 18 years or over), and the official step-by-step page states that this applies even if they are not migrating.

Because of that, a non-migrating adult child or other family member can be drawn into the health or character assessment even though they are not seeking to travel to Australia. The safe reading of the official page is that the obligation is conditional on the Department asking, but once it asks, the requirement stands.

What do the Migration Regulations 1994 say about these criteria?

The health and character requirements on the visa page are the visible form of the public interest criteria (PIC) in Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994. Part 884 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994 provides that, at the time of decision:

the main applicant must satisfy PIC 4001 to 4005, 4009, 4010, 4020 and 4021, and PIC 4019 if aged 18 or over — where the applicant holds a substituted Subclass 600 visa, the health criterion is 4007 rather than 4005, and 4004 does not apply;
secondary applicants must satisfy the PIC set out in the table at 884.323, with PIC 4017 and 4018 applying to applicants under 18, and PIC 4020 and 4021 applying to all secondary applicants;
a contributory parent newborn child must complete any health check the Minister considers appropriate (884.327).

Within those numbers, PIC 4001 is the character criterion, and PIC 4005 and 4007 are the health criteria. Because Schedule 2 is amended over time, the criteria that apply to an application should be checked against the Migration Regulations 1994 on the Federal Register of Legislation and the Department of Home Affairs health and character pages.

What evidence do you need for family members in the application?

The step-by-step page separates family members by age and relationship:

Dependants under 18: identity documents, evidence of your relationship (such as a birth or marriage certificate), and character documents if applicable.
Dependants aged 18 or over: identity documents, relationship evidence, documents about other relationships if applicable, character documents, and proof of dependency — a completed Form 47A plus evidence of at least 12 months of financial dependence before you apply, such as proof they live with you, tax records, or proof of current study.
Partner: identity documents, character documents, and evidence of the relationship, such as a current marriage certificate or documents showing a de facto relationship of at least 12 months before you apply.

Note the asymmetry: character documents appear as a standing item for adult dependants and partners, while health examinations are organised later through the Department's own request.

Are the checks included in the visa application charge?

No. The official page states that you might also need to pay other costs for each applicant for health checks, police certificates and biometrics, and points to the Department's separate fees page for those services. The amounts are not fixed by the Subclass 884 page itself, so treat them as additional, per-applicant costs outside the visa application charge.

What happens if a requirement is not met?

The Department lists both requirements among the eligibility criteria, prefaced by the statement that you must meet all of them to be eligible. They are therefore conditions of eligibility rather than optional steps. If an application is refused, the page states the application fee will not be refunded, and the decision notice will tell you why and whether you have a right to review.

Whether any scope exists for a health criterion to be considered further depends on the specific criterion applied and on the Department's current policy at the time of decision; that is a matter to confirm on the official health requirement page rather than to assume.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do non-migrating family members really need health and character checks?

They can. The Department says it might ask that other non-migrating family members meet both requirements, and it requires every family member aged 18 or over to complete Form 47A even if they are not migrating. If the Department asks, that member must meet the requirement.

When will I be told to do my health examination?

After you apply. The official page states that the Department will let you know when you need to complete health examinations, and Subclass 884 is a paper application that is later imported into ImmiAccount for messages and document uploads.

Should I get a police certificate before I lodge?

No. The Department's instruction is explicit: do not arrange a police check until it asks you to. Police certificates are requested later, and they are the only documents the page tells you to send as originals with a paper application.

Does my partner need to meet the character requirement if they apply with me?

Yes. Character documents are a listed requirement for a partner included in the application, alongside identity documents and evidence of the relationship. The health requirement applies to your partner in the same way as to any other accompanying family member.

What about children under 18 in the application?

Character documents are listed for dependants under 18 "if applicable", while adult dependants must provide them. The Migration Regulations 1994 provide that additional public interest criteria (PIC 4017 and 4018) apply to applicants under 18, and that a contributory parent newborn child must complete any health check the Minister considers appropriate.

Which public interest criteria cover health and character?

PIC 4001 is the character criterion, and PIC 4005 and 4007 are the health criteria — 4007 replaces 4005 where the applicant holds a substituted Subclass 600 visa. The full set for Subclass 884 is broader and includes 4009, 4010, 4020 and 4021, so confirm the list against the Regulations and the official pages.