Character Evidence for Subclass 300 in 2026: Form 80, AFP Checks and Military Records

A Subclass 300 character package is rarely one document. According to the Australian Department of Home Affairs' Prospective Marriage visa (Subclass 300) official page, as at the July 2026 version of that page, an applicant is asked for police certificates covering every country where they spent a total of 12 months or more during the last 10 years since turning 16, an Australian police certificate on the same residence test, military service records or discharge papers if they served in the armed forces of any country, and Form 80 Personal particulars for assessment including character assessment. The two items most often missed are Form 80 and military records, because neither is a police certificate and neither sits on the police-certificate line that applicants usually work from. What follows is a plain reading of the published requirements for general reference, not an assessment of any individual case; forms, thresholds and validity periods change, so the current official text should be treated as the reference point.

What does the character requirement actually ask for?

The official page separates the character step into four distinct asks rather than a single certificate:

a police certificate from every country where you spent a total of 12 months or more during the last 10 years since you turned 16;
an Australian police certificate, if you spent a total of 12 months or more in Australia in that same 10-year window since turning 16;
military service records or discharge papers, if you served in the armed forces of any country;
Form 80, completed and attached to the application.

Three of these are documentary proof about your past; the fourth is a personal-particulars form that the department uses for the character assessment itself. Treating the police certificate as the whole job is the most common reason a character package arrives incomplete.

Do I need Form 80 if I already have police certificates?

Yes — Form 80 is a separate requirement, not an alternative to a police check. The official step-by-step guide lists Form 80 under character documents and instructs applicants to complete it and attach it to the application. Police certificates say what a jurisdiction recorded about you; Form 80 is the account the department asks you to give in your own words, and it covers a longer sweep of personal history than any single certificate.

One practical difference matters for planning: the department publishes a 12-month validity period for police certificates, while the step-by-step guide attaches no validity period to Form 80. That asymmetry is why Form 80 can be prepared early without the expiry risk that applies to the certificates.

Which Australian police certificate will the department accept?

Only one type. The official page states that Home Affairs accepts complete disclosure National Police Certificates issued by the Australian Federal Police, and does not accept standard disclosure certificates or national police certificates issued by Australian state or territory police. An applicant who has spent a total of 12 months or more in Australia in the last 10 years since turning 16 is asked for that AFP certificate.

There is also a separate freshness rule for it: if more than 15 months has passed since the AFP issued your National Police Certificate, new checks will be required to progress the application. A state police check bought quickly online, or a certificate issued at the standard rather than complete disclosure level, will not substitute for the AFP document.

Are overseas police certificates needed for countries you left years ago?

The test is cumulative residence, not current residence and not continuous residence: every country where you spent a total of 12 months or more during the last 10 years since you turned 16. Short, repeated or long-past stays can add up to 12 months, and the official page's wording ("a total of") is what makes them count. The same page points to its Offices outside Australia information for how to obtain certificates, and reminds applicants that all documents must be provided in English or accompanied by a translation.

Do military service records really belong in a character package?

They do, and this is the item most often left out. The official page requires military service records or discharge papers from anyone who served in the armed forces of any country. Unlike the police certificate rule, the published text attaches no 12-month threshold and no 10-year window to military service — service is service, whether it was conscription, reserve service, short or long ago, in any country.

In practice this means a certificate packet can be complete for police purposes and still short one document. If the records are not in English, they need a translation, and the translation rules below apply to them in the same way as to any other document.

Who else in the application needs character evidence?

The eligibility criteria on the official page extend the character requirement beyond the main applicant: you and any family members aged 16 years and over who apply with you must meet the character requirements, and the department may also ask for character information about family members who are not coming to Australia with you. Each accompanying person's documents attach to that person's own record in the application.

The online attachment limit is up to 100 documents for each person on the application, and the limit cannot be increased. The department's guidance is to label documents clearly and attach each one only once, even where it is used to show more than one thing — useful when a single record, such as a change-of-name document, supports both identity and character history.

How long do these documents stay valid?

For immigration purposes, police certificates are valid for 12 months from the issue date. That applies whether the certificate comes from the AFP or from an overseas jurisdiction. The AFP certificate carries the additional 15-month rule noted above: once more than 15 months has passed since it was issued, new checks are required to progress the application.

You can obtain police certificates before you apply, and the official page presents that as an option rather than a requirement — the trade-off is that a certificate obtained too early may expire while the application is still being processed. The department publishes global visa processing times for this visa and asks applicants not to seek progress updates while an application is within standard processing times; if further information is needed, it will be visible in ImmiAccount.

How should the documents be prepared?

The preparation rules are the same across identity, relationship and character documents, and they are where avoidable delays tend to come from:

Scan or photograph every document in colour, clearly enough to read; if a document runs to more than one page, save it as one file.
Documents do not need to be certified.
Have anything not in English translated, and provide both the original and the translation. Translators in Australia must be accredited by the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters; translators outside Australia need not be accredited, but each translation must carry the translator's full name, address and telephone number, and their qualifications and experience in the language, in English.

Accuracy carries its own weight: the official page states that, as an applicant, you must prove your identity and provide true information, and points to its own guidance on providing accurate information.

Who is allowed to be paid to handle this for you?

Under the official page, anyone appointed to give immigration assistance must be a registered migration agent, a legal practitioner, or an exempt person. Appointing someone to provide that assistance is done through Form 956; appointing someone merely to receive correspondence is done through Form 956A, which gives them no role in giving advice or dealing with the department on the substance of your case.

That distinction is worth holding onto when character documents are involved: the person who can lawfully charge for preparing a character submission is not the same as a friend or partner who is listed to receive mail about the application.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I still need Form 80 if my police certificates are already attached?

Yes. Form 80 is listed under character documents in the official step-by-step guide as a document to complete and attach, separately from any police certificate. Police certificates record what a jurisdiction holds; Form 80 is the applicant's own particulars for the character assessment.

Will a state police check be accepted instead of an AFP certificate?

No. The official page states that only complete disclosure National Police Certificates issued by the Australian Federal Police are accepted, and that standard disclosure certificates and certificates issued by Australian state or territory police are not accepted.

I finished my AFP check 14 months ago — is it still usable?

The 12-month validity period for police certificates has passed. The separate AFP rule is that new checks are required only once more than 15 months has passed since the AFP issued the certificate — a later trigger than the 12-month validity period, not a stricter one. At 14 months the certificate is already outside the published 12-month validity period, so a new certificate should be obtained rather than relying on the existing one.

I did short conscription service decades ago. Do I need military records?

The official page requires military service records or discharge papers if you served in the armed forces of any country, and it attaches no minimum service length and no time limit to that requirement. Short, old or non-combat service still falls within the wording.

Do accompanying family members need their own character documents?

Yes for those aged 16 and over: the eligibility criteria require you and any family members aged 16 years and over who apply with you to meet the character requirements. The department may also ask for character information about family members who are not travelling to Australia.

Can I get help with the character documents from anyone I choose?

Only a registered migration agent, a legal practitioner or an exempt person can be appointed to give immigration assistance, using Form 956. Form 956A appoints someone to receive correspondence only and does not authorise them to give advice or act on the substance of the application.