Subclass 445 notification duties in 2026: incorrect answers, changed circumstances and integrity risks
What a Subclass 445 applicant must report after lodging, and how wrong or outdated answers can affect the decision.
Yes — once a Dependent Child visa (Subclass 445) application is lodged, you keep owing the Department of Home Affairs correct information until the decision is made. According to the Department of Home Affairs Dependent Child visa (subclass 445) page, applicants must notify changes to the child's phone number, email, address or passport, changes to the child's relationship status, the birth of a child, and any wish to withdraw the application. Separately, mistakes in the answers already given are handled through Form 1023 Notification of incorrect answers. In general terms, this ongoing duty is the one usually discussed as the notification obligation in section 104 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) and the integrity criterion known as PIC 4020; the Department's own page is what sets out the practical steps, and this article is general information only, not advice about your circumstances — confirm details against current official material or with a registered migration agent or legal practitioner.
What exactly has to be reported while a 445 application is pending?
The Department's page lists these as the changes you must tell it about:
- changes to the child's phone number, email, address or passport
- changes to the child's relationship status
- the birth of a child
- that you want to withdraw the application
Two of those deserve emphasis. A change in relationship status is not a minor administrative detail for this visa, because the whole application rests on the child's relationship to a parent who holds a temporary Partner or Dependent Child visa. And a new passport is not just a document update: the identity evidence you lodged was the pages of the child's current passport showing photo, personal details and issue and expiry dates, so a reissue means the record the Department holds is out of date.
Is a change of circumstances the same thing as an incorrect answer?
No, and the page routes them differently.
| Situation | What the page points to |
|---|---|
| An answer you already gave was wrong | Form 1023 Notification of incorrect answers |
| Something changed after lodgement | The Department's change-in-situation process, and updating details in ImmiAccount |
| Someone should stop or start receiving your correspondence | Form 956A Appointment or withdrawal of an authorised recipient |
| Someone should stop or start giving immigration assistance | Form 956 Appointment of a registered migration agent, legal practitioner or exempt person |
| You want to end the application | Withdraw through ImmiAccount, and notify the Department |
The distinction matters because a notification under the change-in-situation route explains that facts moved on, whereas Form 1023 says the application itself contains something that was not right. How a decision-maker weighs either is a matter of judgement, not a published rule.
How do you actually send the correction?
This visa must be applied for on paper, using Form 918, posted or couriered to the Child and Other Family Processing Centre in Perth. After lodgement, if the application was made in Australia, you can import the paper application into ImmiAccount using the application ID, the child's date of birth and the identity document number, and that gives access to online services including attaching documents, updating details, viewing messages and withdrawing.
Where ImmiAccount is available, a completed Form 1023 can be uploaded there. Where it is not, the page directs you to attach the completed form to the Child and Orphan Relative Visa Processing Centre online form. The same two paths apply to Forms 956 and 956A.
Why do incorrect answers carry more risk than the paperwork suggests?
Because the integrity provisions sit behind the whole application. PIC 4020 is the public interest criterion concerned with whether information and documents given to the Department are genuine and correct; the Department's page does not set out how a failure is weighed, and it requires you to let it know as soon as you can. The 445 page reinforces the point at both the document stage and the lodgement stage by linking to the Department's material on what happens if you cannot prove identity or do not provide true information.
That is also why "I'll mention it at the interview" is a poor strategy. Suppose an applicant realises after posting that the dependency evidence for a child who was over 18 at the time of application understates how long parental support for food, shelter and clothing has been provided. Leaving that uncorrected means the decision is made on a record the applicant knows is incomplete, and the applicant cannot control when the discrepancy surfaces.
The character material carries a similar trap. Children over 16 must provide a police certificate from every country they have spent 12 months or more in over the last 10 years since turning 16, and for immigration purposes police certificates are valid for 12 months from the issue date. A certificate that passes its 12-month mark during processing is a live accuracy problem, not a stale formality.
Which answers most often go wrong on a 445 application?
Based on what the page requires you to prove, the exposed points are:
- Relationship to the parent — birth certificate, marriage certificate, adoption certificate, or an officially issued and maintained family status certificate or family book.
- Dependency for applicants over 18 at time of application — evidence of dependence on the parent holding the temporary Partner or Dependent Child visa for basic needs, plus how long the support has been provided; bank statements, money transfers and rent receipts are given as examples.
- Disability for applicants over 18 — evidence from a qualified medical practitioner of total or partial loss of mental or body function that stops the applicant working.
- Identity and name history — proof of change of name from an Australian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages or the relevant overseas authority, or documents showing other names used.
- Character for children over 16 — Form 80, and AFP National Police Certificates applied for under Code 33 – Immigration/Citizenship; state or territory police certificates and standard disclosure certificates are not accepted.
Does correcting an answer itself trigger a refusal?
The Department's page does not say that notifying a correction causes a refusal. What it says is that you must let it know as soon as you can, and that the application must be complete — if any lodgement step is incomplete the application may be invalid, and invalid applications are not processed. The page also warns that it cannot provide progress updates within global visa processing times and will tell you only if it needs something further, which means a correction you sit on may simply stay invisible until a decision is made.
What else can change before the decision, and what happens at the end?
You can add the dependent children of the child to the application at any time before the Department decides it. If the child was in Australia when the application was submitted, they are granted a bridging visa, which starts if their current visa expires before the decision and lets them stay lawfully while the application is processed.
At decision time, the child can be inside or outside Australia. If the visa is granted, the Department tells you the grant number, the start date and any visa conditions. If it is refused, the Department tells you why and whether there is a right to review. The page states that the application fee is not refunded if the application is refused.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to report a reissued passport while the 445 application is waiting?
Yes. Changes to the child's passport are expressly listed as something you must tell the Department about. Because the identity evidence you lodged was the pages of the child's current passport, a reissue means the Department's record no longer matches the document the child holds.
Is Form 1023 the right form for every change?
No. Form 1023 is the notification route for incorrect answers already given. Changes that happen after lodgement — contact details, relationship status, the birth of a child, or withdrawal — are notified through the change-in-situation process and ImmiAccount, and changes to who receives correspondence or gives immigration assistance use Forms 956A and 956.
Can I correct a mistake after posting the paper application?
Yes. Complete Form 1023 and upload it in ImmiAccount if the application has been imported, or attach it to the Child and Orphan Relative Visa Processing Centre online form if it has not. The page's instruction is to let the Department know as soon as you can.
Will admitting an error make a refusal more likely?
The Department's page does not say that correcting an answer causes a refusal; it says you must notify it as soon as you can. The risk the page does identify is incompleteness — an application may be invalid if lodgement steps are incomplete, and invalid applications are not processed.
What if the relationship or dependency details change before the decision?
Changes to the child's relationship status must be notified, and dependency for a child over 18 at the time of application is a core requirement supported by evidence such as bank statements, money transfers and rent receipts. Notification keeps the decision-maker working from the current position rather than from a record that has moved on.
Can I add family members after lodging?
Yes. The dependent children of the child can be added to the application at any time before the Department makes its decision.
Do I get the fee back if the application ends badly?
The page states that the application fee will not be refunded if the application is refused. It sets out that position for refusals; for withdrawals, check the current official information on the Department's website.