Proving a De Facto Partner for the National Innovation Visa (Subclass 858) in 2026
If your partner is joining your National Innovation visa (Subclass 858) application as a de facto partner, you have to satisfy two separate expectations: prove the relationship exists in a form the Department recognises, and prove it is genuine and continuing. According to the Australian Department of Home Affairs' National Innovation visa (Subclass 858) official page, as of August 2026, de facto applicants must provide either evidence that the relationship is registered by an Australian State or Territory, or enough documents to prove a de facto relationship of at least 12 months before applying. Married and de facto applicants alike must also give evidence of a genuine and continuing relationship, which can include joint bank account statements, billing accounts in joint names, joint leases or mortgages, and documents showing your partner lived at the same address as you.
Do I have to register the relationship, or can I rely on 12 months together?
You need one of the two, not both. The first option is documentary proof that an Australian State or Territory has registered your relationship. The second is a body of documents showing you were in a de facto relationship for at least 12 months before the date you apply.
The 12-month reference point is the application date, not the date you received your invitation and not the date your relationship began. That matters because the Subclass 858 process starts with an Expression of Interest and an invitation, and the Department states that applications lodged without an invitation, or outside the specified timeframe, will not be accepted.
This article is general reference material about published requirements rather than personalised advice about your circumstances; if your history is unusual, check the Department's current wording or seek professional advice before you lodge.
What does "registered by an Australian State or Territory" actually cover?
The Department's wording ties the first option to registration by an Australian State or Territory. A relationship recorded under an overseas register is not what that option describes, so couples in that position are looking at the documentary path instead: enough documents to prove at least 12 months of de facto relationship before you apply.
Registration is attractive for a practical reason. It replaces a twelve-month documentary exercise with a single official record, which is useful when your paper trail is thin, when you have lived in countries where joint leases and joint utilities are uncommon, or when work has kept you in different cities for stretches of time.
Which documents prove 12 months of de facto relationship?
The page does not prescribe a checklist for the 12-month limb. It asks for "enough documents to prove" the relationship existed for that period, and then lists the evidence types used to show a genuine and continuing relationship: joint bank account statements, billing accounts in joint names, joint leases or mortgages, and documents showing your partner lived at the same address as you.
In practice those four categories do both jobs at once, provided the dates span the full 12 months rather than clustering in the weeks before you apply. A joint lease signed eleven months ago, statements arriving monthly at a shared address, and utility or phone accounts in both names build a continuous record in a way that a single recent document cannot.
If either of you has previously been married, widowed, divorced or permanently separated, the relationship documents section also asks for proof of that status — divorce documents, death certificates, separation documents or statutory declarations, as applicable. Suppose an applicant separated from a previous partner two years ago and has been in a new de facto relationship for fourteen months: the divorce or separation paperwork is part of the picture, because it shows when the earlier relationship ended and the current one began.
How do I show the relationship is genuine and continuing?
This is a separate requirement that applies to married and de facto applicants equally. The Department's listed examples are joint financial commitments (joint bank account statements), shared household obligations (billing accounts in joint names), shared property commitments (joint leases or mortgages), and residential evidence (documents showing your partner lived at the same address as you).
The partner documents list also asks for identity documents and photos, character documents, a marriage certificate where applicable, and documents about other relationships where applicable. For a de facto couple the marriage certificate limb simply does not apply; the identity and character limbs still do.
What identity, character and health documents does my partner need?
Your partner's identity is evidenced through identity documents and photos. Character is handled through the same character documents the main applicant provides, because the page states that you and any family members above 16 years of age who apply with you must meet the character requirement.
In practice that means an Australian Federal Police National Police Certificate — complete disclosure only, not a standard disclosure certificate or one issued by a state or territory police — if your partner has spent 12 months or more in Australia in the last 10 years since turning 16, plus an overseas police certificate from every country, including their home country, where they spent 12 months or more in the last 10 years since turning 16. Military service records or discharge papers are required if your partner served in the armed forces of any country, and the Department may require Form 80 or Form 1221.
Health is assessed separately: any family member applying with you must meet the health requirement, and the guidance is to wait for a request from the Department rather than completing health examinations before you apply.
Does my partner need English, and does that add cost?
Applicants aged 18 years and older at the time of application must provide evidence of at least functional English. If a person does not have functional English, the second instalment of the visa application charge applies; the published amount is AUD 4,890, it is charged per person, and the Department asks for it only if it is going to grant the visa.
You must provide a statement showing your intention to pay the second instalment for each person with less than functional English. That is a declaration made at application time, not a payment made at application time.
What if my partner is not applying with me?
Say so, and give the reason. The Department asks you to explain why a partner or dependent children were not included, and gives the example of a partner who already holds Australian citizenship or is a permanent resident.
Note that health and character requirements apply to family members who apply for the visa regardless of whether they accompany you to Australia. If circumstances change and you want to add a family member later, you can do so before a decision is made, using Form 1436 — Adding an additional applicant after lodgement.
How does the invitation process affect when I collect this evidence?
You cannot apply until you are invited. You submit an Expression of Interest, and if invited you receive a unique reference and identifier to use in your application, and you must apply within 60 days of the invitation.
Sixty days is short for assembling twelve months of bank statements, police certificates from multiple countries, and identity documents, so treat partner evidence as preparation work done before the invitation arrives rather than after. It also matters because the Department states it is not obliged to request further documents and may decide the application without doing so; if you did not send everything when you applied, you can attach the rest through ImmiAccount.
What happens if our relationship situation changes after we lodge?
Tell the Department. The list of changes you must report includes changes to your marital or de facto status, alongside changes to phone number, email, address or passport, the birth of a child, and withdrawal of the application.
If you made a mistake on the application itself, the mechanism is Form 1023 — Notification of incorrect answer(s). Separately, if your child is likely to turn 18 while the application is processing, you must give evidence they are dependent on you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can joint bank statements replace registering the relationship?
Yes, if they are part of a set that proves at least 12 months of de facto relationship before you apply. Joint bank account statements, billing accounts in joint names, joint leases or mortgages, and documents showing your partner lived at your address are all listed as evidence of a genuine and continuing relationship, and the same documents serve as the 12-month proof when their dates cover the whole period.
Is the 12-month requirement about living together or about the relationship?
The Department expresses it as being in a de facto relationship for at least 12 months before you apply. Documents showing your partner lived at the same address as you are listed as evidence, so shared residence is how most couples demonstrate it, but the requirement itself is framed around the relationship.
Does my de facto partner need a police certificate?
Yes, character documents are part of the partner documents list, and family members above 16 who apply with you must meet the character requirement. That generally means an Australian Federal Police complete disclosure National Police Certificate if they spent 12 months or more in Australia in the last 10 years since turning 16, plus overseas police certificates for each country where they spent 12 months or more in that same period.
Can I add my de facto partner after I lodge the 858 application?
You can add members of the family unit after you apply but before a decision is made, using Form 1436 — Adding an additional applicant after lodgement. The partner documents, including character documents, would then be required for that person, and the Department is not obliged to request them if they are missing.
We registered our relationship overseas. Which option applies?
The registration option on the Department's page is registration by an Australian State or Territory. If your registration is from elsewhere, the option described is the documentary one: enough documents to prove a de facto relationship of at least 12 months before you apply.
If my partner has less than functional English, what happens?
You must provide a statement showing your intention to pay the second visa application charge for each person with less than functional English. The published second instalment is AUD 4,890, and the Department asks for it only if it is going to grant the visa.