Health Requirement and PIC 4005 for 116 Carer Applicants in 2026

Yes — if you apply for a Carer visa (Subclass 116), you must meet Australia's health requirement, and so must the family members who apply with you, and possibly some who never travel. The Department of Home Affairs lists the health requirement among the eligibility criteria on its Carer visa (Subclass 116) page, as of July 2026, and adds that family members who are not coming to Australia might also have to meet it. In the Migration Regulations 1994, the matching criterion is Public Interest Criterion (PIC) 4005, imposed on the primary applicant by clause 116.223 and on secondary applicants by clause 116.323.

Two cautions before the detail. Criterion and PIC numbers here come from the Migration Regulations 1994; that instrument is amended from time to time, so the operative wording and commencement status should be read from the current text on the Federal Register of Legislation rather than assumed. And this page explains how the criterion is structured — it is not an assessment of any individual case and does not replace the current legislative text or advice from someone qualified to advise on your own circumstances.

Where does PIC 4005 actually sit in the Subclass 116 criteria?

Health is not a free-standing task that lives outside the criteria. Under clause 116.223, the decision-time criteria for the primary applicant bundle several public interest criteria together: PIC 4001–4004 (character), PIC 4005 (health), PIC 4009 and 4010 (biometrics), PIC 4020 and 4021 (integrity of information), and PIC 4019 (no unpaid government medical debt) once the applicant has turned 18. Clause 116.323 sets the equivalent block for secondary applicants: PIC 4001–4005, 4009, 4010, 4020, 4021, plus 4019 where it applies.

That placement carries two practical consequences. First, health is tested at the time of decision, not at lodgement — the carer declarations and sponsorship sit at the time of application (116.211 and 116.212), while the public interest criteria sit at the back of the file. Second, health travels with character and biometrics as a single gate, so a problem in one is rarely isolated from the rest of the assessment.

Who	Health requirement position	Source
Primary applicant	Must meet the health requirement; criterion is PIC 4005	Migration Regulations 1994 clause 116.223; Department of Home Affairs Carer visa (Subclass 116) page
Family members applying with you	Must meet it as well	Department of Home Affairs page; clause 116.323
Family members not coming to Australia	Might also have to meet it	Department of Home Affairs page
Family members generally	Must satisfy the corresponding public interest criteria and Special Return Criterion 5001	clause 116.226
Under-18 secondary applicants	PIC 4005 plus child-related criteria (4015 and 4016 under 116.227; 4017 and 4018 under 116.326)	Migration Regulations 1994

The two child-related provisions are cited differently under 116.227 and 116.326, so the current consolidated text governs. For an agent, the working point is simpler: the health net is cast over the household, not over the carer alone.

Why does the household matter more than the applicant?

Clause 116.226 requires family members to satisfy the corresponding public interest criteria, and the Department's page states the health requirement in the same breath for the applicant and for family members applying together. The unusual part is the extension to people who are not migrating: the Department says family members who are not coming to Australia might also have to meet the health requirement.

That wording is discretionary rather than automatic, and the Department does not publish a test on the visa page for when it is triggered. The defensible reading is that the assessment is made person by person, and that a non-migrating family member is not automatically cleared just because they are staying behind. Practically, this is why a combined application should be screened for every member's health position before lodgement, including members whose travel plans are undecided.

Is the Bupa certificate the same thing as your health examination?

No, and confusing the two is one of the most common handling errors. The Bupa Medical Visa Services certificate concerns the person who needs care — your Australian relative, or the family member who lives with them — not you.

Per the Department's page, that relative or family member must be assessed by and receive a medical certificate from Bupa Medical Visa Services, and the certificate must include a statement that the person has a medical condition and requires a certain amount of care for it. The Department will not accept the application unless there is evidence this process has at least begun. If the certificate was not provided at lodgement, it should be given within three months of applying, and if the Department does not hold it at the time of decision, the visa will not be granted. Alongside it, you must give written evidence that your Australian relative or their family member does not have reasonable access to care options in Australia.

Your own health requirement runs on a separate track, dealt with below. The carer limb of the case (clause 116.221 and the carer definition in regulation 1.15AA) is also separate again: it asks whether you are willing and able to give ongoing substantial care, which is why the Department expects you to fully understand your sponsor's medical condition and care needs.

When will you be told to do your own health examinations?

The Department states on the step-by-step page that it will let you know if you need health examinations. It also states that it cannot provide progress updates within normal processing times and that it will contact you if anything further is needed. The trigger is therefore a notification from the Department, not something you schedule on your own initiative at lodgement.

Since the visa must be applied for and decided while you are outside Australia, any examinations you are asked to complete are arranged from where you are living. If you have imported the paper application into ImmiAccount, additional documents are uploaded there; the Department's page sets out an alternative online form for applicants who cannot use ImmiAccount.

What happens if an examination result raises an issue?

Because PIC 4005 is a decision-time criterion, an adverse or inconclusive result does not by itself close the case. The Department says it might ask you to provide more information, and that anything missing should be supplied as soon as you can. In practice that is the point at which an application turns from a document exercise into a medical-evidence exercise: further tests, specialist reports, or updated results, requested through the channels the Department nominates.

Where the concern is the potential cost of, or demand on, Australian health and community services, the question of whether any waiver is available turns on PIC 4005 itself. The Department's visa page does not describe how such a waiver is exercised, so the operative wording has to be read from the criterion as it currently stands on the Federal Register of Legislation, together with the Department's current health requirement guidance. No one can guarantee that a waiver will be considered or granted, and any suggestion otherwise should be treated as a red flag.

What does a health problem mean for the application overall?

The criterion attaches to each person. A family member who does not satisfy PIC 4005 cannot be included in the grant, which is exactly why the household-wide screening matters rather than a check on the carer alone. Health or character issues — where the applicant or an accompanying family member does not pass PIC 4005 or the character criteria — are listed among the most common refusal grounds for this visa.

The fee consequences are worth stating plainly. The Department does not refund the application fee if the application is refused. It sends the invoice for the second instalment only after all other requirements for the visa have been met, and the visa will not be granted without payment; it may consider reducing the second instalment to nil where paying it is likely to cause severe financial hardship to you or to the person you are caring for, but it will not reduce the second instalment for anyone else applying with you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to book health examinations before I lodge a 116 application?

Your own health examinations are not a lodgement item. The Department says it will let you know if you need health examinations after you apply. The medical step that is required up front is the Bupa Medical Visa Services certificate for your Australian relative or their family member, and the Department will not accept the application unless it has evidence that this process has at least begun.

Does my partner or child also have to meet PIC 4005?

Yes. The Department's page states that you and any family members who apply for the visa with you must meet the health requirement. In the Migration Regulations 1994, clause 116.323 requires secondary applicants to satisfy PIC 4001–4005, among other criteria, at the time of decision.

My adult child is staying in my home country and will not migrate. Are they covered?

They might be. The Department's page says family members who are not coming to Australia might also have to meet the health requirement. It does not set out a published test for when this is triggered, so the assessment is made by the Department rather than assumed either way.

Is the Bupa Medical Visa Services certificate the same as my health examination?

No. The Bupa certificate covers the Australian relative or family member who needs care and must state that the person has a medical condition and requires a certain amount of care for it. Your own health examinations are a separate step, arranged when the Department tells you they are needed.

What if I did not send the Bupa certificate with my application?

The Department's page says you should give it within three months of applying, and that if it is not held by the time the application is decided, the visa will not be granted. If the assessment has begun but has not yet been completed, a letter from Bupa Medical Visa Services confirming that can be provided initially, with the certificate to follow as soon as you receive it.

Can a health problem be waived?

The health criterion is PIC 4005, and whether any waiver applies depends on the wording of that criterion as it currently stands. The Department's visa page does not describe how a waiver is exercised, so the current legislative text and the Department's health requirement guidance are the controlling references, and no outcome can be promised.

Is an unpaid Australian Government medical bill part of the health requirement?

It is a separate criterion. The Department's page requires that if you or any family member — including those who do not apply with you — owe the Australian Government money, it has been paid back or an arrangement to pay it back has been made. PIC 4019 also addresses unpaid government medical debt for applicants who have turned 18.