Do I Need Another Health Exam for the 801 Visa in 2026?
Not automatically. According to the Australian Department of Home Affairs page on the Partner visa (Permanent) (Subclass 801), if you had health examinations for your temporary Partner visa (subclass 820), the Department will let you know whether you need to undertake them again or whether more health checks are needed. As of the October 2026 version of that official page, that notification is the trigger — there is nothing in the published criteria telling applicants to book a second round of examinations on their own initiative. What follows is general information about how those criteria are framed, not advice tailored to a particular medical history or family situation; where either is complicated, the official page and a qualified professional should have the final say.
Is a repeat exam automatic once reach the permanent stage?
No. The requirement itself continues, but a second round of testing is not built into the process. You and the people covered with you must continue to meet the health requirement, and the health assessment is not frozen at the moment your 820 was granted. The corollary matters for planning: silence from the Department is not a gap you are expected to fill yourself. You wait to be told.
Who else has to keep meeting the health requirement?
Every member of the family unit who applies for the visa with you, including dependent children. Health is assessed across the household applying, not only across the main applicant, so a husband, wife, de facto partner or dependent child travelling on the same application stands in the same position as you do.
That group can be wider than it looks. The criteria also say that family members who do not come with you to Australia might need to meet the health requirement — a relative who never intends to board a plane can still form part of the assessment.
What could prompt further health checks?
The published approach puts the decision with the Department rather than with you. Two consequences follow from that, and they are worth separating in your head.
- The assessment runs up to the decision. Because the wording is that you continue to meet the requirement, your health position at the time Stage 2 is decided is what counts, not only what was recorded when your temporary visa was granted.
- New information reaches the file. While your application is being decided you are expected to notify changes relevant to it, including the birth of a child, changes to your marital or de facto status, and other changes relevant to your application. Health information can enter the assessment that way, and can be met with a request for more checks.
Health is also not assessed in a vacuum. The same page directs readers to separate guidance on health-related risks to the Australian community, including polio, which sits alongside the general requirement.
Does adding a child later change the answer?
Yes, and along a specific path. You can add a dependent child before the Department makes a decision on your permanent application, but that child must be in Australia, hold a Dependent Child visa (subclass 445), meet the health requirement, and meet the character requirement if they are 16 years old or older. A child joining this way is therefore examined on their own health position, not carried along on yours. Form 1002 is the application used by a subclass 445 dependent child for a permanent partner visa.
Do other checks get refreshed at the same time?
Health is not the only item with a use-by date. Police certificates are valid for 12 months from the issue date, so a new Australian police certificate may be requested if your earlier one has expired, and you usually need one at the permanent stage if you did not attach one to your 820 application. Only complete disclosure National Police Certificates issued by the Australian Federal Police are accepted — standard disclosure certificates and state or territory police certificates are not.
There is also an overseas limb. If you spent a total of 12 months or more in any country since your 820 was granted, including your home country, you need a police certificate from there as well.
When does Stage 2 actually begin?
Two years must have passed since you applied for the subclass 820 and 801 visas before you can be assessed for the permanent visa. You can check the date you submitted both applications in ImmiAccount, and you should not send permanent-stage documents before that date passes.
There are two ways that timeline can shorten. The Department may grant the 801 in less than two years if you were in a long-term partner relationship with your sponsor at the time you applied for the 820 and 801. And if you were granted the permanent visa immediately after the temporary one, there is no Stage 2 work left to do at all.
How will the request reach me?
Requests and updates come through ImmiAccount and the contact details recorded against your application. The Department may contact you directly about your application even where you nominated your sponsor's email address for all electronic correspondence, appointed someone as your authorised recipient, or appointed someone to give immigration assistance — which is why keeping your own phone number and email address current has consequences beyond convenience. Partner visa processing can run long, and the published guidance is to update your documents and relationship evidence regularly in ImmiAccount while you wait. The decision itself arrives in writing; if the visa is refused, the notification explains why and whether you have a right to review.
Where does health sit among the other criteria?
Alongside it, rather than above it. You must continue to be the spouse or de facto partner of the same person who sponsored you for the temporary visa, with separate provisions applying if the relationship ends, your partner dies, or you are experiencing domestic and family violence. You and any relevant family members must have repaid, or arranged to repay, any money owed to the Australian Government — including family members who are not coming to Australia. And the visa may not be granted if doing so would not be in the best interests of an applicant under 18. A health question, in other words, is rarely the only thing in play at the permanent stage.
Frequently Asked Questions
I did my health exams two years ago for the 820 — are they still valid?
There is no expiry period you can calculate for yourself. The requirement is that you continue to meet it, and the Department states it will tell you if you need to undertake the examinations again or if more checks are needed. Until that request arrives, there is no action for you to take on health.
How will I find out if I need another examination?
The Department communicates through ImmiAccount and the contact details on your application, and it may contact you directly even if you have appointed an authorised recipient or nominated your sponsor's email. That is why your own phone number and email matter. If you cannot upload documents in ImmiAccount, the official page describes other ways to update a file.
My health has changed since the 820 — what happens now?
Assume the change is relevant rather than assuming the old result carries through. You must continue to meet the health requirement up to the point of decision, and changes relevant to your application are expected to be notified while it is pending. A request for further health checks is how such a change is usually followed up.
Do family members staying overseas need health exams too?
Possibly. Family members who do not come with you to Australia might also need to meet the health requirement. Whether a particular person does is decided by the Department and communicated to you — their travel intentions do not settle the question on their own.
I was granted the 801 at the same time as my 820 — does any of this apply?
No further steps are involved. The guidance states that if you were granted a permanent Partner visa (subclass 801) immediately after your temporary Partner visa (subclass 820), you do not have to do anything else. This can be checked through VEVO if you are unsure which visa you currently hold.
Can I add a child born after I lodged, and do they need health checks?
Yes, but the path runs through the Dependent Child visa (subclass 445). Before a decision is made on your permanent application you can add a dependent child who is in Australia, holds a subclass 445 visa, meets the health requirement, and meets the character requirement if 16 or older. Their application is made on Form 1002.
Is health the only thing looked at again at Stage 2?
No. Police certificates have a 12-month validity for immigration purposes, so expired certificates attract requests for new ones, and overseas certificates may be needed for time spent abroad since your 820 grant. Relationship evidence, any debt to the Australian Government, and the best interests of an applicant under 18 are assessed at the same time.