When Must You Tell the Department About Changes During a Subclass 836 in 2026?

According to the Australian Department of Home Affairs' official Carer visa (Subclass 836) page (as of the July 2026 version), you must tell the Department after you lodge if your phone number, address or passport changes, if your marital or de facto status changes, if a child is born to you, if you want to withdraw the application, and if you experience domestic or family violence. You must also tell them if you want to travel outside Australia while the application is being processed. This article is general information about how that duty is described on the official page, not advice on any individual case — your own situation should be checked against the Department's current published instructions or with a qualified professional.

Which changes does the official page list as reportable?

The post-lodgement section of the Carer visa (Subclass 836) page groups the duty under "Tell us if things change" and points to the Department's broader change-in-situation guidance. The listed items are narrow and specific, not a general duty to report anything at all.

Change	What the official page requires
Phone number, address or passport	Tell the Department; these are the details your decision and correspondence are sent against
Marital or de facto status	Tell the Department; relationship evidence was part of what you lodged
Birth of a child	Tell the Department
Withdrawing the application	Tell the Department; withdrawal is also available as an ImmiAccount service
Domestic or family violence	See the Department's Family violence provisions page
Travel outside Australia	Tell the Department, because you must be in Australia when the decision is made

The common thread is that the decision is made on the facts you submitted. If a fact stops being true, the Department is deciding on a file that no longer matches your situation.

Is a later change the same as a mistake on the form?

No, the official page treats them as two separate processes. For answers that were wrong when you gave them, the page directs you to Form 1023 Notification of incorrect answers and asks you to let the Department know as soon as you can. For things that changed after you applied, it directs you to the change-in-situation guidance.

Consider a hypothetical applicant who moves in with a partner three months after lodging. The relationship section of the form was accurate when it was completed, so nothing on it is an incorrect answer; what has changed is the applicant's circumstances from that point on. The same applicant who later realises they entered the wrong date on the form has a different problem, and Form 1023 is the instrument the official page names for that.

How do you actually send the notification?

The Department's preferred route runs through ImmiAccount. The official page sets out these steps:

Create an ImmiAccount or log in to an existing one.
Import your paper application after you receive your acknowledgement letter.
Enter your application ID, your date of birth, and your identity document number.
Use the online services to update your details.
Upload supporting documents to the application.
If you cannot use ImmiAccount, attach the material to a completed Other Family Visa Processing Centre online form.

Importing the application also makes it possible to view messages, check application status, apply for a Bridging Visa, and withdraw the application. For representative arrangements, Form 956 Appointment of a registered migration agent, legal practitioner or exempt person and Form 956A Appointment or withdrawal of an authorised recipient are the forms the page names; both can be uploaded through ImmiAccount or sent through the same online form.

Can someone else notify on your behalf?

Only some people can. The official page states that anyone you appoint to give immigration assistance must be a registered migration agent, a legal practitioner, or an exempt person. Separately, you can appoint anyone at all to receive documents on your behalf relating to your visa matter. That distinction matters for the notification duty: receiving a letter is not the same as giving immigration assistance, and only the second activity is restricted.

What happens if you stay silent?

The official page links the heaviest consequences to identity and accuracy rather than to late notification as such. Where an applicant cannot prove their identity, the page states the application will be refused, that the Department might not grant another visa for 10 years, and that it might not grant a visa for 10 years to family members listed on the application.

Beyond that, silence tends to surface as a practical failure later. The decision is issued in writing, and the Department states there is no refund of the application fee if the visa is refused. A change you never reported can mean the decision was reached on facts that no longer describe you.

Does leaving Australia have to be reported?

Yes. The official page asks you to tell the Department if you want to travel outside Australia while the application is processed, because you must be in Australia, but not in immigration clearance, when the application is submitted and when it is decided. If you leave, you need a valid visa to return.

The page also covers what happens if your current visa expires during processing: when you applied, you were granted a bridging visa, and it starts if your current visa expires before the decision. It warns specifically against cancelling your current visa — doing so means you are staying in Australia unlawfully and are not eligible for a bridging visa.

Which other post-lodgement obligations run alongside the notification duty?

Two carry hard consequences for the grant itself. If you did not provide the Bupa Medical Visa Services certificate when you applied, the page says you should give it within 3 months of applying, and that the visa cannot be granted if the certificate is not on file at the time of decision. The second instalment is payable when the Department tells you to pay it; the Department will send an invoice after you have met all other requirements, and the visa cannot be granted if the instalment is unpaid, although the Department might reduce the second instalment to nil if you show it is likely to cause you or the person you are caring for severe financial hardship (it will not reduce it for anyone applying with you, and you must send a written request).

The page also notes that the Department cannot provide progress updates within normal processing times and will contact you if anything further is needed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to report a new mobile number or email address?

Changes to your phone number and address are both on the official list of things to tell the Department after you apply. The practical reason is that the Department sends correspondence and requests for further information to the contact details it holds, so an outdated number can mean you never receive a request.

I moved house during processing. Is there a deadline?

The official page requires you to tell the Department about an address change but does not set out a fixed number of days for doing so. Updating your details through ImmiAccount is the route the page describes once a paper application has been imported.

What if my partner and I separate while the application is pending?

Changes to marital or de facto status are explicitly listed as something you must report. Because relationship evidence forms part of the application, the Department should not be left deciding the case on a relationship that no longer exists.

Our baby is born while the application is being processed. What should I do?

The birth of a child is on the official list of changes to report. The page states the duty to notify; it does not describe the child as automatically joining the application, so the notification itself is the step the official guidance identifies.

How do I withdraw a Subclass 836 application?

Withdrawal appears both as a change to report and as one of the services available once the application is imported into ImmiAccount. The Department must be told you want to withdraw; the imported application gives you an online route to do it.

Does the person I am caring for have any separate reporting obligation?

The obligations the official page sets out fall on the applicant. What the page requires is evidence: a Bupa Medical Visa Services certificate covering the person who needs care, plus written evidence that they do not have reasonable access to care in Australia. If the certificate was not lodged with the application, it should be provided within 3 months of applying.