Fixing mistakes and late additions on a subclass 790 application: Forms 1023 and 1436 (2026)

On a Safe Haven Enterprise visa (subclass 790) application, the route you use depends entirely on what changed. Form 1023 Notification of incorrect answers is the route for an answer in an application you have already lodged that turns out to be wrong or incomplete. Form 1436 Adding an additional applicant after lodgement is the route for bringing a spouse, de facto partner or dependent child into an application that is already in the system. Everything else — a new address, a new passport, a change of marital status, a pregnancy, a birth, a death in the family, or a decision to withdraw — runs through the Department's change-in-situation notification process, not through either of those two forms. That mapping comes from the Australian Department of Home Affairs on its Safe Haven Enterprise visa (Subclass 790) official page, as at August 2026.

What follows is general information about the published procedure, not advice on any individual case, and it makes no promise about how any application will be decided. For your own circumstances, the official page and any registered migration agent or legal practitioner you appoint remain the authoritative reference.

Which form matches which change on a subclass 790 application?

The table below separates the routes that the official page actually names for this visa.

What has changed	What the official page directs	What you lodge
An answer in your lodged form was wrong, or you left something out	Notification of incorrect answers	Form 1023, uploaded to ImmiAccount
You want to add a spouse, de facto partner or dependent child after lodgement	Adding an additional applicant after lodgement	Form 1436 plus evidence of the relationship, attached in ImmiAccount
Name, phone number, email, address or passport; marital or de facto status; pregnancy; birth of a child; a death in the family; withdrawal of the application	Tell us if your situation changes	The change-in-situation notification process
Documents you forgot, or new evidence supporting your protection claims	Provide more information at any time until a decision is made	Documents attached directly in ImmiAccount
You want to appoint, change or remove an authorised recipient or adviser	Appointment and withdrawal forms	Form 956A or Form 956
You applied without agreeing to email and now want email communication	Communicating by email with the Department	Form 1193

The practical dividing line is this: Form 1023 repairs the content of an application, Form 1436 adds a person to it, and the change-in-situation process updates circumstances that sit outside the answers themselves. Extra evidence generally needs no form at all — it goes in as an attachment.

What counts as a mistake on the form, and why does timing matter?

The official page gives one instruction: let the Department know as soon as you can if you made a mistake on your application, using Form 1023. It does not describe a lighter, separate process for small typographical slips, so the same route covers both a wrong date and a wrong account of events.

Timing matters because of how decisions are made. Protection visa applications can be decided on the information provided in the application itself, and the interview — if one is offered — is not guaranteed as a second chance to present claims. The Department may also ask you for further information with a set date to respond by, and after that date it can decide using the information it already holds.

Deliberate inaccuracy carries a separate risk. The official page states that if incorrect information is provided on purpose, the Department may question your credibility and may refuse the application.

Can you add someone to a subclass 790 application after you lodge it?

Yes, but only within the categories the official page lists. After you submit your application, the people you can add are:

• the spouse or de facto partner of someone who has already applied for the visa;
• the dependent child of someone who has already applied for the visa.

Three conditions apply at the same time. The person must be in Australia. They must be eligible to apply for this visa. And the Department must not yet have decided your application. Members of the family unit added to the application also have to be in Australia when they apply.

To make the addition, complete Form 1436 Adding an additional applicant after lodgement and attach that form together with evidence of the relationship to ImmiAccount. Relationship evidence is the same kind of material the application itself asks for — marriage certificates, birth certificates, notarial certificates, and, for de facto relationships, financial documents and undertakings.

Suppose an applicant lodges alone and marries while the application is still undecided. In that scenario the partner does not join automatically: the partner has to be in Australia, be eligible, and be added through Form 1436 before the decision is made.

A related restriction applies later. While holding a Safe Haven Enterprise visa, you cannot sponsor family members for a visa through the Australian Humanitarian or Family Migration Programs.

What if the change is to your details rather than to an answer?

Personal and family changes sit in their own category on the official page. During the application stage, the listed changes are changes to your name, phone number, email, address or passport; changes to your marital or de facto status; becoming pregnant; the birth of a child; a death in your family; and wanting to withdraw your application.

Once you hold the visa, the duty continues, and it is stated in stronger terms: it is your responsibility as a visa holder to let the Department know within 28 days if you change your address and to keep your contact details up to date, so that you receive the bar lift notice and the mobile and email reminders. Keeping those details current also matters because a subsequent SHEV or TPV application has to be made after that notification and before the current visa expires.

How do you lodge the correction, step by step?

1. Log in to ImmiAccount.
2. Open your subclass 790 application.
3. Download the form that matches your change.
4. Complete Form 1023 for an incorrect answer.
5. Complete Form 1436 to add a partner or dependent child.
6. Attach the completed form to the application.
7. Attach evidence of the relationship with a Form 1436.
8. Attach any other new documents that support your protection claims.
9. Keep a record of your Transaction Reference Number.
10. Check ImmiAccount for any request from the Department.
11. Respond by the date given in that request.

ImmiAccount is also where you can check the status of the application, continue a saved application, update personal details, and access a copy of the application at any time.

Who is allowed to make these changes for you?

Only certain people can give immigration assistance on an application. If you appoint someone to give you immigration assistance, that person must be a registered migration agent, a legal practitioner, or an exempt person. You can appoint anyone at all to receive documents on your behalf relating to your visa matter, which is a different and narrower role.

Appointments and withdrawals are done on forms: Form 956A appoints or withdraws an authorised recipient, and Form 956 appoints a registered migration agent, legal practitioner or exempt person. Upload the completed form to ImmiAccount.

Responsibility for the content stays with you even when someone else prepares it. If a migration agent completes your application form, you must read and understand all the information in it before you sign it and before signing any statutory declaration, because you are responsible for the claims made in the form. Do not sign blank pages or documents, even if you are asked to.

If a decision is made before the correction lands

Two outcomes are set out on the official page. If the visa is granted, the grant notification letter sets out the grant number, grant and expiry dates, visa conditions, and information about travel, subsequent applications, the application bar lift, working conditions, government service entitlements, ImmiCard and interpreting services.

If the visa is refused, the refusal notification letter states why it was refused and sets out your review right with the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART), including the timeframes to apply for review. The application fee is not refunded if the application is refused. Where a Safe Haven Enterprise visa application has been finally determined and the person does not engage Australia's protection obligations and holds no other visa, there is no lawful right to stay in Australia. If a SHEV application is refused, or a SHEV is cancelled after grant, and all appeal rights are exhausted, a request can be made asking the Minister for Home Affairs to intervene in the case; the Minister does not have to consider such a request.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I use Form 1023 or Form 1436 to add my partner after I lodge?

Use Form 1436 Adding an additional applicant after lodgement. Form 1023 is only for notifying incorrect answers in an application that has already been submitted. Your partner must be in Australia, must be eligible for the visa, and must be added before the Department decides your application.

Can I add my parents, siblings or other relatives after lodgement?

The official page lists only two categories that can be added after submission: the spouse or de facto partner of someone who has already applied, and the dependent child of someone who has already applied. Other relatives are not among the categories set out for addition after lodgement.

I made a small error in my protection claims. Do I still need to notify it?

Yes. The official page asks you to let the Department know as soon as you can about a mistake on your application and directs you to Form 1023, without carving out a separate process for minor errors. Correcting it also matters because a decision can be made on the information already provided.

Can I just upload extra documents instead of filling in a form?

Yes, for evidence. The official page says you can provide more relevant information in writing at any time until a decision is made, and that documents you did not provide when you applied should be attached as soon as possible in ImmiAccount. Forms are needed for incorrect answers and for adding a person.

My address or passport changed while I was waiting. Which form applies?

Neither Form 1023 nor Form 1436 addresses this. Changes to your name, phone number, email, address or passport fall under the change-in-situation notification process described on the official page.

Do I need a migration agent to submit Form 1023 or Form 1436?

The official page does not require one. It does set limits on who may help: anyone giving immigration assistance must be a registered migration agent, a legal practitioner, or an exempt person.

Will correcting a mistake delay the decision?

The official page does not state that a correction pauses or extends processing. It says you may provide more information at any time until a decision is made, and that if the Department asks for information you must respond by the date it sets.

References

• Australian Department of Home Affairs — Safe Haven Enterprise visa (Subclass 790)