Subclass 200 police checks, military records and health exams (2026)

For a Subclass 200 (Refugee) application, the character document that the Australian Department of Home Affairs actually names in its Step 2 document checklist is this: military service records or discharge papers, if you served in the armed forces of any country. Health examinations work differently — you do not arrange them at lodgement. The Department tells you whether they are required after you apply, and Toll Remote Logistics Pty Ltd, the Assisted Passage service provider, helps you attend the health appointments. This follows the Department of Home Affairs "Refugee category visas (Subclass 200, 201, 203 and 204)" page, as of the official page current in August 2026.

This article is general information about documentary preparation only and is not personalised immigration assistance or legal advice; the wording that governs a decision is the current official page and the Migration Regulations 1994, and anyone assessing a specific file should read those directly.

What does the character requirement cover, and who has to meet it?

The Subclass 200 page states two linked rules. You and any family members who apply with you must meet the character requirement, and family members who do not apply with you might also have to meet it. The same "might also" structure applies to the health requirement, which is why the Department asks you to declare all family members even when they are not joining you.

The character requirement is not a single document. It is a standard that has to be satisfied, and the documents you supply are the evidence offered towards it. In practice that means the paperwork question — what to collect — and the legal question — whether the standard is met — are separate, and a complete document set does not by itself determine the outcome.

Which character documents does the official checklist actually name?

The Step 2 "Character documents" line on the Subclass 200 page is short: provide military service records or discharge papers if you served in the armed forces of any country. Note the breadth of "any country" — it is not limited to the home country you fled or the country you are living in now.

Everything else in the checklist is identity- and relationship-focused: passport bio pages, national identity card, change-of-name proof, UNHCR registration or resettlement registration form where relevant, certified copies of visas or residence permits, marriage or de facto evidence, and two 45mm x 35mm photographs with the name printed on the back.

Where a police or criminal record certificate fits is set out at the regulatory level rather than in that checklist. The Subclass 200 entry in the Migration Regulations 1994 compilation lists a police/criminal record certificate as the material going to Public Interest Criterion (PIC) 4001, and lists health examination results as the material going to PIC 4007. Check the PIC numbers and their commencement status against the current official text of the Migration Regulations 1994.

Which public interest criteria attach to a Subclass 200 application?

The Regulations entry for Subclass 200 attaches a cluster of criteria rather than one:

Criterion	When it applies, per the Regulations entry
PIC 4001, 4002, 4003, 4004, 4007, 4009, 4010	Applied through clause 200.226 to the applicant
PIC 4019	Where the applicant is 18 or over at time of application
PIC 4015 and 4016	Where a family member under 18 is included in the application
PIC 4017 and 4018	Where a secondary applicant is under 18
Criterion 5001	Where the applicant has previously been in Australia

The Regulations entry does not describe the content of each of these criteria, so no inference should be drawn here about what any of them require beyond what the official pages say. The two that map onto the documents in this article are PIC 4001 (character, evidenced in part by a police/criminal record certificate) and PIC 4007 (health, evidenced by examination results).

Do partners and dependants need their own documents?

Yes, and the requirements differ by age. The checklist treats each person included in the application as a separate evidence set:

Person	Character and identity material required
Partner	Identity documents, character documents, documents about other relationships if applicable, visas or residence permits held, two photographs, plus marriage certificate or 12 months of de facto evidence
Dependant under 18	Identity documents or a statement explaining why none exist, relationship proof, visas or permits, any marriage or relationship registrations, character documents if applicable, two photographs
Dependant 18 or over	Identity documents, documents about other relationships if applicable, character documents, visas or permits held, two photographs

The "if applicable" qualifier for under-18 character documents is the point that most often gets read too quickly: a child who has never served in any armed forces and has no police record history to speak of is not in the same position as an adult applicant, but a dependant who turns 18 moves into the adult document set. Agent-side, the practical job is to check each person's age as at application, not as at the date the file was opened.

How are health exams arranged, and who pays?

You are not asked to book health examinations yourself at lodgement. The Department's "after you apply" section says it will advise you if you are required to undertake a medical examination and/or have biometrics collected, and that Toll, as the Assisted Passage service provider, will assist you with these requirements. The separate health exams line repeats it: the Department will let you know if you need health examinations.

Assisted Passage is the mechanism behind that. The Subclass 200 page describes it as a program supporting the Offshore Humanitarian Program through health screening, travel and medical related services, delivered globally by Toll after transitioning from the International Organization for Migration. Toll helps applicants attend health appointments and, if a visa is granted, assists with travel to Australia. There is no visa application charge for this visa, and the Department arranges travel to Australia at no cost to you.

Can the health requirement be waived?

The official eligibility page states the waiver possibility in one sentence: if you have compassionate and compelling circumstances, the Department might waive your health requirement. "Might" is the operative word — the page presents this as a discretion, not an entitlement, and does not set out the factors that go into it.

What the page does make concrete is the timing cost of health issues. Applications can take longer where individual and family circumstances include health conditions that might require testing or treatment, and the decision process generally takes many months, even years. A health condition in the family is therefore a scheduling factor as much as a legal one.

What happens after a health exam, and can it be repeated?

Two obligations follow the examination rather than precede it. If you signed a health undertaking, you must comply with it. And if the first entry arrival date in your grant letter has passed, the Department may first ask you to undergo another medical examination before it issues a travel facilitation letter.

That second point matters for file planning: the health evidence produced during processing is tied to an entry window, and a lapse in that window can send the applicant back through examination.

What should be prepared before lodgement?

The sequencing that follows from the above is straightforward. Identify every family member, including those not applying, because undeclared family members may not be eligible to be proposed later. For each person included, assemble the identity set and the character set in the table above, and treat military service in any country as a trigger for records or discharge papers — not as an afterthought to be explained in a statement. If a document genuinely cannot be produced, the checklist's own answer is a written statement explaining why you have no travel or identity documents, rather than silence.

Health evidence is the one item that deliberately waits. The Department contacts the applicant about medical examinations and biometrics after lodgement, and Toll assists with attendance; trying to front-run that step does not remove it. What is worth doing early is gathering any existing treatment or testing records a family member has, since the processing-time guidance names health conditions requiring testing or treatment as a source of delay.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Subclass 200 require a police certificate?

The Department's Step 2 checklist for Subclass 200 names military service records or discharge papers for anyone who served in the armed forces of any country. The police/criminal record certificate appears at the regulatory level, in the Subclass 200 entry of the Migration Regulations 1994 compilation, as material going to PIC 4001 — check the current official text of the Regulations for its wording and status.

What if I served in the military but cannot get my discharge papers?

The checklist requires military service records or discharge papers where you served, and the written-statement option it sets out is limited to travel or identity documents, so no substitute for military records is specified on the official page. A bare statement is weaker evidence than the record itself, but leaving the gap unexplained removes any basis for the Department to assess it.

Do family members who are not moving to Australia need these checks?

Possibly. The Subclass 200 page states that family members who do not apply with you might also have to meet the health requirement and the character requirement. This is why the page also stresses declaring all family members: failing to declare one may mean you cannot propose them for a Humanitarian visa later.

Who arranges and pays for the health examination?

After you apply, the Department advises whether a medical examination and/or biometrics are required, and Toll, the Assisted Passage service provider, assists with those requirements including attendance at health appointments. There is no visa application charge for Subclass 200, and the Department arranges travel to Australia at no cost to the applicant.

Can the health requirement be waived for Subclass 200?

The official eligibility page says the health requirement might be waived where there are compassionate and compelling circumstances. It describes this as a discretion and does not list the factors weighed, so it should not be treated as an available outcome in any given case.

Will a health condition delay the decision?

It can. The Department's processing information lists health conditions that might require testing or treatment among the individual and family circumstances that make times vary, alongside incomplete forms, missing documents and time taken to verify information. It also states that the decision process takes many months, even years.

Can a second medical exam be required after the visa is granted?

Yes. If the first entry arrival date in the grant letter has passed, the Department may ask you to undergo another medical examination before issuing a travel facilitation letter. Separately, any health undertaking you signed must be complied with.