When Should I Do Health Examinations for My Partner Visa in 2026?

Updated 2026-10-11 · General information, not migration advice · Run by the Arrivau team

You do not need front‑load health examinations before you lodge. According to the Australian Department of Home Affairs' Partner Visa Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) page, as at the October 2026 version of the official page, you can complete your health examinations after you apply. The same page says your health assessment results are valid for 12 months from the time you complete your examinations, that a health undertaking — if you are asked to sign one — is valid for 6 months, and that the Department may ask you to provide them again if they expire before your visa is decided.

That turns the question from "can I" into "when". Book too early relative to how long your application is likely to take, and you may simply end up doing them twice. This article sets out the published rules only; it is general information rather than advice tailored to any one application, and anyone with a complicated medical or case history should check current official guidance or get qualified help for their own situation.

Can I complete my health examinations after I lodge?

Yes. The Department's Partner visa FAQs specifically allow this: you can complete your health examinations after you apply, rather than as a precondition of a valid application. The page points to its own guidance on arranging health examinations for the mechanics of booking and attending.

Because lodging is not blocked by missing exams, you control the timing. That is useful, because the clock does not start when you book or when you lodge — it starts when you complete the examinations.

How long do my results stay valid?

Twelve months, counted from the time you complete your examinations. The Department states this as a validity period on the results of your health assessment.

What about the 6-month figure I keep seeing?

That is a different document. If the Department asks you to sign a health undertaking, that undertaking is valid for 6 months. The 12-month rule covers the results of your health assessment; the 6-month rule covers the undertaking. If your case involves both, the shorter one is the one that bites first.

What happens if my results expire before a decision?

The Department may ask you to provide them again. The wording on the official page is permissive rather than automatic — "may ask" — so an expiry does not by itself refuse your application, but a fresh round of examinations is a real possibility once your results are outside the validity window.

This is why the Department advises applicants to check visa processing times before completing health examinations. The two rules are meant to be read together: validity runs for a fixed period, while decision timing does not.

How do I use processing times to pick a date?

Look up your own subclass before you book, not after. The Department publishes the Global processing times guide, which shows processing times for recently decided applications.

Treat that output as a rough frame rather than a promise. The official page describes the tool as a guide only, not a prediction specific to your application, and warns that Partner visa applicants may experience longer processing times than expected. When the published figures themselves carry that caveat, booking your examinations as early as possible is not automatically the safest choice.

A clearly hypothetical example makes the trade-off concrete. Suppose an applicant expects — purely from the published guide — that a decision is still many months away, and completes examinations immediately after lodging. If the 12-month window closes before a decision is made, that applicant has paid for, and sat, examinations that may have to be repeated. Suppose instead the guide suggests a decision is close; booking promptly then creates little waste. The same act — booking early — is sensible in one case and wasteful in the other, which is exactly why the timing question has to be answered against your own subclass and your own likely wait.

Where exact current figures sit is deliberately not repeated here. Processing times move, and the guide is the authoritative place to read them at the moment you are deciding.

Does applying onshore or offshore change how much expiry risk I carry?

It can. Partner visa applications are processed according to Ministerial Direction 117 and are generally assessed in the order received, with highest priority given to onshore Partner visa applications (subclass 820 and 801).

Lower priority is given to offshore applications for the Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300) and the Partner visa (subclass 309 and 100). The Department states that these applications are likely to experience longer processing times.

The practical implication is straightforward. A longer expected wait means a wider gap between completing examinations and a decision, and therefore a greater chance your results expire before they are assessed. Offshore applicants in particular should make sure they have looked at the current figures for their subclass before booking, because the waiting period is the variable they can least control.

What if the Department asks for new results and I need more time?

First, understand how documents reach your file. Documents supporting your application are attached through ImmiAccount rather than sent separately.

If you cannot meet the timeframe stated in a request, the Department allows you to request additional time using the Partner processing enquiry form. Your request has to include evidence of the steps you have already taken to provide what was asked for, such as a payment receipt or booking confirmation.

Two limits apply. The request must be made before the original response timeframe expires, and additional time is not guaranteed. If waiting for an examination appointment is what puts you past the deadline, book first and use the booking confirmation as your evidence.

Do I need to chase a status update while I wait?

No. The Department asks applicants not to contact it while an application is still within the standard processing time, because it cannot provide further updates on progress. You can see whether you have supplied all supporting documents, including anything requested after lodgement, by checking the application in ImmiAccount.

Checking your own file is different from chasing a decision, and doing it periodically is the practical way to notice that your validity window is running down.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I do my health examinations before I lodge my Partner visa application?

No. The Department's Partner visa FAQs state you can complete your health examinations after you apply. Waiting until after lodgement lets you look at current processing times first and choose a date that reduces the chance of your results expiring before a decision.

When does the 12-month validity period actually start?

It runs from the time you complete your examinations, not from the date you book them, pay for them, or lodge your application. This distinction matters, because a long gap between booking and attending shifts your expiry date later with no downside.

Is the 6-month health undertaking the same thing as my health assessment results?

No. The results of your health assessment are valid for 12 months from when you complete the examinations. A health undertaking, if the Department asks you to sign one, is valid for 6 months. Where both apply, the undertaking expires sooner.

Will my application be refused automatically if my results expire?

The Department does not frame expiry as automatic refusal. It states that it may ask you to provide the results again if they expire before your visa is decided. The practical consequence is a fresh round of examinations and further delay, rather than a guaranteed negative outcome.

Where should I check processing times before booking my examinations?

Use the Department's Global processing times guide, selecting the Partner visa subclass you applied for. The Department describes that tool as a guide based on recently decided applications, not as a timetable for your own case, and notes that Partner visa applicants may wait longer than expected.

Can I ask for priority processing so my health results don't expire first?

Priority processing exists but is narrow. Under Ministerial Direction 117, the Department may prioritise an application showing special circumstances of a compassionate nature with compelling reasons to depart from the usual order, and gives no guarantee of a higher priority. Requests are only considered where all supporting documents have been submitted, and most requests cannot be approved.