Keep Updating Your Subclass 100 Evidence in 2026: Why Stale Relationship Documents Cause Delays

Yes, you should keep adding relationship evidence while your permanent Partner (Migrant) visa (Subclass 100) is still being decided. The Australian Department of Home Affairs states on its official Partner (Migrant) visa (Subclass 100) page that because Partner applications can have long processing times, applicants should update their documents and evidence of the relationship regularly through ImmiAccount. That is the whole basis for the habit: the file you submitted at the two-year point is not the file the case officer reads a year later.

This article is general information about how the process is described publicly, not personalised advice about your case; before you rely on any detail, check the Department's current official information, since requirements and forms change.

Do you have to keep updating evidence while you wait?

The Department's instruction on the Subclass 100 page is direct: update your documents and evidence of your relationship regularly through ImmiAccount. It appears in more than one place on that page, including the "After you apply" and "Attach more information" sections, and it is aimed squarely at people already waiting.

The reason is the structure of the visa itself. Permanent-stage processing time starts from the date of eligibility, which the Department defines as two years after you applied for the temporary and permanent Partner visas together. Between that two-year point and the decision, your life keeps moving — and the Department states you must provide evidence that you continue to be the spouse or de facto partner of the same person who sponsored you for the temporary Partner visa (subclass 309). Evidence dated only at the two-year mark does not speak to the months after it.

What does "stale evidence" actually mean for a 100 application?

Stale evidence is not evidence that was ever wrong. It is evidence that stops covering the period the decision now covers. The official page does not publish a freshness rule for relationship documents in general, so treat this as a practical reading of the "continue to be the spouse or de facto partner" requirement rather than a stated deadline.

There is, however, one area where the page does give a hard validity period: police certificates. For immigration purposes, police certificates are valid for 12 months from the issue date, and the Department may ask for a new Australian police certificate if your previous one has expired. The page also requires an overseas police certificate from any country — including your home country — where you spent a total of 12 months or more since the grant of your 309 visa.

So a hypothetical applicant who submitted a full evidence set in the month they became eligible, and then heard nothing for another year, would be in this position: their relationship evidence has an unexplained gap of twelve months, and any police certificate in the file is likely past its 12-month validity. Neither is a refusal ground on its own, but both are the kind of thing that leads to a request for more information — and the official page lists "we need more information from you" and "it takes time to verify your information" among the reasons an application takes longer.

Where do updated documents go in ImmiAccount?

The Department's step-by-step guide for this visa sets out the uploading path. Follow it in this order.

Log in to ImmiAccount.
Select "New application".
Select "Family".
Select "Stage 2 – Permanent Partner Visa Assessment".
Attach your documents.

A few mechanical limits matter when you are updating repeatedly rather than lodging once. You can attach up to 100 documents for each person on the application, and the page states clearly that the attachment limit cannot be increased. If you reach the limit for one applicant, you can attach further documents to other clients on the application. Attach a document only once, even if you are using it to show more than one thing, and label your documents clearly.

Prepare files the way the page describes: scan or photograph in colour, keep anything readable, and save a multi-page document as a single file. Documents do not need to be certified. Anything not in English must be translated, with translators in Australia accredited by the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI); translators outside Australia need not be accredited but must include their full name, address and telephone number, and their qualifications and experience in the language, in English on each translation.

What should you refresh, and when?

The page does not set an interval. It says "regularly". A workable reading is to tie updates to events that change the record rather than to a calendar, plus one sweep if a long stretch passes with nothing new.

What to update	Why the page treats it as your job
Evidence that you continue to be the spouse or de facto partner of your 309 sponsor	Stated as a requirement for the permanent stage
Identity documents, if your passport changed	Passport page copies are listed as required; passport detail changes must be reported
Police certificates that have passed 12 months from issue, or new overseas certificates after 12 months in a country since your 309 grant	Certificates are valid 12 months; the Department may request a new one
Documents showing changes in situation for family members holding a 309 or 445 visa	Listed under family member documents
Contact details and address	The Department may need to contact you directly even if a sponsor or agent is nominated

One timing rule cuts the other way and is worth stating plainly: do not submit permanent-stage documents before two years have passed since you first applied. The page repeats this twice — you can check the date you submitted in ImmiAccount, and you should not attach them before that time.

What if you cannot upload — when does the Partner Processing Enquiry Form come in?

The Partner Processing Enquiry Form is the Department's stated fallback when ImmiAccount will not accept what you need to provide. The Subclass 100 page names it in several situations: when you are unable to upload relevant documents, when you need to say you have attached Form 1002 for a subclass 445 dependent child, when you have attached a Form 956 or 956A, when you cannot update an application in ImmiAccount after finding a mistake, and when you have no access to ImmiAccount and need to notify a relationship cessation.

Use it as a delivery route for material the system blocked, not as a progress request. On the status question the page is explicit: do not contact the Department if your application is within the current standard processing time, because no further update on progress can be given. Check status and whether all supporting documents are provided through ImmiAccount instead. Published processing times are described as a guideline only, based on how long recently decided applications took, and they do not guarantee your application will be decided within that timeframe.

That distinction is the practical one for anyone waiting: updating evidence is something the Department invites you to do; asking where your case sits is not something it will answer inside standard time.

Which changes must you report separately from routine updates?

Some things are notifications, not evidence refreshes, and the page lists them under "changes to your situation" — changes to your marital or de facto status, the birth of a child, any other changes relevant to your application, and a request to withdraw. These apply after you apply but before a decision is made, including after you lodge your permanent-stage documents.

The duty to tell the truth about what you provide runs underneath all of it: the page states that as a visa applicant you must prove your identity and provide true information, and it points to its "Providing accurate information" guidance. If you spot a mistake on an application, the page says to let the Department know as soon as you can.

If the relationship ends, the page directs you to its "Your relationship has changed" guidance and notes you may need to complete the Notification of Relationship Cessation form in ImmiAccount. It also states that you might still be eligible for the permanent visa if your relationship ends or your partner dies, that information you provide is confidential, and that if you are experiencing domestic and family violence the Department may be able to help — pointing to its family violence provisions page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I update relationship evidence while waiting for the Subclass 100?

Yes. The Department of Home Affairs states on the official Subclass 100 page that, because Partner applications can have long processing times, you should update your documents and evidence of your relationship regularly through ImmiAccount. The requirement is to show you continue to be the spouse or de facto partner of the same person who sponsored your subclass 309 visa.

When can I start uploading permanent-stage documents?

Once two years have passed since you first applied for the temporary and permanent Partner visas together; that two-year point is the date of eligibility from which permanent-stage processing time starts. The Department says not to send or attach the documents before that time, and you can check your submission date in ImmiAccount.

How many documents can I attach, and is there a way around the limit?

You can attach up to 100 documents for each person on the application, and the official page states the attachment limit cannot be increased. If one applicant reaches the limit, further documents can be attached to other clients on the same application. Attach any single document only once, even if it supports more than one point.

What do I do if ImmiAccount will not let me upload my documents?

The Department's stated alternative is the Partner Processing Enquiry Form, which it names for cases where you are unable to upload relevant documents, cannot update the application after finding a mistake, or have no ImmiAccount access. Use it to get material into the file, not to ask for a progress update.

Will contacting the Department speed up my 100 application?

No, not within standard processing time. The official page says not to contact the Department if the application is within the current standard processing time because no further progress update can be provided; you can check status and document receipt in ImmiAccount. Published processing times are a guideline only and do not guarantee a decision within that timeframe.

Do police certificates go stale during the wait?

Yes, in the sense the Department defines: for immigration purposes, police certificates are valid for 12 months from the issue date, and the Department may ask for a new Australian police certificate if the previous one has expired. You also need an overseas police certificate for any country where you spent 12 months or more in total since your 309 visa was granted.

Do I have to pay again to submit updated evidence?

The official page states you paid for this visa when you applied for the temporary and permanent Partner visas, and that you might have to pay other costs for health or police checks. It does not list a further government charge for uploading updated relationship evidence.