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Many visa applications are lodged directly. A registered migration agent or immigration lawyer helps with complex or refused matters.

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It limits the visas you can apply for while unlawfully in Australia after a refusal or cancellation. A professional can map your options.

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Family Violence and Your Partner Visa 100 Application in 2026: Legal Protections

What the Australian Department of Home Affairs says about family violence protections for a Partner (Migrant) visa (Subclass 100) in 2026.

Experiencing domestic and family violence does not automatically end your claim to a Partner (Migrant) visa (Subclass 100). The Australian Department of Home Affairs states on its Partner (Migrant) visa (Subclass 100) official page that if you are experiencing domestic and family violence, it may be able to help you, and that you may still be eligible for the grant of your permanent visa. The same page adds that all information you provide is confidential. This article sets out what those statements mean in practice, using that official page as at October 2026.

Does family violence end your Subclass 100 application?

No. The Subclass 100 page treats family violence as a situation where the Department may be able to help, not as a ground that closes your application. It sits alongside two other exceptions the page recognises: your relationship ending, and your partner dying before the permanent visa is granted.

The page does not set out the evidentiary test for family violence. Those criteria are published separately on the Department's Domestic and family violence and your visa (family violence provisions) page. What can be confirmed from the Subclass 100 page itself is the outcome — you may still be eligible — and the procedural protections described below.

This article is general information written in plain English about how the official page describes the rules. It is not personalised legal advice, and it does not assess your circumstances; check your situation against the Department's current pages or with a qualified professional.

Where the family violence provisions sit in the legal framework

The Subclass 100 is the permanent second stage of the offshore partner visa. Eligibility is governed by the migration rules the Australian Government administers, and the Department publishes those rules as visa criteria and as policy pages. The family violence pathway is part of that framework: it is not a separate visa, and you do not lodge a new application to use it.

Practically, this means the protections operate inside your existing application. Your case continues to be the 309/100 application you already made, assessed against the permanent-stage criteria, with the relationship requirement read subject to the family violence provisions.

What the official page says about your situation

Your situation	What the Subclass 100 page says
Relationship is continuing	You must continue to be the spouse or de facto partner of the same person who sponsored you for the temporary Partner visa.
Relationship ends	You might still be eligible for the permanent visa.
Partner dies before grant	You might still be eligible for the permanent visa.
You are experiencing domestic and family violence	The Department may be able to help you, and you may still be eligible for the grant of your permanent visa.
Sponsor holds or held a permanent humanitarian visa, and the relationship was declared before that visa was granted	You might be granted the permanent visa in less than two years.
You were in a long-term partner relationship with your sponsor when you applied	You might be granted the permanent visa in less than two years.

What you still have to satisfy at the permanent stage

The family violence provisions affect the relationship requirement, not the rest of the criteria. The official page lists these continuing requirements:

You must hold a Partner (Provisional) (subclass 309) or Dependent Child (subclass 445) visa.
Two years must have passed since you applied for the subclass 309 and 100 visas before you can be assessed for the permanent visa. You can check your submission date in ImmiAccount.
You and any members of your family unit, including dependent children applying with you, must continue to meet the health requirement. Family members who are not coming to Australia may also need to meet it.
You may need to meet character requirements, including an Australian police certificate. For immigration purposes, police certificates are valid for 12 months from the issue date, and the Department only accepts complete disclosure National Police Certificates issued by the Australian Federal Police. You also need an overseas police certificate from any country, including your home country, where you spent a total of 12 months or more since your 309 visa was granted.
Neither you nor any family member may owe the Australian Government money, unless it has been repaid or an arrangement to repay is in place.
The visa might not be granted if doing so would not be in the best interests of an applicant under 18.

Documents for the permanent stage should be submitted once two years have passed since you first applied, and not before.

How your contact details and evidence are protected

Confidentiality is stated directly: all information you provide is confidential. Alongside that, the official page gives you several ways to keep control of your own correspondence.

The partner visa application form asks for your own phone number and email address. Provide your own contact details, even if someone else is helping you.
The Department may contact you directly even if you nominated your sponsor's email address for all electronic correspondence, appointed your sponsor or someone else as your authorised recipient, or appointed someone to give you immigration assistance.
Tell the Department if your contact details or address change, so that correspondence reaches you.
Protect your ImmiAccount, email account and passwords, and do not share them with anyone.
The page recommends changing your ImmiAccount password as soon as possible, not using saved passwords to access ImmiAccount, and changing your email password or setting up a new email account. The eSafety Commissioner's online safety checklist is listed as a resource for increasing your personal safety.
If you cannot access ImmiAccount, the Partner Processing Enquiry Form is the channel the page identifies for notifying the Department directly.

These matter because a sponsorship is a two-party arrangement. Control over where correspondence goes is a procedural protection, and it is available to you whether or not you are pursuing the family violence provisions.

If the relationship has ended: the notification step

The page says you may need to complete the Notification of Relationship Cessation form in ImmiAccount, and directs applicants to the Your relationship has changed page to confirm. Changes to marital or de facto status are listed among the things you must tell the Department about after you apply but before a decision is made.

You can attach documents for the permanent stage in ImmiAccount under the Stage 2 permanent partner visa assessment option. Attach a document only once, even if you use it to show more than one thing, and label documents clearly. You can attach up to 100 documents for each person on the application, and the limit cannot be increased; if you reach it for one applicant, further documents can be attached to another client on the application.

Because partner applications can have long processing times, the page advises updating your documents and evidence regularly through ImmiAccount.

You can also withdraw an appointment you no longer want. Form 956A covers appointment or withdrawal of an authorised recipient; Form 956 covers appointment of a registered migration agent, legal practitioner or exempt person. Under Australian practice described on the page, a person who gives immigration assistance must be a registered migration agent, a legal practitioner, or an exempt person.

If the application is refused

You can be in or outside Australia when the permanent Partner visa is decided. The Department will tell you its decision in writing. If the visa is granted, you will be told the visa grant number, the date the visa starts, and your visa conditions, and you should keep a copy of the decision.

If the visa is refused, you will be told why it was refused and whether you have a right to a review of the decision. The application fee will not be refunded if the application is refused.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I still be granted a Subclass 100 visa if my relationship ended because of family violence?

Yes, it remains possible. The Department's official page states that you may still be eligible for the grant of your permanent visa if you are experiencing domestic and family violence, and that it may be able to help you. The detailed criteria sit on the Department's family violence provisions page.

Will my sponsor be told what I submit?

The official page states that all information you provide is confidential. It also says the Department may contact you directly even if your sponsor's email address was nominated for correspondence, or your sponsor was appointed as authorised recipient or to give immigration assistance.

Does the two-year wait still apply?

Yes, as a general rule: two years must have passed since you applied for the subclass 309 and 100 visas before you can be assessed for the permanent visa. The page lists two situations where the permanent visa might be granted in less than two years — a long-term partner relationship with your sponsor when you applied, or a sponsor who holds or held a permanent humanitarian visa where the relationship was declared before that visa was granted.

Do I still have to give relationship evidence after separating?

You must tell the Department about changes to your marital or de facto status, and you may need to complete the Notification of Relationship Cessation form in ImmiAccount. Continue to update your documents and evidence through ImmiAccount while the application is being processed.

What if I never had access to the ImmiAccount used for the application?

The official page identifies the Partner Processing Enquiry Form as the way to notify the Department directly if you do not have access to ImmiAccount. It also recommends protecting your ImmiAccount and email credentials, and points to the eSafety Commissioner's online safety checklist.

Do I need a new police certificate for the permanent stage?

Possibly. You usually need to provide a current Australian police certificate at the permanent stage if you did not attach one with your subclass 309 application, and the Department may ask for a new one if your previous certificate has expired. Certificates are valid for 12 months from the issue date, and only complete disclosure National Police Certificates issued by the Australian Federal Police are accepted.

Will I get my money back if the visa is refused?

No. The official page states that the application fee will not be refunded if the application is refused. You will be told the reasons for refusal and whether you have a right to a review of the decision.