What it is
Health and character are two separate public interest criteria that sit outside the merits of a visa application. An applicant can meet every skill, relationship, or sponsorship criterion for a visa and still be refused on health or character grounds, because these criteria are about the Australian community’s interests, not the applicant’s case for the visa itself.
The health requirement is set out in Public Interest Criterion 4005 and Public Interest Criterion 4007, both schedule items in the Migration Regulations 1994 made under the Migration Act 1958. They test whether an applicant’s health condition would be likely to result in significant cost to the Australian community in health care or community services, or would be likely to limit an Australian citizen’s or permanent resident’s access to those services.
The character requirement comes from section 501 of the Migration Act 1958 itself, not the regulations. It asks a different question: whether the person passes the character test, based on criminal history, associations, and general conduct.
How it works in practice
PIC 4005 and PIC 4007 apply the same underlying health test. The difference between them is what happens if an applicant does not meet it. Under PIC 4005, which attaches to many permanent skilled and employer-sponsored visa subclasses, a failed health assessment generally means the application must be refused, with no waiver mechanism built into the criterion. Under PIC 4007, which attaches to a different set of subclasses including many partner, child, and some temporary skilled visas, a waiver may be available: the Minister or a delegate can consider granting the visa despite the health condition, in the circumstances the regulations allow for that waiver.
Family members applying together are commonly assessed as a unit for health purposes on many subclasses: if one member of the family unit does not meet the requirement, the requirement is not met for the group, again subject to the exact rule for that subclass and any specific exemptions in force at the time, including exemptions that have been added for particular categories of applicant in recent years. This is a detail that changes by subclass and by regulation amendment, so it is confirmed against the current instrument for each matter rather than treated as a fixed rule.
The character test under section 501 is broader than a criminal record check. It covers a substantial criminal record as defined in the Act, association with a person, group, or organisation the Minister or a delegate reasonably suspects has been or is involved in criminal conduct, and past and present general conduct. A person can fail the test on suspicion and association grounds without ever being convicted of an offence. Home Affairs requires police clearance certificates covering the countries an applicant has lived in for a set cumulative period over recent years, and these certificates typically have a limited period of validity from their issue date.
How an agent approaches it
When health or character is a live issue in a matter, the questions a Registered Migration Agent works through include:
- Which criterion, PIC 4005 or PIC 4007, actually applies to this visa subclass, and does a waiver pathway exist if the health assessment comes back adverse?
- Is any family member’s known or likely health condition going to affect the whole application under a one-fails-all-fails rule for this subclass, and is there an applicable exemption?
- Does the applicant’s history, in any country, include anything that could engage the character test, including matters that did not result in a conviction but could still support a reasonable suspicion of association or conduct?
- Which countries and time periods require a police clearance certificate for this specific application, and are the certificates still within their period of validity at the time of lodgement?
- If a concern already exists on either ground, what is the realistic pathway: a waiver argument, additional evidence, or a decision that the matter is not one to proceed with as currently structured?
The purpose of this process is the same one that governs how an agent treats PIC 4020 concerns about bogus documents or false information: find out what is actually in the file before the Department does, and deal with it honestly. Health and character assessments draw on medical, police, and personal history records the applicant does not fully control the content of, which makes early, accurate disclosure the only real strategy available.
What typically goes wrong
The most common failure is timing. Applicants leave health examinations or police clearance certificates until late in the process, discover an issue close to a decision deadline, and lose the ability to plan around it. Certificates that expire before a decision is made create the same problem in reverse.
A second recurring issue is a client assuming a health condition disclosed on one visa application will not affect a family member’s separate application, when a one-fails-all-fails rule may connect them. This needs to be checked early, not assumed either way.
On character, the pattern that causes the most damage is treating disclosure as optional because a matter did not lead to a conviction, or happened years ago in another country. Section 501 permits a finding based on reasonable suspicion and association, not just a conviction record, and an applicant’s own account of their history is compared against everything else in the file, including police certificates and prior visa applications. Inconsistency between what an applicant discloses and what a certificate or record later shows creates a materially different problem from the underlying history itself, and it is the kind of gap an agent looks for before the Department does, not after.
Common questions
What is the difference between PIC 4005 and PIC 4007?
Both are health criteria in Schedule 4 of the Migration Regulations 1994, and both test the same thing: whether an applicant's health condition would result in significant cost to the Australian community or limit an Australian citizen's or permanent resident's access to health or community services. The difference is that a waiver is available under PIC 4007 for certain visa subclasses, whereas PIC 4005 generally does not carry a waiver.
Does one family member failing the health requirement affect everyone else's application?
On many visa subclasses, yes. Family members are generally assessed as a unit for health purposes, and one person not meeting the requirement can affect the whole group's application, subject to the specific rule set for that subclass and any exemptions in force at the time. This is checked against the current regulations for each matter rather than assumed.
What does the character test under section 501 actually cover?
Section 501 of the Migration Act 1958 sets out grounds including a substantial criminal record, association with a person, group, or organisation reasonably suspected of criminal conduct, and past or present general conduct. A person can fail the test even without a conviction, if the Minister or a delegate reasonably suspects the relevant conduct or association.
Do I need a police clearance certificate for every country I have lived in?
Typically the Department expects a certificate for each country an applicant has spent a cumulative period of time in over a set number of recent years, checked against the current instructions for the specific visa applied for. A Registered Migration Agent confirms the exact countries and timeframes required for a given matter.