The Health Requirement for Parent Visa 103 in 2026: Who Has to Be Tested
Explains which family members must be tested for the Parent visa (subclass 103) health requirement in 2026, and when non-migrating relatives may still be asked.
No — not every family member automatically needs a health check, but the line is drawn somewhere that catches people out. Everyone whose name is on the Parent visa (subclass 103) application must meet the health requirement, and relatives who are not migrating can still be asked to meet it. That is how the requirement is framed on the Australian Department of Home Affairs' Parent visa (subclass 103) official page, as at the July 2026 version of that page.
The rest of this article sets out how the two categories differ and what each one means legally. It deals with the general rules only; it is not legal advice and not a substitute for advice on your own circumstances, which is worth getting from an appropriately qualified professional.
Who has to meet the Parent visa 103 health requirement?
Health is one of the eligibility criteria for the visa, alongside character, sponsorship, the balance of family test and the Assurance of Support. The criterion is expressed across two groups of people:
Family members who apply for the visa with you. The eligibility requirement states plainly that you, and any family members who apply for the visa with you, must meet the health requirement. For these people there is no discretion: each listed applicant must be assessed in their own right, and one person's result does not carry anyone else through.
Non-migrating family members. The same page adds that the Department might also ask that other non-migrating family members meet the requirement. Nothing in the published criteria sets a fixed trigger for that request — whether it is made, and of whom, is a matter for the decision-maker.
| Migrating family members (listed on the application) | Non-migrating family members | |
|---|---|---|
| Is a health assessment automatic? | Yes — it is an eligibility criterion | No — only if the Department asks for it |
| Does it affect whether the visa is granted? | Yes, for that applicant | The page does not say how it is weighed, only that it can be required |
| Does the person need to travel to Australia? | That is the point of being on the application | No — they may never migrate |
The practical consequence is that "not migrating" does not mean "not relevant". A relative who will stay behind can be drawn into the assessment at the Department's initiative, so families should not assume the health question stops at the people who intend to move.
Who counts as a family member applying with you?
The application list is narrower than most people expect. Under the documentary requirements, a dependent child can be included only if they are:
- under 18 years of age;
- aged 18 or over but not yet 23, and dependent on you or your partner; or
- aged 23 or over, unable to earn a living to support themselves because of physical or cognitive limitations, and dependent on you or your partner.
A partner can be included on the basis of a current marriage or a de facto relationship of at least 12 months before you apply. Independent adult children — including the Australian-based child who sponsors you — are not applicants, so their health is not assessed in the applicant sense.
Adding someone later changes their position. Family members can be added before a decision is made, using Form 1436 (Adding an additional applicant after lodgement), together with evidence of the relationship and a copy of the person's passport. Once added, that person is an applicant, and they fall into the first category above.
What does "meeting the health requirement" actually mean?
At the regulatory level, the requirement is one of the public interest criteria in the Migration Regulations 1994. The primary applicant must satisfy the listed criteria at the time of decision, including PIC 4005, which is the health requirement itself, and PIC 4009, which concerns tuberculosis. Secondary applicants — spouses, de facto partners and dependent children included in the application — face their own parallel set of criteria, and additional family-member provisions sit alongside them. Dependants under 18 are also covered by further criteria specific to that age group (PIC 4017 and PIC 4018).
Clause numbers and their commencement status do change, so anyone relying on a specific clause should confirm the criteria currently in force rather than assume it.
When are the health examinations actually done?
After you apply, not before. The Department's step-by-step guidance says it will let you know when you need to complete health examinations, and that pattern runs through the rest of the process too — it asks for the Assurance of Support, additional information and the second instalment at points it chooses. For police certificates the instructions are even more explicit: do not arrange a police check until you are asked.
Two things follow from this. Book examinations early and they may be stale by the time they are needed. Book them late and you add delay to a queue that already moves slowly. Waiting for the request is the only approach that is within your control.
What if someone cannot meet it?
Because the health requirement is an eligibility criterion, a listed applicant who does not meet it is not eligible for the grant. That is the whole of what the rule does: it is a threshold, not a scoring system, and how any particular case resolves depends on the criteria in force and the individual's own situation.
Accuracy across the whole application matters here as elsewhere. The Department warns that there are consequences for information that is not accurate or complete, and health history is not an area where partial disclosure tends to help.
Does the retiree pathway change who is tested?
It changes the size of the group considerably. Someone applying as a retiree — which requires holding or having previously held an Investor Retirement (subclass 405) or Retirement (subclass 410) visa on 8 May 2018, holding no other substantive visa between that date and lodgement, and being in Australia to apply — cannot include children or a partner's children in the application. With dependants ruled out, the pool of people whose health falls to be assessed shrinks accordingly.
Retiree applicants do carry a different, separate obligation: they are personally liable for all healthcare costs in Australia while the visa is processed, and must maintain adequate health insurance until it is granted, covering medically necessary treatment including transport. That insurance obligation sits alongside the health requirement rather than replacing it. The same page notes that health cover is about limiting your own financial liability, which is a different purpose altogether from satisfying the visa criteria.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does my adult child who is not migrating need a health check?
Not automatically. Non-migrating family members are not required to meet the health requirement by default, but the Department might ask that they do. If such a request is made, it should be treated as a real obligation rather than an optional one.
My spouse is on the application — is my health examination enough for both of us?
No. The requirement attaches to each person who applies for the visa with you, so every listed applicant is assessed individually. A partner included on the basis of a marriage or de facto relationship is an applicant in their own right.
We added our dependent son after lodging the application. Does he need to be tested now?
Yes, as a general matter. Adding a family member using Form 1436 makes them an additional applicant, and additional applicants fall into the group that must meet the health requirement.
Will we be told when to book the examinations?
Yes. The guidance for this visa says the Department will let you know when you need to complete health examinations, so there is no need to arrange them speculatively before that request arrives.
Do I need private health insurance as well?
If you apply as a retiree, yes — you must hold adequate health insurance until the visa is granted, and you are personally liable for your healthcare costs in Australia while it is processed. For applicants outside the retiree pathway, that insurance condition is not set out in the Parent visa (subclass 103) criteria.
Does a health condition mean the visa will be refused?
Health is a grant criterion rather than a single deciding factor, so whether an application can proceed depends on the criteria in force and the specific circumstances. Family migration applications in this class are turned down on a range of grounds, of which health is one; check the official criteria for anything that touches your own situation.