Character Requirements for Child Visa 101 in 2026: When a 16-Year-Old Needs Police Checks
How the character requirement applies to a Subclass 101 child visa, who needs police certificates, and what happens if it is not met.
A child applying for a Child visa (Subclass 101) has to meet Australia's character requirement once they are 16, and at that point the application usually needs police certificates from every country where they have spent 12 months or more in the last 10 years since turning 16, plus a completed Form 80. This reflects the Department of Home Affairs official page for the Child visa (Subclass 101), as of the August 2026 official page.
The character test is not limited to the child. The same page states that the department might also ask other family members to meet the requirement, and a separate rule applies to the sponsor: a pending registrable offence charge, or a conviction for one, can stop the sponsorship and the visa even where the child's own record is clean.
Does a 16-year-old really need to pass a character test?
Yes. The eligibility criteria for the Subclass 101 visa list the character requirement alongside health, age, dependency and sponsorship. The threshold is expressed as the child being aged 16 years or over, while the department's document checklist is worded as "children over 16" needing police certificates and Form 80. Since the two statements sit on either side of the sixteenth birthday, a family whose child is 16 at the time of application should expect to be asked for character documents rather than assume the checklist does not apply.
What "meeting the character requirement" means in law sits in the public interest criteria in the Migration Regulations 1994, including the criterion dealing with character (commonly cited as PIC 4001) and the criterion dealing with bogus documents and false or misleading information (PIC 4020). These criteria also apply to secondary applicants who are members of the family unit. Clause numbers and their current wording should be checked against the current text of the regulations, since the official visa page summarises the outcome rather than restating the legislation.
Which countries does the child need a police certificate from?
The rule is a combination of three tests, and all three have to be satisfied at once:
- the stay was 12 months or more;
- the stay fell within the last 10 years; and
- the stay happened since the child turned 16.
So a child who lived in two overseas countries for seven months each before turning 16 does not trigger the certificate requirement for those countries, while a child who spent 12 months or more in one country after turning 16 does. For Australia, the certificate is not optional paperwork that can be swapped for something else — see the next section.
| Who is in the application | What the character requirement can mean |
|---|---|
| Child aged 16 or over | Police certificates for the countries described above, plus a completed Form 80 |
| A dependent child under 18 applying with the child | Character documents, if applicable to that child |
| Anyone in the application who served in a country's armed forces | Military service records or discharge papers |
| The sponsor, and their spouse or de facto partner | Sponsorship can be refused because of a registrable offence charge or conviction |
What counts as an acceptable Australian police certificate?
Only one type. For Australian police checks, the department accepts a National Police Certificate applied for under Code 33 – Immigration/Citizenship, issued by the Australian Federal Police. Standard disclosure certificates and certificates issued by Australian state or territory police are not accepted for this purpose.
This is a common source of wasted time. A certificate obtained for employment or volunteer purposes, even though it looks like a national check, is not the Code 33 certificate and will not satisfy the requirement.
How long is a police certificate valid?
For immigration purposes, police certificates are valid for 12 months from the date of issue. That is the reason the timing of the application matters: certificates gathered too early can expire before the department finishes assessing the case, and the department can then ask for fresh ones.
If the child is close to the 12-month mark on a certificate already held, assume it may need to be re-issued rather than reused.
What is Form 80, and who has to fill it in?
Children over 16 must complete and provide Form 80, Personal particulars for assessment including character assessment. It is a long personal-history form covering addresses, travel, employment and other particulars, and it is part of the character assessment rather than a separate identity document.
Anyone in the application who has served in the armed forces of any country must also provide military service records or discharge papers. This applies to the person who served, not only to the child, and the requirement sits in the same character documents section as the police certificates.
Can the sponsor's criminal record sink the application?
Yes, and this catches families by surprise because it is decided on the sponsorship, not on the child. The department must approve the sponsorship before the visa can be granted, and the official page sets two consequences:
- if the sponsor, or their spouse or de facto partner, has a pending registrable offence charge, the department will refuse the sponsorship and the visa application;
- if they have a registrable offence conviction, the sponsorship can be approved only in very limited circumstances.
Both rules also reach the sponsor's spouse or de facto partner, so a partner's record is relevant even though that person is not the sponsor.
What happens if the character requirement is not met?
Failure is not a request for more paperwork only — it ends the application. If the visa is refused, the department tells the applicant why it was refused and whether there is a right to a review of the decision, and the application fee is not refunded. In the case of a sponsor with a pending registrable offence charge, the refusal applies to the sponsorship and the visa application together.
Providing false or misleading information, or documents that are not genuine, brings a separate public interest criterion into play and can affect future applications as well as the current one. The official page's guidance on accurate information and on establishing identity sits alongside the character requirement for this reason.
This article explains how the published criteria work in general terms and is not advice about any particular family's circumstances; the official page and the current legislation are the authority, and anything turning on a specific record or charge should be checked against them.
Frequently Asked Questions
At what age does a child on a Subclass 101 visa need police checks?
The character requirement applies once the child is aged 16 or over, and the document checklist describes children over 16 as needing police certificates. Because the wording differs slightly, a child who is 16 when the application is made should expect to be asked for them.
Does a child under 16 ever need character documents?
The department's checklist asks for character documents for a dependent child under 18 who is included in the application "if applicable", and it states that other family members may also be asked to meet the character requirement. The child's own police certificate rule is tied to the 10-year, 12-month test since turning 16.
Are state police certificates accepted for the Australian check?
No. The department only accepts a National Police Certificate applied for under Code 33 – Immigration/Citizenship and issued by the Australian Federal Police. Standard disclosure certificates and certificates from state or territory police are not accepted.
How long can I use a police certificate I already have?
For immigration purposes, a police certificate is valid for 12 months from its issue date. A certificate older than that at the time it is assessed may need to be re-issued.
Does the sponsor's criminal record affect the child's visa?
It can. A pending registrable offence charge against the sponsor or their spouse or de facto partner means the sponsorship and the visa application will be refused, and a registrable offence conviction means the sponsorship can be approved only in very limited circumstances.
Is the fee refunded if the visa is refused on character grounds?
No. The department's page states that the application fee will not be refunded if the application is refused, and the decision letter will explain the reason and whether review rights apply.