Police and Health Evidence for 590 Guardian Applications in 2026

According to the Australian Department of Home Affairs' Student Guardian visa (Subclass 590) official page, as of the August 2026 official page, police and health evidence for 590 guardian applications turns on whether you are a relative of the student visa holder and on your residence history. If you are a relative of the student visa holder, you must provide an Australian police certificate where you have spent a total of 12 months or more in Australia in the last 10 years since you turned 16, and the Department accepts only complete disclosure National Police Certificates issued by the Australian Federal Police; standard disclosure certificates and national police certificates issued by Australian state or territory police are not accepted. You are also required to provide an overseas police certificate from every country where you spent a total of 12 months or more in the last 10 years since you turned 16, and this includes your home country. For health, you and any family members applying with you must meet the health requirement, the Department will tell you if health examinations are needed, you must show evidence of adequate health insurance for the first 12 months of your stay, and a polio vaccination certificate is required if you apply from outside Australia and are travelling from or have spent time in a country considered at risk of polio. This article provides general reference only and is not personalised professional advice; for your specific situation, rely on the official page or consult a registered migration agent, legal practitioner or exempt person, and confirm the Department's latest published requirements.

Do I need an Australian police certificate for a 590 guardian application?

The Australian police certificate requirement on the official Student Guardian visa page is directed at applicants who are a relative of the student visa holder. If you fall into that group and you have spent a total of 12 months or more in Australia in the last 10 years since you turned 16, you must provide an Australian police certificate. If you have not accumulated 12 months or more in Australia over that period, the AFP certificate is not triggered by this rule.

Only complete disclosure National Police Certificates issued by the Australian Federal Police are accepted. The Department states it does not accept standard disclosure certificates, and it does not accept national police certificates issued by Australian state or territory police. Assuming an applicant obtained a state police certificate instead, it would not meet the stated evidence requirement and would have to be replaced with the AFP complete disclosure certificate.

Which overseas police certificates are required, and is there a country list?

The official page does not publish a fixed list of countries for the 590 visa. Instead, the rule is residence-based: you are required to provide an overseas police certificate from every country where you spent a total of 12 months or more in the last 10 years since you turned 16. Your home country is expressly included, so it is not excluded just because it is the country of nationality or usual residence.

To work out how to obtain each certificate, the Department points to its offices outside Australia page, which carries country-specific instructions on how to obtain a police certificate. The same 10-year and 12-month counting rule applies: the look-back is the last 10 years since you turned 16, and the trigger is a cumulative total of 12 months or more in a country, not necessarily 12 continuous months.

What else does the character requirement cover?

Meeting the character requirement is required where you are a relative of the student visa holder. The Migration Regulations 1994 and the Department's policy manual (PAM3) describe the character public interest criterion, PIC 4001, as being triggered by matters such as significant criminal records involving violence, sexual offences or drugs, links to organised crime, adverse security assessments, and conduct such as family violence or child abuse.

These triggers are described in the Regulations and policy guidance rather than restated in full on the visa page, so the visa page remains the primary statement of what documents to lodge, while the Regulations and policy guidance explain how the criterion is assessed. If a character issue is present, the official page's instruction is to provide the required police certificates and true information; the assessment itself is made against the character requirement.

What health evidence does a 590 applicant need?

You and any family members who apply for the visa with you must meet the Department's health requirement. The visa page states this as an eligibility criterion and links to the health requirement page; it does not, on the page itself, list every test, but it does identify concrete health-related items: health examinations, adequate health insurance, and the polio certificate in the scenario described below.

The health insurance requirement is concrete: you must provide evidence of adequate health insurance for you and your family members for the first 12 months of your stay in Australia. This can be an Overseas Visitors Health Cover (OVHC) premium or another health insurance product from Australia or your home country that provides a similar level of cover. You are personally liable for healthcare costs while in Australia, and you must maintain adequate cover for the whole of your stay if the visa is granted.

When will the Department ask for health examinations, and what about polio certificates?

Health examinations are not something you have to self-nominate on a fixed schedule. The visa page says, before you apply, that you might need to organise health exams, and after you apply it says the Department will let you know if you need health examinations. In practice, you should be ready to arrange them if asked, and you can attach outstanding documents in ImmiAccount if you did not lodge everything with the application.

Separately, if you are applying from outside Australia and you are travelling from, or have spent time in, a country considered at risk of polio, you need to give a polio vaccination certificate. The current countries of risk are not listed on the visa page itself; the Department refers to its Threats to public health page for the current list, so that list should be checked there.

How does the significant cost threshold affect the health requirement?

The Migration Regulations 1994 and the Department's policy manual (PAM3) describe the health criterion, PIC 4005, as including a significant cost threshold for the estimated total cost to public health or community services in Australia. The policy compilation puts this threshold at around AUD 86,000 as of 2026, after an increase from AUD 51,000 in April 2024.

Because the Student Guardian visa page does not restate this amount, treat the figure as drawn from the Regulations and policy guidance and confirm the current threshold on the Department's official health requirement page. The same policy material refers to tuberculosis screening for applicants from higher-risk countries and to HIV status being assessed through cost impact rather than being an automatic refusal; these are assessment points in the policy guidance, not separate document items listed on the visa page.

What happens after the application is lodged?

After you apply, if you are in the group that needs police certificates, make sure the AFP complete disclosure certificate and any overseas police certificates are attached; if they were not attached at lodgement, attach them as soon as possible. The Department will tell you if health examinations are needed and may ask for more information; you can see requests in ImmiAccount and should respond.

Do not provide false or misleading information, and if you realise you made a mistake on the application, tell the Department as soon as you can using the notification of incorrect answers process. For the 590 visa, the decision can be made while you are outside Australia, and the Department's confirmation of what is required, as of the August 2026 official page, is the reference point for assembling police and health evidence.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need an AFP certificate if I am the parent of the student?

The official page ties the Australian police certificate requirement to applicants who are a relative of the student visa holder, and for this visa a relative is defined to include the student's parent or step-parent, so a parent applicant is covered by the same rule where the 12-month Australian residence test is met.

Can I use a state police certificate instead of the AFP complete disclosure certificate?

No. The Department states it only accepts complete disclosure National Police Certificates issued by the Australian Federal Police. Standard disclosure certificates and national police certificates issued by Australian state or territory police are not accepted for this purpose.

How do I know which overseas countries need a police certificate?

The test is your own travel and residence history, not a published country list. You must provide an overseas police certificate from every country where you spent a total of 12 months or more in the last 10 years since you turned 16, including your home country, and country-specific instructions are on the Department's offices outside Australia page.

Do I have to book health exams before I lodge the 590 application?

The visa page says you might need to organise health exams before you apply, but it also says the Department will let you know if you need health examinations after you apply. So the safest reading is to be prepared to arrange them when asked, rather than assuming a fixed pre-lodgement booking rule.

Is the significant cost threshold a fee I have to pay?

No, it is not a visa application charge or a fee you pay to the Department. The Regulations and policy guidance describe it as an estimated cost limit used in assessing the health criterion, and the current figure should be confirmed on the official health requirement page.

What health insurance evidence is required for the first 12 months?

You must provide evidence of adequate health insurance for you and your accompanying family members for the first 12 months of your stay. This can be an Overseas Visitors Health Cover premium or another health insurance product from Australia or your home country that provides a similar level of cover.