Including a Partner in a 116 Carer Visa Application in 2026: Relationship Evidence
Yes — a spouse or de facto partner can be included in your Subclass 116 Carer visa application, and the relationship is proved in one of two ways: a current marriage certificate, or evidence that you have been in a de facto relationship for at least 12 months before you apply. According to the Australian Department of Home Affairs' Carer visa (Subclass 116) official page, as at July 2026, the partner documents list asks for identity documents, character documents, documents about former relationships where relevant, and then either the marriage certificate or that 12-month de facto proof, with limited exceptions. What follows is general information rather than personalised migration or legal advice; your own circumstances should be checked against the Department's current published requirements.
Can my partner actually be included, and when?
The Department's page states that you can include members of the family unit in your application when you apply. That timing matters more than it looks: the visa is applied for on paper, and the partner's documents travel in the same package as yours rather than being added later as a separate request.
Two conditions sit alongside the relationship evidence itself. Every family member included in the application must meet the health and character requirements, and the sponsorship assessed for your application is expected to cover them too. In the Migration Regulations 1994, the criteria for secondary applicants include being a member of the main applicant's family unit and being covered by the sponsorship — worth reading in the current consolidated text on the Federal Register of Legislation, since legislative wording is updated over time.
The other practical constraint is location: you must be outside Australia both when you apply and when the decision is made. A partner included in the application is part of that decision, so the "outside Australia" rule applies to the whole group, not just to you.
If you are married: what the certificate has to show
For married applicants, the Department asks for your current marriage certificate. The adjective does the work — a certificate from a marriage that has since ended does not establish a present relationship, and a certificate issued by an authority that no longer reflects your status can pull the application in the wrong direction.
Where a name has changed, the marriage certificate also doubles as one of the documents the Department accepts as proof of change of name, alongside divorce certificates, change of name documents from an Australian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages or the relevant overseas authority, and documents showing other names you have been known by. If your partner's passport, the marriage certificate and any other identity documents spell the name differently, that gap is worth closing before lodgement rather than explaining afterwards.
If you are not married: proving 12 months of de facto relationship
This is where most of the work happens. The Department's page requires proof that you have been in a de facto relationship for at least 12 months before you apply, and it names four categories of documents that can prove it: joint bank account statements, billing accounts in joint names, joint leases or mortgages, and documents showing your partner lives or has lived at the same address as you.
Think of these as four different ways of answering the same question — do your lives actually run together?
Joint bank account statements show shared money in motion: a salary going in, a grocery bill coming out, a transfer between you. A statement that has never been used says much less than one that shows regular activity across the full 12 months.
Billing accounts in joint names cover electricity, water, internet, phone and similar household accounts. They are useful because they are issued by third parties on a schedule, which makes them hard to backdate convincingly.
Joint leases or mortgages are the strongest single indicator of a shared household, because a lease puts both names against one address for a defined period. A lease that starts nine months before you apply will not cover the full period on its own — it needs to be supplemented.
Documents showing your partner lives or has lived at your address can be official letters, government correspondence or other records addressed to each of you at the same address. This category matters most for couples whose finances have stayed separate, or who live with family and have no lease in their own names.
Coverage across the whole 12 months is more persuasive than volume. A folder of thirty documents all dated in the last six weeks reads very differently from eight documents spread evenly across the year.
What if you have been together for less than 12 months?
The Department's wording is explicit: the 12-month requirement applies "except in limited circumstances." The page does not set out those circumstances in the document list, so treat the general rule as the one that applies to you unless the Department's current published guidance says otherwise for your situation.
A separate provision in the Migration Regulations 1994 — not an exception to the 12-month requirement — deals with relationships ended by family or domestic violence: a spouse or de facto partner whose relationship has broken down in those circumstances may still continue as a secondary applicant. The Department's own page also points applicants to its family violence provisions. Because this is a narrow and document-heavy pathway, confirm the current wording before relying on it.
If your relationship is simply recent, the honest reading is that you may not yet meet the de facto requirement — and lodging on the assumption that the evidence can be improved after lodgement is a gamble, because the requirement is assessed against the period before you apply.
Do former relationships matter?
Yes. The Department's partner document list includes "documents about former relationships, if applicable," alongside identity and character documents. Divorce records, death certificates for a previous spouse, or evidence that an earlier de facto relationship has ended all serve the same purpose: showing that the relationship you are declaring now is the only one currently on foot.
The same theme continues after lodgement. Among the changes the Department asks you to report is any change to your marital or de facto status. A relationship that changes mid-processing is not something to leave until decision time.
What else does your partner need to provide?
Beyond the relationship evidence, a partner included in the application is assessed like any other applicant.
Identity documents come first, and the consequences of failing here are severe: if identity cannot be proved, the application can be refused, another visa might not be granted for 10 years, and any family members listed on the application might also be refused a visa for 10 years. Certified copies only — the Department asks you not to send originals.
Character documents are also required, but there is a specific instruction attached: do not arrange police certificates until the Department asks you to. The character requirement applies to family members aged 16 and over who apply with you, and the Department may also ask other family members to meet it.
The health requirement applies to you and to any family members applying with you, and the Department notes that family members who are not coming to Australia may also have to meet it. Separately, any debt owed to the Australian Government must have been repaid or arrangements made to repay it — and that test reaches family members whether or not they apply with you.
Photographs are easy to overlook: four recent passport-size photos (45 mm x 35 mm) are required for anyone included in the application, less than six months old, good quality colour, full face, plain light-coloured background, no laser copies.
Does including a partner change the cost?
The Department's page states that the visa costs from a set amount for the main applicant, with a charge for each family member who applies with you, and it directs applicants to the Visa Pricing Estimator for an indication of what the visa will cost. Because government charges change, use the estimator and the Department's current published figures rather than any number quoted elsewhere.
Two cost points are worth knowing specifically because they apply differently to partners. The visa is paid in two instalments, and while the Department may consider reducing the second instalment to nil where paying it would cause severe financial hardship, it states clearly that it will not reduce or waive the second instalment for anyone applying for the visa with you. On the other side of the ledger, where a lower visa application cost applies to eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens lodging a valid application from 1 July 2026, family members are also eligible for the lower cost, based on the passport of the primary applicant.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I include my partner in a Subclass 116 application if we are not married?
Yes, if you can show you have been in a de facto relationship for at least 12 months before you apply, except in limited circumstances. The Department's page lists joint bank account statements, billing accounts in joint names, joint leases or mortgages, and documents showing your partner lives or has lived at the same address as acceptable proof.
Is one joint bank account enough to prove a de facto relationship?
The Department frames these documents as categories of evidence rather than a checklist where one item is decisive, so a single joint account is rarely the whole answer. Documents spread across the full 12-month period, ideally from more than one of the listed categories, give a clearer picture than a large batch all dated close together.
Do we need to have lived together for the whole 12 months?
The requirement is expressed as being in a de facto relationship for at least 12 months before you apply, with the evidence pointing strongly at a shared household through joint leases, joint accounts and shared-address documents. Couples who have kept separate addresses or separate finances should expect to work harder with the "documents that show your partner lives or has lived at the same address" category.
Does my partner need a police certificate?
Character documents are part of the partner document list, but the Department specifically says not to arrange police certificates until it asks you to. The character requirement applies to family members aged 16 and over who apply with you.
Can I add my partner after I have lodged the application?
The Department's page says you can include members of the family unit in your application when you apply, and the Migration Regulations 1994 criteria for secondary applicants contemplate a combined application. Plan to include your partner at lodgement rather than assuming they can be added later.
What happens if our relationship ends while the application is being processed?
You are required to tell the Department about changes to your marital or de facto status. Where a relationship has ended because of family or domestic violence, the regulations contain provisions that may allow the partner to continue as a secondary applicant — check the Department's current published guidance, as this is a narrow pathway.