Subclass 300 Document Prep in 2026: Translation Rules, Scans and the 100-Attachment Limit

Three rules decide whether a Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300) document set holds up: every document must be in English, every scan or photo must be in colour and legible, and each person on the application carries a ceiling of 100 attachments that the Department of Home Affairs states cannot be increased. No document needs to be certified. This reflects the Department's Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300) page as at July 2026, read alongside the Migration Regulations 1994, and is general information only — it is not advice on any individual case, so anything specific to your circumstances should be checked against the official page or with a qualified adviser.

Do subclass 300 documents need to be certified?

No. The Department's page says you do not need to have any documents certified. What it asks for instead is a clean colour image: scan or photograph every document, English and non-English alike, in colour, at a resolution clear enough to read.

This is worth stating plainly because certification is one of the most common wasted steps in a paper file. A legible colour scan of the original carries the same weight as a certified photocopy for this visa, and a certification stamp does not repair a scan that is cropped, skewed, or too dark to read.

Who can translate your documents?

All documents must be translated into English, and both the original and the translated version go into the application. The credential the Department looks for depends on where the translator works.

	Australia-based translator	Translator outside Australia
Accreditation	Must be accredited by the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI)	Accreditation not required
Details required on each translation	As per NAATI accreditation	Full name; address and telephone number; qualifications and experience in the language being translated
Language of those details	English	English

The overseas route is not a loophole. The translation still has to carry the translator's identity, contact details and credentials in English, so a case officer can see who produced it and on what basis. A translated page with a signature but no address or qualifications does not meet what the page describes.

How should multi-page documents be scanned?

If a document runs to more than one page, save the whole thing as one file. This is more than a tidiness preference: attachments are counted, and a passport, a household register or a ten-page bank history that is split into one file per page consumes several of a person's 100 slots for what is, evidentially, one document.

Why does "attach each document once" matter so much?

The Department's instruction is to clearly label your documents and attach a document only once, even if you are using it to show more than one thing. In practice the same item often does double duty in a subclass 300 file — a joint travel booking supports both the claim that the parties have met and the claim that they intend to marry; a birth certificate can serve identity and, where it names both parents, family composition.

Uploading it twice does not strengthen either point. It costs an attachment slot and creates a file where the same page appears under two labels, which is exactly the kind of duplication that makes a large application harder to assess.

What actually happens when you hit the 100-document limit?

You can attach up to 100 documents for each person on the application. The limit cannot be increased. If you reach the limit for one applicant, the Department's page says you can attach more documents to other clients on the application — that is, the unused capacity of another applicant on the same form, not extra space for the person who has run out.

Because the ceiling is fixed, the practical response is sequencing rather than expansion:

Consolidate anything multi-page into a single file, as the scan rule requires.
Drop duplicates before you drop distinct evidence; the "attach once" rule means duplicates are pure waste.
Keep the documents that answer the criteria themselves — identity, the relationship with the prospective spouse, former relationships, and dependants — ahead of material that merely restates what those documents already show.
Use the ImmiAccount checklist as a completeness check before you start trimming, since the Department notes that attaching all necessary supporting documents helps ensure an application is processed as quickly as possible, and that applications lodged with all required information reduce processing delays.

Which documents are competing for those 100 slots?

The identity set is prescriptive. Provide a birth certificate showing the names of both parents; if you cannot, provide one of the identity pages of a family book showing both parents' names, a government-issued identification document, a court-issued document that proves identity, or a family census register. Add the pages of your current passport showing photo, personal details and issue and expiry dates, a national identity card if you have one, and proof of any change of name.

The relationship set is evidence of your relationship with your prospective spouse, of any former relationships, and of any dependants you have. Separately, character and health material enters the same attachment pool: a police certificate from every country where you spent a total of 12 months or more during the last 10 years since turning 16, military service or discharge papers where applicable, Form 80 (Personal particulars for assessment including character assessment), and health examination results.

Timing interacts with the limit too. For immigration purposes police certificates are valid for 12 months from the issue date, and where more than 15 months has passed since an Australian Federal Police National Police Certificate was issued, new checks will be required. Health assessment results are valid for 12 months from the time examinations were completed, and any health undertaking you are asked to sign is valid for 6 months. Re-uploading a refreshed certificate later means another attachment, so holding a slot in reserve is more useful than filling all 100 on day one.

Who is allowed to be paid to help with the paperwork?

Anyone can be appointed to receive correspondence about the application, using Form 956A (Appointment or withdrawal of an authorised recipient). Giving immigration assistance — discussing the application with the Department, giving it information, sending and receiving correspondence about it — is narrower. A person who does that must be a registered migration agent, a legal practitioner, or an exempt person, appointed on Form 956.

The distinction matters when you are paying someone. Receiving mail is not the regulated activity; preparing and advancing the application is. Correspondence sent by an appointed assistant is treated as if it came from you, which is another reason to check the registration status of anyone charging a fee for the document work described above.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do subclass 300 documents need to be certified copies?

No. The Department of Home Affairs states that you do not need to have any documents certified for this visa. What it requires is that every document, in English or not, is scanned or photographed in colour and remains clear enough to read.

Does an overseas translator need NAATI accreditation?

No. Accreditation by NAATI is required for translators in Australia. Translators outside Australia do not have to be accredited, but each translation must include their full name, address and telephone number, and their qualifications and experience in the language they are translating, written in English.

Should I upload the original document as well as the translation?

Yes. The Department says to provide original and translated documents in the application, so both the source document and its English translation belong in the file. Scanning them into a single file is consistent with the rule that a document of more than one page is saved as one file.

Can the 100-attachment limit be raised if I have more evidence?

No — the Department states the attachment limit cannot be increased. You can attach up to 100 documents for each person on the application, and if one applicant reaches the limit, further documents can be attached to other clients on the application instead.

What is the best way to stay under 100 documents?

Save every multi-page document as a single file and attach each document only once, even when it supports more than one point. The Department asks applicants to clearly label documents and warns against duplicate attachment, and combining a document's pages is the cheapest way to free up slots.

Can I add documents after lodging the subclass 300 application?

Yes. If you did not attach everything when you applied, you can attach further documents in ImmiAccount as soon as you can, and the Department may also ask for more information. The checklist in ImmiAccount is there to help confirm the required documents are included.

How long does a police certificate stay valid?

For immigration purposes, police certificates are valid for 12 months from the issue date. If more than 15 months has passed since an Australian Federal Police National Police Certificate was issued, the Department says new checks will be required to progress the application.