Do I need a lawyer or a migration agent?

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

What is a Section 48 bar?

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

Can I appeal a refused visa?

Often yes — the Administrative Appeals Tribunal reviews many decisions, but strict time limits apply.

Relationship Breakdown on a Partner Visa in 2026: Your Notification Duty and Visa Status

What to tell Home Affairs when a partner visa relationship ends, how to notify, and what happens to your visa status.

Yes — if your relationship with your sponsor ends or changes while a Partner visa application is on foot, you may need to tell the Australian Department of Home Affairs, because the Partner Visa FAQs page states you may need to complete the Notification of Relationship Cessation form after checking the 'Your relationship has changed' guidance. Based on the Department of Home Affairs' Partner Visa Frequently Asked Questions page, as at October 2026, you do this through the Notification of Relationship Cessation form in the "Update Details" tab in ImmiAccount, or, if you cannot get into ImmiAccount, through the Partner processing enquiry form with a signed and completed Form 1022 – Notification of changes in circumstances (Section 104 of the Migration Act 1958) attached.

This article explains how the published rules work in general terms. It is not advice about your own case, and your outcome depends on your circumstances and on what the official pages say at the time you rely on them.

What does the notification duty actually cover?

The duty is about changes in your circumstances, and a relationship ending is one of them.

The Department groups it under "change in your situation" on its Partner Visa FAQs page, alongside changes to your contact details, address or passport. The form the Department names for a change reported outside ImmiAccount is Form 1022, whose full title references section 104 of the Migration Act 1958.

Two points follow from that framing:

The notification is about facts the Department needs in order to assess your application — the relationship, and where to reach you.
A relationship that has changed (not only one that has formally ended) can still fall within the same notification step, so the trigger is broader than divorce or separation paperwork.

How do you notify through ImmiAccount?

Log in to ImmiAccount. Open the "Update Details" tab. Complete the Notification of Relationship Cessation form. Submit it.

The Department asks applicants to confirm what applies to them against its "Your relationship has changed" guidance before lodging, because the relationship-cessation form is one of several change-of-situation options.

What if you cannot access your ImmiAccount?

Use the Partner processing enquiry form instead. Attach a signed and completed Form 1022. Submit both together.

If your sponsor has died and you have an ongoing Partner visa application, the Department says you will need to complete the Notification of Relationship Cessation form in the 'Update Details' tab in ImmiAccount, or you can tell us using the Partner processing enquiry form if you do not have access to ImmiAccount.

If you and your sponsor reconcile, you tell the Department through the Partner processing enquiry form as well, attaching a statutory declaration from you, a statutory declaration from your sponsor, and evidence of identity for both of you.

What should you do about online safety at the same time?

A separation often means someone else has, or had, access to the devices, email address or passwords connected with your application. The Department recommends three immediate steps:

Change your ImmiAccount password as soon as possible.
Do not use saved passwords to access ImmiAccount.
Change your email password, or consider setting up a new email account.

For anything beyond the visa account itself, the eSafety Commissioner publishes an online safety checklist aimed at people affected by domestic and family violence, and the Department points applicants and sponsors to it.

What happens to your visa status after you notify?

Notifying is not a decision on your application. The Department continues to assess it, and you still have to meet the relevant legislative requirements before anything can be granted.

The published position on status is:

Situation	What the Department says
You hold a temporary Partner visa (subclass 309 or 820)	Two years must have passed since you applied for that visa before you can be assessed for the permanent visa.
Your sponsor withdraws sponsorship	This can happen any time before the permanent Partner visa application is decided.
Your permanent Partner visa (subclass 801 or 100) is refused	You no longer hold a temporary Partner visa.
Your visa status is unclear	Use VEVO to check your visa details and conditions.

If your permanent visa is refused, your refusal notification letter will tell you whether you have a right to seek review by the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART), which has jurisdiction to review certain visa decisions made under the Migration Act 1958. The ART sets out its own fees and charges on its website, and the Department advises applicants under review to keep checking their current visa details and conditions in VEVO.

What if you decide to withdraw the application instead?

Withdrawal is done online in ImmiAccount.

Both subclasses are withdrawn together if your application is a Partner visa (subclass 309 and 100) or (subclass 820 and 801). Every applicant aged 18 or over included in the withdrawal must consent, and you must attach a signed statement for each of them.

Does family violence change the picture?

The Department states that applicants experiencing domestic and family violence may still be eligible for the grant of the permanent visa under the family violence provisions. Support information is published for applicants and separately for Partner visa sponsors, and the eSafety Commissioner's checklist is recommended for both.

If that is your situation, the notification route is the same one set out above — the difference is that the relationship-cessation notification does not, by itself, end your pathway to the permanent visa.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a set number of days to notify the Department?

The Department's Partner Visa FAQs page does not publish a deadline in days for notifying a relationship cessation. It directs you to the Notification of Relationship Cessation form in ImmiAccount or to Form 1022 where ImmiAccount is unavailable, which is best read as a duty to notify once the change has occurred rather than later.

Do I still have to notify if I plan to withdraw my application anyway?

Yes, the two are separate processes. Withdrawal is done online in ImmiAccount and requires consent plus a signed statement from each applicant aged 18 or over, while the notification records the change in your circumstances.

What if we get back together after I notify?

You tell the Department using the Partner processing enquiry form. Attach your statutory declaration, your sponsor's statutory declaration, and evidence of identity for both of you.

Will my visa be cancelled automatically once I notify?

The FAQs page does not say that notification alone cancels a visa. What it does state is that if your permanent Partner visa (subclass 801 or 100) is refused, you no longer hold a temporary Partner visa, and you should check your details and conditions in VEVO.

Can my sponsor withdraw sponsorship at any stage?

Your sponsor can withdraw sponsorship any time before the Department decides the permanent Partner visa application. Withdrawal is not available after that decision is made.

Where do I check what visa I actually hold right now?

Use VEVO to check your visa details and conditions. This is also the check the Department recommends while a decision is under review by the Administrative Review Tribunal.