Adding a Child's Dependent Children to a Subclass 802 Application in 2026
Yes — under the Department of Home Affairs' Child visa (subclass 802) page, the child's dependent children can be included on the application at lodgement or at any time before the Department decides it. According to the Australian Department of Home Affairs' official Child visa (subclass 802) page (as of August 2026), the dependent children of the child who is the main applicant can be included on their application either at the time it is lodged or at any time before the Department makes its decision. The catch is that those dependent children must meet the Department's health requirement, and adding them late still means supplying a full set of documents for each one. What follows is general information only and is not personalised advice; anyone facing a specific situation should check the current official requirements or get help from someone qualified to advise on that person's own circumstances.
Who can actually be included on the application?
The subclass 802 page separates family members into two groups, and mixing them up is the most common source of confusion.
Siblings of the main applicant child cannot be added. If the child has brothers or sisters who also want to apply, each sibling lodges a separate application.
By contrast, the child's own dependent children sit inside the same application. They join as members of that one case rather than starting a new one, which means their outcome is tied to the same decision.
"Dependent" is the word doing the heavy lifting. The page does not restate the dependency test in the family section, but the approach it takes elsewhere is instructive: for a main applicant who is over 18, it requires evidence of dependence on a parent for basic needs such as food, shelter and clothing, plus how long that support has been provided, with examples such as bank statements, money transfers and rent receipts.
Is there a deadline for adding them, and does it matter when I do it?
There is effectively one deadline: the moment the Department decides the application. Up to that point, you may add the dependent children; after the decision, the option closes.
In practice this works differently depending on timing. Including them at lodgement means their documents go in with Form 47CH (Application for migration to Australia by a child) and Form 40CH (Sponsorship for a child to migrate to Australia), both completed in English and sent together by post or courier to the Child and Other Family Processing Centre in Perth. Including them later means sending the documents separately once they are available.
Either way, late additions are handled through the ordinary channels for supplying documents. If the paper application has been imported into ImmiAccount, additional documents can be uploaded there; if not, they can be attached to the Child and Orphan Relative Visa Processing Centre online form. The Department also treats the birth of a child as a change of circumstances it needs to be told about, so a child born after lodgement belongs on that notification list.
Does the health requirement apply to every child I add?
Yes, and note that the requirement is not limited to people travelling.
Dependent children of the child who apply for the visa must meet Australia's health requirement. Family members who are not coming to Australia might also have to meet it — so adding a dependent child does not exempt anyone else in the family who still needs to satisfy that criterion.
Practically, you do not arrange health examinations unprompted. The Department tells applicants when to arrange them, and health exams are listed as a separate cost item on the page. Assume the same sequencing applies to a dependent child added mid-process: the request will come from the Department, and the examination then has to be completed before the decision is made.
What documents does each dependent child under 18 need?
For every dependant under 18 applying with the child, the page asks for:
- identity documents
- travel documents
- proof of the relationship between the child and the dependant, such as a birth or marriage certificate
- character documents, if applicable
Photographs are required too: four recent passport-size photos (45mm x 35mm) of the child and of any dependent child included, less than six months old, good quality colour, full face against a plain light-coloured background, taken with untinted prescription glasses allowed and religious head coverings permitted as long as the face is visible.
Character documents can widen quickly. The Department may ask for an Australian state or territory police certificate from anyone included who has lived in an Australian state or territory for at least 12 months, and for an overseas police certificate where someone has lived for at least 12 months in another country. Anyone included who has served in the armed forces of any country must provide their military service record or discharge papers, and every person included over 16 years of age must complete Form 80 (Personal particulars for assessment including character assessment).
The general rules on accuracy apply with full force here. Providing accurate documents is a stated condition, and if identity cannot be established or false information is provided, the page points to specific consequences. Only certified copies should be sent; originals should not go in the post.
What does adding dependent children cost?
The page states that there is a charge for each dependent child who applies for the visa with you, alongside the charge for the main applicant, plus possible additional costs for health exams, police certificates and biometrics.
Two things follow for planning purposes. First, every addition tends to carry both a per-person application charge and its own set of examination or certificate costs, so adding children late changes what you owe. Second, if thr correct charge is not paid, the Department cannot process the application and may return it.
To price this, the Department directs applicants to its Visa Pricing Estimator, which does not account for the other costs such as health exams.
There is one concession worth knowing about: from 1 July 2026, a lower visa cost applies to eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens who lodge a valid application. Family members are also eligible for the lower cost, based on the passport of the primary applicant, and eligibility is recognised through a valid passport issued by a listed country — the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu or Vanuatu.
What happens if the decision arrives before I can add them?
Once a decision has been made, the door is closed. The page states that a family member cannot be added after the application has been decided, and that bringing a family member then requires submitting a new visa application for them.
That is the strongest argument for raising dependent children as early as you can. There is no mechanism to reopen a decided subclass 802 application for this purpose.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I add my child's dependent children after lodging a subclass 802 application?
Yes. The Child visa (subclass 802) page says the child's dependent children can be included on the application when it is made or at any time before the Department decides it. Their documents are then supplied through ImmiAccount or, where that is not possible, the relevant processing centre online form.
Do dependent children added to a subclass 802 application have to meet the health requirement?
Yes. Dependent children of the child who apply for the visa must meet Australia's health requirement, and family members who are not coming to Australia might also have to meet it. The Department advises applicants when to arrange the health examinations.
My child's brothers and sisters also want to come — can they join the same application?
No. Siblings of the main applicant child must submit separate applications of their own. Only the dependent children of the main applicant child can be included on that child's application.
What documents are required for a dependent child under 18 added to the application?
The Department requires identity documents, travel documents, proof of the relationship such as a birth or marriage certificate, and character documents if applicable. Each included dependent child also needs four recent passport-size (45mm x 35mm) photographs taken less than six months earlier.
Does adding dependent children increase the cost of the subclass 802 application?
Yes. There is a charge for each dependent child who applies for the visa with the main applicant, plus possible extra costs for health exams, police certificates and biometrics. The Department's Visa Pricing Estimator is the tool it provides for working out visa cost, though it does not cover those additional costs.
Can a dependent child be added after the subclass 802 visa is granted?
No. Once the Department has decided the application, no family member can be added to it. Bringing that family member to Australia would require a new visa application in a suitable category.