2026 Australian Child Visa 101 Costs: Charges, Health Exams and the Pacific Concession
There is no single figure to write down for an Australian Child visa (subclass 101) in 2026, because the official cost is split into several separate payments. According to the Australian Department of Home Affairs' official Child visa (Subclass 101) page, as of the August 2026 version of that page, the department quotes the main applicant's amount through its Visa Pricing Estimator, adds a separate charge for each dependent child included, and warns that additional costs may arise for health exams, police certificates and biometrics. The following breakdown reflects that official information as general reference only; it is not advice tailored to one family's circumstances, so the figure that applies to you should always be checked against the department's current published pricing.
What does the main applicant's charge cover?
The visa has one application charge for the main applicant — the child whom the application is about — and that money buys the assessment of a permanent visa. Grant allows the child to stay in Australia indefinitely, work and study, enrol in Medicare, sponsor relatives, attend free English classes under the Adult Migrant English Program if eligible, and apply for Australian citizenship if eligible.
The same charge applies regardless of whether the child qualifies as under 18, as an 18–24-year-old full-time student who depends financially on the parent, or as an adult over 18 who cannot work because of a disability. The eligibility route changes who can apply, not how the cost is structured.
To get the actual number for your circumstances, the department directs applicants to the Visa Pricing Estimator. That tool is deliberately narrow: the official page states plainly that the estimator does not take the other costs into account.
Where does the rest of the money go?
| Item | Who it applies to | What sets the amount |
|---|---|---|
| Main applicant's visa application charge | The child the application is about | The department's published pricing, quoted through the Visa Pricing Estimator |
| Additional charge per included dependent child | Each dependent child of the child who applies for the visa | Added to the main applicant's charge |
| Health examinations | The child, any included dependent children, and in some cases family members who are not migrating | Requested after lodgement; no amount is published on the visa page |
| Police certificates | Applicants over 16 who meet the residence rule | Fees charged by each issuing authority overseas |
| Biometrics | Anyone the department asks to provide them | Charged only when required |
| Passport photographs | Four recent photos each for the child and every dependent child | Out-of-pocket printing cost |
| Certified copies | Paper documents sent with the application | Charged by whoever certifies them |
The table is where most family budgets go wrong. Families plan for the first line and discover the others only after they receive a request letter.
Can one application cover the whole family?
Not always. If the child has siblings who also want to migrate, each sibling needs a separate application — and therefore a separate main applicant charge. That is the single biggest structural cost surprise for larger families.
A child's own dependent children are treated differently. They can be included on the application when it is lodged, or added at any time before a decision is made, and they attract the per-person charge described above. Included dependent children must meet the department's health requirement, and family members who are not coming to Australia may also have to meet it — a cost that can fall on people who never board a plane.
When do health exams happen, and how much notice do you get?
You do not arrange them yourself at lodgement. The department tells you when to arrange the child's health examinations, usually through a request after the application is received.
Because that invitation arrives mid-process rather than upfront, health costs sit outside the payment you make when you lodge. If your child has a medical history that could require specialist reports or follow-up tests, the unavoidable conclusion is that this line item is hard to predict in advance, even though it is predictable in timing.
Do children really need police certificates?
Yes, for children over 16. Children over 16 must provide police certificates from every country where they spent 12 months or more in the last 10 years, since turning 16. The rule is about cumulative residence, not citizenship, so a child raised in three countries can owe three certificates.
For Australia, only a National Police Certificate applied for under Code 33 – Immigration/Citizenship is accepted; the Australian Federal Police issue these, and standard disclosure certificates or state and territory police certificates are not accepted for this purpose. Children over 16 must also complete Form 80 (Personal particulars for assessment including character assessment), and anyone in the application who served in a country's armed forces must supply military service records or discharge papers.
One detail drives real cost: for immigration purposes, police certificates are valid for 12 months from the issue date. If a certificate expires while the application is still being assessed, it has to be obtained again. Whether that happens depends on processing time, which applicants can only gauge through the department's global visa processing times guide — an indicative tool that reflects recently decided applications rather than yours specifically.
Do biometrics add a further charge?
They may. The department might ask for biometrics and will tell the applicant if they need to be provided. Because this is discretionary and triggered case by case, it belongs in a contingency line of the budget rather than in the expected total.
Does the Pacific concession actually reduce the price?
It reduces one specific line: the visa application cost. From 1 July 2026, a lower visa cost applies to eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens who lodge a valid visa application. The department charges the lower amount during the application process and recognises eligible applicants by their passport — specifically a valid passport issued by one of the following countries:
- Federated States of Micronesia
- Fiji
- Kiribati
- Nauru
- Palau
- Papua New Guinea
- Republic of the Marshall Islands
- Samoa
- Solomon Islands
- Timor-Leste
- Tonga
- Tuvalu
- Vanuatu
Family members travelling on the same application are also eligible for the lower cost, and eligibility follows the passport of the primary applicant — the visa holder who satisfies the primary visa criteria — not each family member's own passport. So where the primary applicant — for subclass 101, the child named in the application — holds a valid passport from one of the listed countries, family members included in the same application attract the lower cost even if their own passports are not from a listed country.
Nothing in the official wording extends this reduction to third-party items. Health exams, police certificates and biometrics are governed by whoever provides them, so the concession should be treated as relief on the government charge rather than on the whole bill. Where a family's circumstances sit close to the boundary of these rules, the current official publication is the authority to rely on.
When must payment be made, and what happens if the amount is wrong?
Payment comes first, posting second. This visa can only be applied for on paper, using Form 47CH (Application for migration to Australia by a child) and Form 40CH (Sponsorship for a child to migrate to Australia), sent together by post or courier to the Child and Other Family Processing Centre in Perth. The department states that you must pay the application charge before you post your application, and that evidence of payment should be included with it.
The consequences of getting this wrong are concrete:
- The department cannot process the application if the correct visa application charge is not paid; it will let you know and may return the application.
- Paying in full at initial lodgement avoids one of the four documented causes of longer processing.
- If the application is refused, the fee is not refunded, and the decision letter will state whether there is a right to review.
You should receive an acknowledgement roughly one month after lodgement. After that letter arrives, the paper application can be imported into ImmiAccount, which gives a cheaper route for uploading any further documents the department later requests — no postage, and quicker than couriering additions to Perth.
Which supporting documents quietly add cost?
Most are administrative rather than governmental, but they add up across a family. Each applicant needs four recent passport-size photographs (45mm x 35mm) — under six months old, good-quality colour rather than laser copies, full face against a plain light-coloured background. Untinted prescription glasses are acceptable, and a head covering worn for religious reasons may show only the face.
Identity and relationship evidence also has to be gathered and certified: the child's current passport pages showing photo, personal details and issue and expiry dates; any national identity card; proof of change of name; a birth certificate, marriage certificate, adoption certificate or officially issued family book; certified adoption papers if the child was adopted; and certified copies of every passport or travel document the child will use to enter Australia, plus any passports held since. If the child is over 18 at the time of application, evidence of financial dependence — bank statements, money transfers, rent receipts — is also required. All documents are sent as certified copies, never originals.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there one fixed published price for the subclass 101 visa in 2026?
No. The Department of Home Affairs quotes the main applicant's amount through its Visa Pricing Estimator rather than stating a single figure on the visa page. The estimator also excludes every other cost discussed here, so it represents the government charge only.
Does the Visa Pricing Estimator include health exams and police certificates?
No, and the department says so explicitly. Health examinations, police certificates and biometrics are described as separate possible costs on the official page, and no amounts are published there for any of them.
Can two siblings be covered by one subclass 101 application?
No. Each sibling must submit a separate application with its own main applicant charge. However, the applicant child's own dependent children can be included in that child's application, either at lodgement or at any time before a decision is made.
Which passport decides whether my family gets the Pacific concession?
The passport of the primary applicant — the visa holder who satisfies the primary visa criteria. Family members qualify through that person's passport, provided the primary applicant holds a valid passport from one of the listed Pacific Island countries or Timor-Leste.
From what age does a child need a police certificate?
Over 16. Applicants over 16 need certificates from every country where they spent 12 months or more in the last 10 years since turning 16, plus Form 80. Certificates are valid for 12 months from their issue date, so timing matters during long assessments.
Is the application charge refunded if the visa is refused?
No. The department states it will not refund the application fee if the application is refused. The refusal letter will explain why the visa was refused and whether the decision can be reviewed.
Do we pay before or after posting the paper application?
Before. The department requires payment prior to posting Forms 47CH and 40CH to the Perth processing centre, with evidence of payment included. An unpaid or underpaid charge means the application cannot be processed and may be returned.