Subclass 445 visa: proving dependent child status and sponsorship in 2026

A Subclass 445 (Dependent Child) application has to prove two things at once: that the child is a dependent child of a parent who holds a Partner (Provisional) visa (subclass 309), a Partner visa (subclass 820) or a Dependent Child visa (subclass 445), and that the child is sponsored by the same person who sponsored or nominated that parent's permanent Partner visa application — with the sponsorship approved before the visa can be granted. That is the structure set out on the Australian Department of Home Affairs' "Dependent Child visa (Subclass 445)" page, as at the July 2026 official page.

What does the parent's visa have to show?

The child must be dependent on a parent who holds one of the three visas above, and the parent's visa is the anchor of the whole application. Evidence normally turns on the parent's visa grant record — the grant letter or visa record showing the subclass and that it is still in force — plus the child's relationship documents.

Two timing points matter. At the decision, the parent still has to be a "visa-holding parent": clause 445.221 of the Migration Regulations 1994 requires the parent to continue to be a visa-holding parent, and the Department's PAM3 guidance states that once the parent's permanent Partner visa is granted the parent no longer meets that definition. Separately, if the child is in Australia, they cannot hold another visa that carries a "No further stay" condition.

The Department's page lists subclasses 309, 820 and 445. Clause 445.111 of the Migration Regulations 1994 also covers subclasses 310 and 826 in the definition of a visa-holding parent; the Department's page lists subclasses 309, 820 and 445, and where the two differ the official page governs.

Who counts as a dependent child, and what changes after 18?

The child must be either under 18, or over 18 and financially dependent on the parent who holds the temporary Partner or Dependent Child visa. Age alone therefore does not decide the question; after 18, dependency is the issue that has to be documented rather than assumed.

Under regulation 1.03 of the Migration Regulations 1994 and the Department's PAM3 guidance, "dependent child" means a child or step-child who is not married or in a de facto relationship, and who is either under 18 or, if older, financially dependent or unable to work because of a physical or mental incapacity. PAM3 states that where dependency was assessed more than six months before the decision, officers take reasonable steps to confirm nothing material has changed — so financial support evidence for an older child should be current, not historical.

Who has to sponsor the child, and what stops a sponsorship?

The sponsor must be the same person who sponsored or nominated the parent's permanent Partner visa application. Sponsorship is not a formality attached to the parent's file: the Department states it must approve the sponsorship before the visa can be granted, and clause 445.224 of the Migration Regulations 1994 requires the approval to be in force at the time of decision.

Two scenarios change who can stand behind the child:

If the sponsor has died, or the relationship between the visa-holding parent and the sponsor has ended, and the parent has requested consideration under the family violence or parental arrangements provisions, the visa-holding parent may sponsor instead (clause 445.223(3) of the Migration Regulations 1994). That route involves a fresh sponsorship and financial capacity evidence.
Where the applicant is themselves a dependent child of another Subclass 445 holder and the circumstances in clause 445.223(3)(a) apply — the sponsor has died or the relationship has ended and the visa-holding parent has requested consideration under the family violence or parental arrangements provisions — clause 445.223(4) allows the applicant to be sponsored by the person who requested Subclass 100/801 consideration.

Sponsorship also carries a child-safety gate. Where the sponsor, or their spouse or de facto partner, has a pending charge for a registrable offence, the Department says it will refuse both the sponsorship and the visa application; where there is a conviction, the sponsorship can only be approved in very limited circumstances. Regulation 1.20KB of the Migration Regulations 1994 is the provision behind this limit.

What happens once the 445 is granted?

The 445 is temporary by design. The Department's page states that the child must stay in or move to Australia until the decision on the parent's permanent Partner visa application, and that the visa lasts only until that decision. It allows travel to and from Australia, work and study, and free English classes under the Adult Migrant English Program if eligible.

The child must apply to be added to the parent's permanent Partner visa application after the 445 is granted. PAM3 refers to this as a Form 1002 step and warns that if the child is not added before the parent's permanent visa is decided, the 445 path closes and the family would be looking at other child visa options instead.

What else has to be satisfied before grant?

Requirement	Who it covers	What the official criteria say
Health	The child, any dependent children applying with them, and possibly family members not travelling	The health requirement applies; non-migrating family members may also have to meet it
Character	The child if aged 16 or over; other dependent children may be asked	Australian police certificates or equivalent and related checks
Australian values	Applicants aged 18 or over	Must have read, or been read, the Life in Australia booklet and sign an Australian Values Statement
Debt to government	The child	Any debt to the Australian Government must be repaid or covered by a formal arrangement
Consent to travel	Children under 18	Written consent from everyone who can legally decide where the child lives, or the home country's law permits departure, or the grant is consistent with any Australian child order
Best interests	Applicants under 18	The visa might not be granted if granting it is not in the child's best interests

Note the overlap: the 18-year-old threshold triggers the values statement and, under clause 445.225 of the Migration Regulations 1994, public interest criterion 4019, while the 16-year-old threshold triggers the character requirement. The under-18 criteria include the best-interests assessment and the travel consent rules.

What does the evidence file actually consist of?

Pulling the Department's criteria and the PAM3 checklist together, a file is assembled around five bundles rather than one long form:

Relationship and identity — birth or adoption records, and custody or parental responsibility documents where a parent's legal authority is not self-evident.
The parent's visa — evidence the parent holds subclass 309, 820 or 445 and that the permanent Partner visa is still undecided.
Dependency — for a child over 18, current financial support evidence; for a younger child, evidence of the household and care arrangements.
Sponsorship — the sponsor's agreement and identity, and proof the sponsorship has been approved. PAM3 refers to Form 40SP or the approval record, and to Form 918 as the application form lodged under Schedule 1 item 1211 of the Migration Regulations 1994; form numbers and lodgement channels should be confirmed against the Department's current pages before relying on them.
Health, character and consent — health assessments, police certificates for those aged 16 and over, and for under-18 applicants the consent and best-interests material.

One structural point in clauses 445.227 and 445.228 of the Migration Regulations 1994 is easy to miss: public interest criteria apply to family members whether or not they are included in the application, and a failure by one person can affect the whole application.

Where does the line sit on paying someone to help?

The Department's own page places the warning before the transaction: if you are getting help with your visa, read the information on who can help with your visa application before you pay anyone. The reason is specific to this visa. The decisive facts — the parent's visa, the child's dependency, the sponsor's identity and approval, the health and character outcomes — all sit in documents and official records that a paid helper cannot supply.

So the practical division is: a helper can organise, translate, explain and lodge; nobody can manufacture a sponsorship, back-date dependency, or deliver an outcome, and documents that do not match the record create their own problem under the integrity criterion referred to as PIC 4020. Where a refusal turns on public interest criteria, PAM3 points to merits review and ministerial intervention routes; review bodies and time limits change, so current official sources govern. This article is general information about what the published criteria require, not advice on any one family's circumstances, and anyone whose situation turns on relationship breakdown, custody or a sponsorship problem should work from the latest official pages and, where needed, a qualified professional.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can the child's other parent sponsor the 445 instead?

No, not by default. The Department requires the child to be sponsored by the same person who sponsored or nominated the parent's permanent Partner visa application. A different sponsor only becomes possible in the narrow situations set out in the Regulations — for example, where the original sponsor has died or the relationship has ended and the parent has sought consideration under the family violence or parental arrangements provisions.

Does the sponsorship have to be approved before the application is lodged?

Approval has to be in place before the visa can be granted, and clause 445.224 of the Migration Regulations 1994 requires the approval to remain in force at the time of decision. In practice the sponsorship is part of the same evidence chain as the parent's visa, so lodging without an approval in place leaves the application unable to be granted until it is resolved.

What if the child is 19 and at university?

Age over 18 does not disqualify a child, but the criteria shift from age to financial dependency on the parent holding the temporary Partner or Dependent Child visa. The file has to show current support rather than a historical arrangement, because dependency is re-examined if the original assessment is no longer recent.

When should the 445 be lodged relative to the parent's permanent Partner visa?

Before the parent's permanent Partner visa is decided. The Department's criteria assume the parent still holds the provisional or temporary visa, and PAM3 notes that once the permanent visa is granted the parent no longer meets the visa-holding parent definition. The child then applies to be added to the parent's permanent Partner visa application after the 445 is granted.

What happens if the sponsor has a criminal charge?

A pending charge for a registrable offence is fatal at the sponsorship stage: the Department states it will refuse the sponsorship and the visa application. A conviction does not automatically end the case but can only be approved in very limited circumstances, so the sponsorship should be assessed before the rest of the evidence is assembled.

Could Australian citizenship by descent be simpler than a 445?

Sometimes. The Department notes that a child born outside Australia to a parent who was an Australian citizen at the time of the birth may apply for Australian citizenship by descent instead of a visa to travel to Australia. Where that route is available it removes the sponsorship and dependency questions from the case entirely.

Do family members who are not travelling still need checks?

They may. The Department states that family members who are not coming to Australia with the child might also have to meet the health requirement, and clauses 445.227 and 445.228 of the Migration Regulations 1994 extend public interest criteria to family members whether or not they apply. Planning the file on the assumption that only the child is assessed is a common source of delay.