Subclass 124 English and second instalment: 2026 practice notes

The second instalment is not something you chase. On the Distinguished Talent visa (Subclass 124) official pages, the Australian Department of Home Affairs states that the second instalment charge is AUD 4,890 and that applicants will be told when to pay it; the "after you apply" section puts it more bluntly — pay it when the Department sends you the invoice, and do not ask for the invoice. As of the August 2026 version of the Department's Distinguished Talent visa (Subclass 124) page, that is the whole of the published instruction on timing, and it is the one procedural point agents most often get wrong on a client's behalf.

Who actually owes the second instalment

The charge attaches to English ability, not to the visa class as such. Applicants aged 18 or over must have functional English, and anyone in that age group who cannot show it needs to pay the extra charge in order to be granted the visa.

The practical consequences follow from how the requirement is written:

It is assessed per applicant aged 18 or over, so a partner or adult dependent child in the same application can trigger their own charge.
The Department's document checklist asks for a statement indicating the intention to pay the second visa application charge for each person with less than functional English, including family members applying with the main applicant.
Family members who apply with the main applicant also attract their own additional charge on the base visa application charge, which is a separate item from the second instalment.

What the published page does not do is set out a way to pay the second instalment as a substitute for meeting other criteria. It is the published alternative to evidencing functional English: the Department's eligibility criteria state that applicants aged 18 or over must have functional English or pay the second instalment to be granted the visa.

When does the invoice arrive?

It arrives when the Department decides to send it. The visa page says twice that the Department will tell you when to pay, and the step-by-step guidance repeats it in the imperative: pay when the invoice is sent, do not ask for the invoice.

For an agent, that instruction has a direct operational meaning. Requesting the invoice early is not a step the published process provides for; the Department states only that it will tell you when to pay. The disciplined practice is to record the possibility of the charge at lodgement, warn the client that it may be requested later, and then wait for the Department's written request rather than prompting one. Chasing it creates a paper trail of pressure on a decision the case officer has not yet made.

There is also a fairness point worth making to clients up front: because the timing is the Department's, a client cannot treat the arrival of the invoice as a signal about the merits of the case, and cannot treat its absence as one either.

What to lodge before any invoice exists

The second instalment is anticipated in writing at the document stage, not at the payment stage. Where the main applicant or any accompanying family member aged 18 or over cannot evidence functional English, the Department asks for a statement of intention to pay the charge for each such person.

That statement is the item to prepare while the file is being assembled. It sits alongside the usual identity, relationship, character and record-of-achievement documents, and alongside Form 1000 (Nomination for Distinguished Talent) and the nominator's supporting statement. Putting the intention on record at lodgement means the later invoice, when it comes, is a payment step rather than a scramble to explain why English evidence is missing.

One more timing feature matters here. The Department states it does not give status updates on applications, and directs applicants to ImmiAccount to see whether more information has been requested. An agent who has told the client, at lodgement, that a second instalment invoice may appear at an unspecified later point will not need to interpret silence in the interim.

How the second instalment fits into the total cost

The base visa application charge and the second instalment are priced separately, and the official pricing tool does not combine them. The Department's page says the Visa Pricing Estimator does not take the second instalment or other costs into account, and repeats that warning in the cost section.

So a realistic cost conversation with a client has at least three layers:

the visa application charge for the main applicant, plus an additional charge for each family member applying with them;
the second instalment of AUD 4,890 for each applicant aged 18 or over who cannot show functional English;
other costs the applicant pays directly, such as health examinations, police certificates and biometrics.

Two further published points belong in that conversation. The Department says it cannot process an application if the correct visa application charge is not paid, and that it will notify the applicant and, if necessary, return the application. Separately, it states that the application charge is not refunded if the application is refused. Neither statement converts the second instalment into a guarantee of anything; it is a charge, and paying it does not decide the case.

A short practice checklist

For files where functional English is in doubt, the sequence that follows the published instructions is short:

Identify every applicant aged 18 or over, including accompanying family members, and assess functional English for each of them individually.
Where evidence is not available, prepare the statement of intention to pay the second instalment for each affected person and lodge it with the application.
Tell the client the published amount and that the estimator figure they may have seen excludes it.
Wait for the Department's invoice. Do not ask for the invoice.
Pay on receipt, and keep the invoice and payment record with the file.

These notes describe published procedure only. They are general information, not advice tailored to any individual's circumstances, and anyone applying should confirm the current position on the official page or take professional advice on their own case.

One status caveat that changes the framing

The step-by-step section of the same official page states that Subclass 124 is closed to new applications. That does not make the second instalment rules irrelevant — applicants with matters already lodged, and practitioners advising on the record, still work to the published English and payment instructions — but it does mean the practical audience for these notes is narrower than it would be for an open visa. Treat the closure note as part of the current official position and re-check it before relying on any of the above for a live matter.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is the second instalment for Subclass 124?

The Department of Home Affairs states on the Subclass 124 page that the second instalment charge is AUD 4,890. It is described as an extra fee for any applicant aged 18 or over who has less than functional English, and the document checklist refers to paying it for each person in that position.

When will I be told to pay it?

The Department says it will tell you when to pay the second instalment, and the after-you-apply guidance says to pay it when the invoice is sent. No date, interval or processing stage is published, so the invoice itself is the trigger.

Can my migration agent request the invoice to speed things up?

The official instruction is the opposite: the Department's step-by-step guidance says to pay the second instalment when the invoice is sent and adds "do not ask for the invoice." Asking for it early is not a step the published process provides for.

Does the visa pricing estimate I was given include the second instalment?

No. The Department states that the Visa Pricing Estimator does not take into account the second instalment or other costs such as health checks, police certificates and biometrics. The estimator figure and the AUD 4,890 charge are separate.

Do accompanying family members have to pay it too?

The English requirement applies to applicants aged 18 or over, and the Department asks for a statement of intention to pay the second instalment for each person with less than functional English, explicitly including family members applying with the main applicant. Children under 18 are outside the functional English requirement as it is written.

Is the charge refunded if the visa is refused?

The Department states that it will not refund the application charge if it refuses an application. Treat the visa application charge, including any second instalment paid as part of it, as non-refundable on refusal, and do not present payment of the second instalment as improving the prospects of a grant.