All immediate family members, including family members not coming to Australia or applying for a visa must show they meet the health requirement for the grant of any employer sponsored visa.
For Temporary Visas
If you are applying for a temporary visa you may or may not need to undertake a health check. This will depend on:
If you don’t have a health condition or any other special considerations, the following table can help you work out if you need health checks for your temporary visa:
Country TB risk level | You intend to stay in Australia for less than six months | You intend to stay in Australia for six months or more |
|---|---|---|
Countries which do not generally require immigration health examinations – see below. | No health examinations required unless special significance applies. | No health examinations required unless special significance applies. |
Countries which do require immigration health examinations – see below. | No health examinations required unless special significance applies. | Any special significance requirements must be met. |
Basically, if your country of passport or previous place of residence is NOT on the list below, you are in a high-risk category.
Albania; American Samoa; Andorra; Antigua and Barbuda; Argentina; Aruba; Australia; Austria; Bahamas; Bahrain; Barbados; Belgium; Belize; Bermuda; Bonaire; Bouvet Island; Bulgaria; Canada; Cayman Islands; Chile; Christmas Island; Cocos (Keeling) Islands; Cook Islands; Costa Rica; Croatia; Cuba; Curacao; Cyprus; Czech Republic; Denmark; Dominica; Egypt; Estonia; Falkland Islands; Faroe Islands; Finland; France; French Polynesia; FYR Macedonia (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia); Germany; Gibraltar; Greece; Grenada; Guadeloupe; Heard and McDonald Islands; Hungary; Iceland; Iran; Ireland; Israel; Italy; Jamaica; Japan; Jordan; Kosovo; Kuwait; Lebanon; Lichtenstein; Luxembourg; Malta; Mauritius; Mexico; Monaco; Montenegro; Montserrat; Netherlands; Netherlands Antilles; New Caledonia; New Zealand; Niue; Norfolk Island; Norway; Oman; Palestinian Authority; Pitcairn Island; Poland; Portugal; Puerto Rico; Reunion Island; Saint Eustatius & Saba; Saint Helena (Ascension and Tristan da Cunha); Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; Saint Martin (Dutch); Samoa; San Marino; Saudi Arabia; Serbia; Seychelles; Slovakia; Slovenia; South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; Spain; Svalbard & Jan Mayen; Sweden; Switzerland; Tokelau; Tonga; Trinidad and Tobago; Tunisia; Turkey; Turks and Caicos Islands; United Arab Emirates; United Kingdom (British citizen); United States of America; Uruguay; Vatican City; Virgin Islands (British); Virgin Islands (US); Wallis and Futuna Islands.
When you lodge your application, if you have not completed health checks prior to lodgement, your ImmiAccount will tell you whether you need health checks, and what health checks are required.
For Permanent Visas
All applicants for a permanent visa (or a provisional visa that leads to a permanent visa, such as a Partner visa), needs to complete a health check.
This is really important: the health requirement must be met by every member of the family unit, even those who will not be migrating to Australia. If one member of the family fails the health requirement, no one in the family can be granted a visa. This is called the ‘one fail, all fail’ rule.
When Should I Complete My Health Check?
Given current processing times, we recommend that unless someone in your family has a health issue that may impact the application, you should complete the health checks after lodgment. This is because processing time for the 186 Visa is currently over 12 months, and health check results are only valid for 12 months – you do not want to have to your health checks twice.
General Information
What is the Booking Process?
Once your application is lodged in ImmiAccount (more on this below), you will have an option to organize your health examinations. You will be able to download and print off a ‘Health Referral Letter’ for each person included in the application, and this letter will contain a special identifier called a ‘HAP ID’.
You should then make an appointment with an approved panel doctor, in the city closest to you. You can only do the health check at an approved clinic.
What Happens When the Health Check is Done?
Once the health checks are done, the clinic doctor will send the details to Immigration.
If there are any issues found at the health check appointment, you will be contacted via email by the Medical Officer of the Commonwealth (MOC) regarding any next steps, which can include further tests or visiting a specialist.
What If I Don't Meet the Health Requirement?
If there is a health issue, the MOC will make a determination as to how much they believe the condition will cost the Australian Medicare system. If it is over $40,000 in total, this is considered ‘significant’ and the health requirement will likely not be met. This may be calculated over the period of Visa applied for, 5 years, or over a lifetime, depending on the Visa application and the health condition.
MOC decisions can be challenged, as costs are often included that are incorrect or based on historical rather than current-day information.
Health Waivers
If you are applying via the Direct Entry pathway of the employer sponsored permanent Visa, and it is found one of the family members in the application does not meet the health requirement, the application cannot be approved.
However, if you are applying via the Temporary Residence Transition stream of the employer sponsored permanent Visa, OR for an employer sponsored temporary Visa (such as the Temporary Skills Shortage (TSS) Visa), and it is found one of the family members in the application does not meet the health requirement, there may be a health waiver available if you can show the granting of the Visa will not result in undue cost or issues with access to health care for anyone in Australian community.
