Subclass 445 character documents in 2026: AFP Code 33 certificates and Form 80

For a Dependent Child visa (subclass 445), a child over 16 must provide a police certificate from every country they have spent 12 months or more in over the last 10 years since turning 16 — and where an Australian check is required, it must be an Australian Federal Police National Police Certificate applied for under Code 33 – Immigration/Citizenship. Standard disclosure certificates and certificates issued by Australian state or territory police are not accepted, and for immigration purposes a police certificate is valid for 12 months from its issue date. These rules come from the Australian Department of Home Affairs' Dependent Child visa (subclass 445) step-by-step page, as at July 2026.

Which character documents does a subclass 445 applicant over 16 actually need?

Three things, based on the official page:

a police certificate from every country where the child has spent 12 months or more in the last 10 years since turning 16
a completed Form 80 Personal particulars for assessment including character assessment
military service records or discharge papers, if anyone included in the application has served in the armed forces of any country

The trigger is age at the point of the character requirement: if the child is aged 16 or over, they must meet the character requirement. The official eligibility page adds that the Department might also ask other dependent children who apply with them to meet it, so an application is not automatically free of character documents just because the main applicant is younger.

Why does the Australian check have to be a Code 33 certificate?

Because the Department has narrowed the Australian product it will take. The National Police Certificate must be one applied for under Code 33 – Immigration/Citizenship, which is the purpose code the Australian Federal Police use for immigration and citizenship checks. Two nearby options are explicitly ruled out: standard disclosure certificates, and certificates issued by Australian state or territory police.

In practice this means an applicant who obtains a police check for a job, for a volunteer role, or through a state police force has a document that looks similar but will not satisfy the requirement. The Code 33 purpose is part of what is being checked, not an optional label.

Which countries count under the "12 months in the last 10 years" rule?

The rule on the official page runs from when the child turned 16, not from the application date. The 12 months is time spent in a country, and it is counted country by country: a police certificate is needed from each country in which the child has spent 12 months or more in the relevant window. Time before turning 16 is outside the window.

For those overseas countries the certificate comes from that country's police or equivalent authority; for Australia it must be the AFP National Police Certificate obtained under Code 33.

How long is a police certificate valid, and when should it be obtained?

For immigration purposes, police certificates are valid for 12 months from the issue date. The clock runs from issue, not from the date the application is posted or the date the Department looks at the file.

That 12-month window is the practical scheduling constraint in a paper application: a certificate obtained well before the rest of the documents are ready can lapse, and one obtained at the last minute can hold everything else up. The useful reading is that the certificate should be recent enough to still be inside its 12 months when the decision is made, rather than merely valid on the day it is posted.

What is Form 80, and who has to complete it?

Form 80 is the Personal particulars for assessment including character assessment. Children over 16 must complete it and provide it with the application. It covers personal particulars — addresses, travel and residence history, family details and the like — which is why it sits alongside the police certificates rather than replacing them: the certificate reports what a police authority holds, while the form is the applicant's own account of where they have lived and what they have done.

Assume an applicant turned 16 two months before the application is lodged. Under the stated rule they are over 16, so Form 80 is required, and the police certificate question turns on whether any single country accounts for 12 months or more since their 16th birthday — in most cases it will not yet.

What if the applicant has served in the armed forces?

If anyone included in the application served in the armed forces of any country, they must provide military service records or discharge papers. The wording is broad — "any country", and "anyone included in the application" — so it is not limited to the main applicant or to Australian service.

How do the character documents fit into the rest of the application?

The subclass 445 application is a paper application made on Form 918 Application for a subclass 445 (temporary) visa by a dependent child, sent by post or courier to the Child and Other Family Processing Centre in Perth, with the application charge paid before it is posted. Character documents go in with that paper lodgement, or can be uploaded later if the paper application is imported into ImmiAccount after the acknowledgement letter arrives.

Two handling rules matter for these documents: only certified copies should be sent, never originals, and if documents were missing at lodgement they should be provided as soon as possible. The Department also notes it may ask for further information, and may ask for biometrics.

Document	Who it applies to	The operative rule
Police certificate	Child over 16	From every country with 12 months or more in the last 10 years since turning 16
AFP National Police Certificate	Where an Australian check is needed	Must be applied for under Code 33 – Immigration/Citizenship; no standard disclosure, no state or territory police certificates
Form 80	Child over 16	Must be completed and provided
Military service records or discharge papers	Anyone in the application who served	Required for service in the armed forces of any country

This article is general information about published requirements and is not personalised advice for any individual case; the current wording on the official Home Affairs page, or advice from a registered migration agent or legal practitioner, should govern any actual application.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a subclass 445 applicant under 16 need a police certificate?

The published requirement attaches to children over 16. The Department also states that it might ask other dependent children applying with the child to meet the character requirement, so the absence of a police certificate is safest understood as a general rule rather than a guarantee for every file.

Is a standard AFP disclosure certificate accepted?

No. The Department states it only accepts National Police Certificates applied for under Code 33 – Immigration/Citizenship, and that it does not accept standard disclosure certificates.

Can a state or territory police certificate be used instead?

No. Certificates issued by Australian state or territory police are expressly not accepted for this visa; the Australian check must come from the Australian Federal Police under Code 33.

How long does a police certificate remain valid?

For immigration purposes, police certificates are valid for 12 months from the issue date. A certificate issued earlier than that window is not current for the application.

Who has to complete Form 80?

Children over 16 must complete and provide Form 80 Personal particulars for assessment including character assessment. It is a separate requirement from the police certificates, not an alternative to them.

Does military service have to be documented even if it was in another country?

Yes. If anyone included in the application served in the armed forces of any country, military service records or discharge papers must be provided.

Should original police certificates be posted with the application?

No. The Department asks applicants not to send original documents, only certified copies, and to keep a copy of the completed application and supporting documents for their own records.