Lodging a Valid 116 Carer Application in 2026: Mistakes That Make It Invalid

An incomplete Subclass 116 carer application is not a weak application — under the Department's stated position it may be invalid, and an invalid application is not processed at all. According to the Australian Department of Home Affairs' official Carer visa (Subclass 116) page, four things have to be true at the moment of lodgement: the correct forms are completed, the forms are completed in English, the application is paid for before it is submitted, and the package is sent by post or courier to the Child and Other Family Processing Centre in Perth at the address on the form. If any of those steps is incomplete, the Department says the application may be invalid, that it does not process invalid applications, and that it will notify you and, if requested, return your application.

This is general information drawn from the published requirements, not personalised advice about your circumstances; requirements and payment arrangements can change, so confirm each item against the Department's current page or with a qualified professional before you post anything.

What does "invalid" actually mean for a 116 carer application?

Invalid means the application never enters assessment. It is not refused on its merits, and it is not queued for a case officer to fix. The Department's stated position is that invalid applications are not processed; you are told, and the papers can be sent back if you ask.

That distinction matters because of what it costs. A refusal comes with written reasons and, where the law allows, information about review rights. An invalid lodgement comes with none of that — it simply returns you to the position you were in before you posted the envelope, minus the elapsed time. For a carer application, where an Australian relative is waiting on care arrangements, that delay is the practical penalty.

Does the 116 have to be lodged on paper?

Yes. The Department's page states that you must apply for this visa on paper, and that you must be outside Australia both when you apply and when the decision is made. There is no online lodgement path for the application itself; ImmiAccount is used for payment before lodgement and for managing the application afterwards.

The package goes by post or courier to the Child and Other Family Processing Centre in Perth, at the address printed on the form. Use the address on the form rather than a remembered address, and send everything in one envelope — the checklist items below are the ones the Department ties to validity.

Send certified copies only, never originals, and keep a complete copy of the application and supporting documents for your own records.

Which forms have to be in the envelope, and in what language?

At minimum, the Department lists:

a completed Form 47OF (Application for migration to Australia by other family members);
your supporting documents;
your sponsor's form, with the sponsor's other documents.

The forms must be completed in English. This is an explicit requirement, not a preference: a form filled in another language is one of the ways an application fails the completeness test described above. If you need help filling them in, the help itself is regulated — see below.

Two appointment forms are optional but belong in the same envelope if they apply to you: Form 956 if someone is giving you immigration assistance, and Form 956A if you are nominating someone to receive correspondence on your behalf. Sending them with the paper application avoids a later gap between who is acting for you and what the Department has on file.

Who is allowed to help you — and who is allowed to charge for it?

Only some people can lawfully give immigration assistance. The Department lists three categories: a registered migration agent, a legal practitioner, or an exempt person. Anyone outside those categories who charges you to prepare or lodge the application is not a person the Department recognises as able to give immigration assistance.

You can appoint anyone at all to receive documents on your behalf; that narrower role is done with Form 956A. So the split is: assistance is restricted, receiving correspondence is not.

For an applicant, this is worth checking before any money changes hands, because the registration status of the person preparing the forms has no effect on validity — an unregistered helper can still produce a complete, valid application, and a registered one can still produce an incomplete, invalid one. Validity turns on what is in the envelope, not on who prepared it.

Does the fee have to be paid before the application goes in the post?

Yes. The Department states that you pay the application before it is submitted, using the online portal payment function in ImmiAccount, and that you include evidence the application is paid for with your application. The payment evidence is part of the package, not a separate step you can complete later.

The practical point for a paper lodgement: the payment happens online, the lodgement happens by post, and the receipt has to travel with the paper. An otherwise complete package posted without proof of payment is one of the incomplete steps the Department lists.

Does the Bupa medical certificate have to be lodged with the application?

Not the certificate itself, but evidence that the process has started. The Department says it will not accept the visa application unless it has evidence that the Bupa Medical Visa Services assessment process has at least begun.

That gives you two acceptable positions at lodgement:

you have the Bupa Medical Visa Services certificate, which must include a statement that the person has a medical condition and requires a certain amount of care for it; or
you have begun but not finished the assessment, and you include a letter from Bupa Medical Visa Services confirming that.

Either way, you must also give written evidence that your Australian relative, or the family member living with them, does not have reasonable access to care options in Australia. That evidence is a separate requirement from the certificate.

After lodgement, if you did not have the certificate when you applied, the Department says you should provide it within three months of applying, and that if it does not have the certificate by the time it decides the application, it will not grant the visa.

What else has to travel in the same envelope?

Validity is about the lodgement package, so it is worth treating the document list as a packing list. From the Department's page:

Identity. The pages of your current passport showing your photo, personal details, and issue and expiry dates. Also a national identity card if you have one, and proof of any change of name (marriage or divorce certificate, change of name documents from an Australian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages or the relevant overseas authority, or documents showing other names you have been known by). If you cannot prove your identity, the Department says it will refuse the application, may not grant you another visa for 10 years, and may not grant visas to family members listed on the application for 10 years.

Photographs. Four recent passport-size photos (45mm x 35mm) of anyone included in the application: less than six months old, good quality colour, full face view, plain light-coloured background, no laser copies.

Dependants under 18. Identity documents, proof of your relationship (such as a birth or marriage certificate), and character documents if applicable.

Dependants 18 or over. A child over 18 can be included if they are over 18 years of age but not yet turned 23 and dependent on you or your partner, or over 23 years of age, unable to earn a living to support themselves due to physical or cognitive limitations, and dependent on you or your partner. You provide identity documents, documents about their other relationships where applicable, character documents, and proof of dependency — relationship evidence such as a birth certificate or adoption papers, a completed Form 47a, and financial dependency evidence such as bank statements, money transfers and rent receipts. If the child is 23 or is likely to turn 23 while the application is being processed, you also need a report from a qualified medical practitioner stating they are dependent on you or your partner due to total or partial loss of bodily or mental functions.

Partner. Identity documents, character documents, documents about former relationships where applicable, and either your current marriage certificate or proof of a de facto relationship of at least 12 months before you apply, except in limited circumstances.

Character. Do not arrange police certificates until the Department asks you to.

A self-check to run before the envelope is sealed

Work through these in order; each one maps to a requirement the Department states:

Is Form 47OF complete, signed, and filled in in English?
Is the sponsor's form complete, with the sponsor's supporting documents attached?
Was the application paid for in ImmiAccount before lodgement, and is the payment evidence physically in the envelope?
Is there either a Bupa Medical Visa Services certificate or a Bupa letter confirming the assessment has begun?
Is there written evidence about the lack of reasonable access to care options in Australia?
Are identity documents, four compliant photos, and any dependant or partner documents included?
Are Forms 956 and 956A included if someone is assisting you or receiving correspondence?
Are you outside Australia now, and will you be outside Australia when the decision is made?
Are you sending certified copies only, and have you kept a full copy for yourself?

If you answer no to any of items 1 to 7, you are looking at an incomplete lodgement rather than a slow one.

Assume an applicant posts a complete Form 47OF and sponsor form, in English, with identity documents and photos, but pays after posting and sends the receipt separately a week later. On the Department's stated position, the application was not paid for before it was submitted and the payment evidence did not accompany it — an incomplete step, and therefore a candidate for invalidity rather than for assessment.

What happens after a valid lodgement?

The Department will let you know it has received the application, and acknowledges that it cannot provide progress updates within normal processing times — it contacts you if something further is needed.

Once you have the acknowledgement letter, you can import the paper application into ImmiAccount using your application ID, date of birth, and identity document number (passport, ImmiCard or Titre de Voyage). Importing gives you access to attaching supporting documents, viewing messages, updating your details, viewing status, applying for a Bridging Visa, and withdrawing the application. Applications made outside Australia can be imported if they were made on or after 25 June 2020.

Do not arrange travel to Australia until you are told in writing that the visa has been granted, and remember you must be outside Australia when the decision is made. If you find a mistake on a lodged application, notify the Department as soon as you can using Form 1023.

If the application is refused, the Department says it will tell you why and whether you have a right to review the decision, and that it will not refund the application fee.

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes a Subclass 116 carer application invalid?

The Department states that if the listed lodgement steps are incomplete, the application may be invalid: the correct forms must be completed, the forms must be in English, the application must be paid before submission with evidence of payment included, and the package must be posted or couriered to the Child and Other Family Processing Centre in Perth. Invalid applications are not processed, and the Department will notify you and, if requested, return the application.

Can I lodge a 116 carer visa application online?

No — the Department's page states you must apply on paper. ImmiAccount is used for the online portal payment before lodgement, and for importing and managing the application after you receive your acknowledgement letter, but the application itself goes by post or courier.

Do the forms have to be completed in English?

Yes. The Department states that the forms must be completed in English. This applies to Form 47OF and the accompanying forms in the paper package, so any section filled in another language is a completeness problem rather than a translation task for the case officer.

Do I need the Bupa medical certificate before I lodge?

You need either the certificate or a letter from Bupa Medical Visa Services confirming the assessment process has begun; the Department says it will not accept the application without evidence that the process has at least begun. If you lodge with only the letter, you should provide the certificate within three months of applying, and the visa will not be granted if the certificate is not held by the time the decision is made.

What should I do if I sent the application without the payment receipt?

The payment evidence is meant to be included with the application, and payment is meant to happen before submission, so a package lodged without it is incomplete on the Department's stated checklist. Once you have the acknowledgement letter, importing the application into ImmiAccount lets you attach supporting documents and view messages, which is the channel to use for follow-up material.

Can I send original documents with a paper 116 application?

No. The Department says to send certified copies only and to keep a copy of the completed application, including supporting documents, for your own records.

Who can legally be paid to help with a 116 application?

Only a registered migration agent, a legal practitioner, or an exempt person can give immigration assistance. You may appoint anyone to receive documents on your behalf, which is done with Form 956A, but paid immigration assistance is limited to those three categories.