Subclass 445 and Form 1002 in 2026: keeping the child in the parent’s Partner visa application

A child who holds a Dependent Child (subclass 445) visa keeps their place in the parent’s permanent Partner visa application by lodging Form 1002 – Application by a subclass 445 dependent child for a permanent partner visa before the Department of Home Affairs decides the parent’s application. That is the sequence set out on the Department’s official page for the Dependent Child visa (Subclass 445), as at July 2026: once the 445 is granted, the child must apply to be added to the parent’s permanent Partner application, and must do so before that application is decided. Lodging the form in time is what keeps the child lawful in Australia; missing the window means looking at a separate child visa pathway instead.

This article is general reference material rather than advice tailored to one family’s circumstances — the authoritative wording is always the current official information, and anyone facing a live deadline should have their situation checked against it.

What has to happen, and by when?

The obligation attaches at grant, not later. The Home Affairs page states that once the child is granted the 445, they must apply to be added to the parent’s permanent Partner visa application, and that this has to happen before the Department decides the parent’s application. Submitting the form before that decision "ensures the child remains lawful in Australia."

The reason the timing is tight is the nature of the 445 itself. It is a temporary visa that starts on the date of grant and lets the child stay until the Department decides the parent’s permanent Partner visa application or the parent withdraws that application. It cannot be extended to buy more time.

Where does the child need to be at lodgement?

This is the first fork in the road, because the parent’s permanent Partner visa subclass changes the answer.

Parent’s permanent Partner visa	Location requirement for the 445 child	Other condition stated
Partner (subclass 100)	Can be in or outside Australia	Must be a member of the family unit
Partner (subclass 801)	Must be in Australia	—

So a family planning around an 801 cannot simply assume the offshore option applies. If the child is outside Australia when the parent’s 801 application is finalised and no Form 1002 was lodged, the bridge the 445 was meant to provide has already closed.

How is Form 1002 actually lodged?

The 445 page describes two routes, both electronic:

ImmiAccount: upload the application to the parent’s Partner visa application in ImmiAccount, then notify the Department using the Partner Processing Enquiry Form.
Online form only: if the application cannot be uploaded to the parent’s Partner visa application in ImmiAccount, upload the completed form directly to the Partner Processing Enquiry Form.

Either way, the second step matters as much as the first — the notification is how the Department is told the request exists, so lodging without it risks the request sitting unseen inside a file nobody is watching.

What happens after the form goes in?

Two practical effects follow from lodgement. First, the child can enrol in Australia’s public healthcare scheme, Medicare, once the application to be added to the parent’s permanent Partner visa application has been submitted — but not before. Second, the child keeps the 445’s temporary permission to remain while the parent’s matter is undecided.

Nothing here is automatic for the rest of the household, though:

Siblings each have to apply for the 445 separately. One child’s grant does not carry another child.
The child’s own dependent children can be included on the child’s application either when they apply or at any time before the Department decides it, and those dependent children must meet the health requirement.
Nobody can be added after the decision. The page is explicit on this point: you can’t add a dependant once the application has been decided.

What else should the family keep straight while waiting?

The 445 comes with its own conditions, and breaches are avoidable with routine checks rather than guesswork.

Check conditions and expiry in VEVO. Work and study rights, conditions and the visa expiry date are all verifiable there. The child may be able to work or study from the date the visa is granted, and if they work they are protected by Australian workplace law.
Watch the first entry date. The child must enter Australia before the date specified in the grant letter; that date is generally set at 12 months from the date of visa grant. Time spent outside Australia does not extend the visa, although travel in and out is allowed as often as they wish while the visa is valid.
Report changes. Passport changes, the birth of a child, and changes of name all need to be notified through the Department’s change-in-situation process.
Remember the sponsorship link. A 445 applicant must be sponsored by the same person who sponsored or nominated the parent’s permanent Partner visa application, and that sponsorship has to be approved before grant. A pending registrable offence charge involving the sponsor (or their spouse or de facto partner) leads to refusal; a conviction can only be approved in very limited circumstances.

Does the child need to be eligible in their own right?

Yes, and it is worth re-reading the list before assuming the family’s Partner case covers everything. The 445 requires that the child is dependent on a parent holding a Partner (Provisional) (subclass 309), Partner (subclass 820), or Dependent Child (subclass 445) visa; is either under 18, or over 18 and financially dependent on that parent; meets the health requirement; meets the character requirement if aged 16 or over; has signed the Australian Values Statement if 18 or over (having read, or had explained, the Life in Australia booklet); has repaid or made arrangements for any debt to the Australian Government; and has consent to travel to Australia in one of the recognised forms if under 18. The Department may also refuse if granting would not be in the best interests of an applicant under 18.

One condition catches people at the 445 stage rather than later: if the child is in Australia, they cannot hold another visa carrying a ‘No further stay’ condition. And a child born outside Australia to a parent who was an Australian citizen at the time of the birth may be able to apply for Australian citizenship by descent instead of a visa.

What does it cost?

The 445 carries a visa application charge for the main applicant, plus a charge for each dependent child applying with them, and there can be separate costs for health checks, police certificates and biometrics. Because charges change, the only reliable figure comes from the Department’s Visa Pricing Estimator for this visa, which does not factor in those additional costs. Separately, from 1 July 2026 a lower visa cost applies to eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens lodging a valid application, recognised by a valid passport from a listed country; family members are also eligible for the lower cost based on the primary applicant’s passport. Confirm the current amount against the official estimator before lodging.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do we have to wait for Form 1002 to be decided for the child to stay lawful?

No. What the official page requires is lodgement before the Department decides the parent’s permanent Partner visa application — that is what keeps the child lawful in Australia. The outcome of the request comes later, in the parent’s decision stream.

What happens if the parent’s Partner application is decided before we lodge?

The 445 is a temporary visa that ends when the parent’s permanent application is decided or withdrawn, and it cannot be extended. Once that has happened, the child is no longer being carried by the parent’s application and a separate child visa option has to be considered.

Can the child be outside Australia when Form 1002 is lodged?

Only if the parent’s permanent Partner visa is the subclass 100, where the child may be in or outside Australia provided they are a member of the family unit. For a subclass 801 application, the child must be in Australia.

Is there a paper option if ImmiAccount won’t accept the upload?

The alternative is to upload the completed form to the Partner Processing Enquiry Form. Whether or not ImmiAccount is used, the Department should then be notified through that enquiry form so the request is recorded against the parent’s file.

Do the child’s siblings get included automatically?

No. Each of the child’s siblings must apply for the 445 separately, and no dependant can be added to an application after it has been decided. The child’s own dependent children can be included at application time or any time before decision, subject to the health requirement.

When can the child enrol in Medicare?

Not on grant of the 445 — the page ties Medicare enrolment to the point at which the application to add the child to the parent’s permanent Partner visa application has been submitted.