Australian visa applicants are generally required to meet the character requirement under PIC 4001 of the Migration Regulations. Assessing character involves DHA reviewing the applicant's criminal history — which in many cases requires the submission of police clearance certificates (also called penal clearance certificates) from Australia and, where applicable, from countries where the applicant has resided. The requirement to provide overseas police clearances typically applies when the applicant has spent a total of 12 months or more outside Australia since turning 18, and has spent 90 days or more in any one country during that period. Many visa applications also require completion of Form 80 (Personal Particulars for Character Assessment), which asks applicants to disclose their full criminal history. DHA may also obtain Australian criminal history records directly through the ACIC's National Police Checking Service. This page explains when police clearances are required, how to obtain them, and how criminal history is assessed in visa applications.

For current character requirements and guidance on obtaining police certificates, refer to the DHA character requirements page and the DHA guide on obtaining police certificates.

• Migration Regulations 1994, Schedule 4, PIC 4001 — the standard character requirement applied across most Australian visa subclasses; the applicant must not have a substantial criminal record and must satisfy the decision-maker that they are of good character
• Migration Act 1958, s 501(6) — definition of failing the character test, including the substantial criminal record threshold
• Migration Regulations 1994, reg 2.12 — provisions for waiver of certain requirements in compelling circumstances, not applicable to character
• DHA: Character requirements — immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/character-requirements
• DHA: How to get a police certificate — immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/police-certificate

When police clearances are required

DHA requires police clearance evidence in the context of visa applications in the following circumstances:

• Overseas penal clearance certificates: applicants who have spent time outside Australia since turning 18 are generally required to provide penal clearance certificates from relevant countries where the total time spent outside Australia adds up to 12 months or more, or where the time spent in any one country was 90 days or more
• Australian criminal history: DHA typically accesses Australian criminal history records directly through the ACIC — applicants do not always need to separately obtain an Australian police check for visa purposes, though some applications may request one
• Form 80 disclosure: many visa applicants must complete Form 80, which asks for a comprehensive criminal history including arrests, charges, convictions, and sentences; the form is separate from police clearance certificates but serves a similar function in the character assessment
• Sponsor police clearances: sponsors for partner visas, Prospective Marriage visa 300, and certain other family visa types must also satisfy character requirements — DHA may request Australian and/or overseas police checks from sponsors

Obtaining overseas penal clearance certificates

The process for obtaining overseas penal clearance certificates varies by country. Key points:

• Certificates must be obtained from the official police or criminal records authority of the relevant country — these vary by jurisdiction (e.g., the FBI in the USA, the RCMP in Canada, the police in EU countries)
• DHA maintains country-specific guidance on how to obtain police certificates, available on the DHA website — for current country-specific instructions, refer to the DHA police certificate guidance page
• Police certificates should be recent — DHA generally requires certificates issued within a specified period of the visa application; for current currency requirements, refer to the relevant visa-specific guidance
• Certificates in a language other than English may need to be accompanied by a NAATI-certified translation

Form 80 — Personal Particulars for Character Assessment

Form 80 is required for many visa applications — particularly family and partner visas, employer-sponsored skilled visas, and certain humanitarian visas. The form requires applicants to disclose:

• Criminal charges, convictions, and sentences in Australia and overseas
• Whether they have ever been refused entry to or deported from any country
• Whether they have been associated with any organisation involved in criminal activities
• Details of any periods of imprisonment

Misrepresentation on Form 80 is itself a basis for visa refusal or cancellation — under PIC 4020, providing false or misleading information attracts a 3-year non-grant period; for identity-related failures, the non-grant period is 10 years.

How criminal history is assessed

DHA applies the character test framework when assessing criminal history disclosed in visa applications. Under PIC 4001 and the s501 character test:

• A substantial criminal record — defined as a sentence of death, life imprisonment, or a total of 12 months or more imprisonment — triggers the character test failure threshold
• Lesser criminal histories are assessed holistically — the nature of offences, sentences imposed, time elapsed since offending, evidence of rehabilitation, and the overall risk to the Australian community are all considered
• Minor offences and spent convictions (where the jurisdiction of conviction has a spent convictions regime) are generally treated more leniently
• A criminal history does not automatically result in visa refusal — the decision-maker weighs the character concerns against other factors under the relevant character test framework

Character requirements for visa sponsors

Sponsors for family visa categories must satisfy character requirements separate from the visa applicant. The sponsor obligations framework requires sponsors to be assessed as suitable — which includes Australian National Police Check results. Additional requirements for sponsors of prospective marriage and partner visa applicants are set out in the visa-specific criteria.

Police clearances can be a significant logistical challenge for applicants who have lived in multiple countries, particularly where overseas authorities have slow processing times or where the applicant has difficulty accessing the relevant authority from Australia. DHA's country-specific guidance on obtaining police certificates is a practical starting point, but it may be outdated for some jurisdictions. Applicants should allow generous lead time for overseas police clearances. Where a certificate is genuinely unavailable (for example, because the country no longer exists or records were destroyed), the applicant should provide a statutory declaration explaining why the certificate cannot be obtained. For current character assessment requirements, the DHA character requirements page, and Form 80, refer to the DHA character requirements page.