Can I still get PR on a Partner visa (820, 309 or 300) after family violence in 2026?

Updated 2026-10-10 · General information, not migration advice · Run by the Arrivau team

Yes — leaving the person who sponsored you does not by itself end your pathway to permanent residency. Under the Australian Department of Home Affairs' Family Violence Provisions page, you may be able to stay in Australia on a permanent visa where you have applied for or hold an eligible visa, you experienced family violence, the perpetrator was your former partner or spouse, at least part of the violence occurred during that relationship, and you are no longer in the relationship. This article reflects those requirements as set out in the Department's Family Violence Provisions, Family violence evidence, and Family violence provisions – Partner visa applicants pages as at October 2026. It is general information about how the rules are published, not advice on an individual case, and your own circumstances should be checked against the Department's current published requirements and any professional advice you choose to obtain.

What do I have to tick off to qualify?

The Department sets out five conditions that must all be met. Read them as a checklist, because failing one changes the analysis even if the others are clearly satisfied:

You have applied for, or currently hold, an eligible visa.
You have experienced family violence.
The perpetrator was your former partner or spouse.
The family violence, or part of it, occurred during your relationship with that person.
You are no longer in a relationship with that person.

Note the wording of the fourth condition carefully: part of the violence has to have happened while the relationship was still running. The Partner visa applicant page repeats this in almost identical terms, requiring that the violence, or part of the violence, occurred while you were in a relationship with your former sponsor.

Does the perpetrator have to be the person who sponsored me?

For Partner visa cases, yes — and this is the condition most often misunderstood. The Department states plainly that if you are a Partner visa applicant or holder, the perpetrator must be the former sponsor of the visa application. Violence by a different former partner does not activate these provisions for a Partner visa claim.

That link between perpetrator and sponsorship is why the same pages use "former sponsor" and "former partner or spouse" almost interchangeably in the Partner visa context. If you are reading this while still holding a Subclass 820 visa and the person who has been violent towards you is the person who sponsored that application, the identity requirement is met. If they are not, the Partner visa route is not the one described here, though other support still exists.

Which Partner visas are covered?

The provisions apply to three Partner visa pathways, each with slightly different holding requirements. Which one you are on shapes what happens next.

I hold or applied for a Subclass 820 visa

You may be eligible for a permanent visa if you hold or have applied for a Temporary Partner (subclass 820) visa. There is no additional requirement to have entered Australia at a particular point for this visa; holding or having applied is what matters.

My visa is a Subclass 309

The test is stricter here because 309 is an offshore visa. You may be eligible if you hold, or have applied for and entered Australia since applying for, a Provisional Partner (subclass 309) visa. Applying offshore and never entering Australia after that application is not enough.

I came on a Subclass 300 visa

You may be eligible if you hold or previously held a Prospective Marriage (subclass 300) visa, but you must be in Australia. If that visa has already ceased, two further requirements apply: you must currently not hold a substantive visa, and you must have applied for the Partner (subclasses 820 and 801) visa.

Across all three, the Department notes that how you make a claim depends on which visa you hold, so the mechanics differ even where the outcome can be the same.

What about my children?

A dependent child has their own route. Under the Family Violence Provisions page, a person may be eligible for a permanent visa if they are the dependant of a Partner visa-holding parent who applied for the family violence provisions, and they have applied for a Dependent Child (subclass 445) visa.

This matters practically, too. When notification of the relationship ending is made through ImmiAccount, the form asks whether you have children with your former sponsor, and the Department instructs applicants to select both the family violence option and the children of the relationship option when both apply. The important caveat is that your application is only automatically removed from shared accounts if you choose the family violence option.

What happens after the Department is told the relationship has ended?

The published process for Partner visa applicants has three steps, and the first one concerns safety and privacy as much as paperwork.

Step 1 is notification. If you have access to ImmiAccount, the mechanism is the 'Notification of Relationship Cessation' form in the 'Update Details' tab. Once it is submitted, your Partner visa application and the sponsorship application are automatically removed from all ImmiAccounts, including your former sponsor's account and any migration agent's account. If you cannot access ImmiAccount, notification can instead be made using the Partner processing enquiry form, and where a migration agent or legal practitioner acts for you, they may notify on your behalf — although they can choose to opt out of removing the Partner visa application from ImmiAccount, the sponsorship application is always removed automatically.

The Department's guidance then anticipates a fresh start: create a new ImmiAccount using an email address your former sponsor cannot access, after which the Department will contact you to transfer the application and ask for your new username and email address.

Does my relationship get assessed before the violence?

Yes, and the sequence is deliberate. The evidence page states that once the Department has assessed that your relationship was genuine, it will then assess your family violence evidence. Step 2 on the Partner visa applicants page repeats this: first the Department must be satisfied you were in a genuine and ongoing relationship with your former sponsor before it ended, and only then does it assess the family violence claim.

In practice this means evidence of the relationship still matters after a separation, including a separation caused by violence. The pages summarise it as a request for information about your relationship followed by a request for evidence of family violence.

What evidence can prove the family violence?

Claims can be supported with either judicial or non-judicial evidence, and all evidence must be in writing, in English, and in the format and level of detail requested.

Judicial evidence is court material. You only need to give one of the listed options: a court injunction against your former partner or spouse under the Family Law Act 1975, a court order under a state or territory law, a record of conviction for a family violence offence against you or your dependants, or a record that a finding of guilt was recorded for such offences. An interim order may meet the threshold in some situations; if it does not, you can provide the interim order while waiting for the final outcome, and a copy of any final order must be provided once made.

Non-judicial evidence means either a joint undertaking made before the court, or a minimum of two pieces of evidence from the listed categories — medical, police, child welfare officer, family violence support service provider, social worker, psychologist, family consultant and family relationship counsellor, and education professional. If you rely on the two-document route, you must also complete a Commonwealth statutory declaration form, with Form 1410i published to explain how. There is one trap worth knowing: only one document per category counts, so a hospital report from a nurse and a statutory declaration from a medical practitioner still count as one piece of evidence between them.

Every non-judicial category has its own content rules, made by a person acting in a professional capacity. Police evidence, for example, must identify the alleged victim, identify the alleged perpetrator or give information from which that identity can reasonably be inferred, and detail the incidents. Evidence from support services, social workers and psychologists must state that a claim of family violence was made, give a professional opinion on whether the claims are consistent with having been subjected to family violence, and identify the perpetrator or allow that identity to be reasonably inferred.

What if the Department is not satisfied?

Step 3 covers assessment. The Department must determine that the violence, or part of it, occurred while you were in the relationship with your former sponsor and that your former sponsor was the alleged perpetrator. It may ask for more information at this stage, and if it is satisfied that family violence occurred, further requests may follow — a health examination, or character documents such as an Australian or overseas police certificate.

If the Department is not satisfied, it will refer you to an independent expert and tell you it has done so. The expert contacts you to arrange an interview about your claims and gives the Department an opinion on whether you experienced family violence. Two features of this stage are worth flagging: the process may take some time, and the Department must accept the independent expert's opinion. If the expert finds that you have not experienced family violence, you get the opportunity to comment on that opinion; if the expert finds that you have, the Department may again request a health exam or character documents.

What if my former sponsor withdraws the sponsorship first?

Withdrawal of sponsorship is not the end of the application. The Department's page for sponsors says that there may still be grounds to grant the visa applicant a permanent Partner visa, that it must tell the visa applicant when it receives information that a relationship has ended, and that it will give them a chance to respond to that information before deciding.

Privacy protection runs in the same direction. Once sponsorship is withdrawn, privacy law prevents the Department from giving the former sponsor details about the application or applicant, including the outcome and whether the applicant is in Australia.

What if I do not meet all five conditions?

Falling outside the provisions does not mean the situation is hopeless, nor does it affect your safety entitlements. The Family Violence Provisions page states clearly that even where someone is not eligible, help is still available, and that you have a right to a safe environment in Australia regardless of your visa status. The Where to get help page repeats this, listing national and state and territory services covering counselling, housing, finances, food, medical needs and legal matters, and noting that support is available regardless of visa status.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does separating automatically cancel my Subclass 820 application?

No. According to the Department's page for sponsors, when it receives information that a relationship has ended it must tell the visa applicant and give them a chance to respond before deciding the application, and there may still be grounds to grant a permanent Partner visa.

Do I need a court order to prove family violence?

No. The Department accepts either judicial evidence, such as an injunction under the Family Law Act 1975 or a state or territory court order, or non-judicial evidence made up of at least two documents from the listed categories plus a Commonwealth statutory declaration.

The abuse only escalated after we broke up — can I still claim?

The requirement is that the family violence, or part of it, occurred during the relationship with your former partner or spouse. If none of it happened while the relationship was still running, the condition is not met.

Can I claim if the violent person was not the sponsor of my Partner visa?

For Partner visa applicants and holders, no: the Department states that the perpetrator must be the former sponsor of the visa application. Different rules apply to secondary applicants: you must be the former partner or spouse of the primary applicant, the perpetrator must be the primary applicant, and when the visa application was made you must have been in Australia or entered Australia afterwards.

My Subclass 300 visa has already ceased. Is it too late?

Not necessarily, but extra conditions apply. You must be in Australia, you must currently not hold a substantive visa, and you must have applied for the Partner (subclasses 820 and 801) visa.

Will my former sponsor still be able to see my application?

Once you submit the relationship cessation notification and select the family violence option, your Partner visa application and the sponsorship application are automatically removed from all ImmiAccounts, including your former sponsor's and any migration agent's account, for safety and privacy.

What if the Department does not accept my claim?

The Department will refer you to an independent expert, whose opinion it must accept. If the expert finds there was no family violence, you will be given an opportunity to comment on that opinion before things move further.