Bringing Your Family on a 494 Visa: Partners, Children and Later Applications

A Subclass 494 visa can include your partner and dependent children, either in the same application or later. Family members get a visa that ends on the same date as yours, can work and study, and must also live in a designated regional area. This guide explains who can be included, the costs, and the rules that apply to your family.

Who can be included

A family member must be a member of your family unit, such as your spouse or de facto partner and dependent children. A de facto relationship generally needs to have lasted at least 12 months before the application, unless an exception applies. Only you need to meet the main criteria such as skills, age and English. Family members meet the secondary criteria.

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The nomination must cover your family

Your employer needs to know who is coming. Each family member must be listed on the nomination linked to your application, or your sponsor must agree in writing that they can be included. This is because the employer’s sponsorship obligations extend to your family. If someone was left off the nomination, the case officer will usually ask the employer for written agreement.

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Applying together or later

Situation	How it works
Family applying with you	Include them in a combined application
A dependent child added before your application is decided	Can be added, with the additional applicant charge only
A partner or other family member after you lodge	Must make their own application
Family joining after your 494 is granted	Lodge their own application, with the full base charge and the sponsor’s agreement if not on the nomination
A baby born in Australia after grant	Is taken to hold a 494 from birth, on the same terms as the parent

A family member’s visa ends on the same date as yours, because it runs for five years from your grant. If a family member applies in Australia, they must hold a substantive visa or a Bridging Visa A, B or C.

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Costs for family members

Charge (as at November 2026)	Amount
Each family member 18 or over, applying with you	$3,070
Each family member under 18, applying with you	$1,535
Second instalment for a family member 18 or over without functional English	$4,890

Lower charges apply where the main applicant holds a passport from a Pacific regional country. The second instalment is not payable where the main applicant’s occupation is Minister of Religion. Before grant, the Department checks whether each family member aged 18 or over has functional English. A pass in an approved English test, or evidence of a higher level of English, can show this. The second instalment must be paid before the visa can be granted.

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Health and character

Every family member must meet the health and character requirements, and children under 18 must meet extra criteria. Family members who are not coming to Australia, such as a partner staying overseas, must also meet the character requirements and, unless it would be unreasonable, the health requirement. One fails, all fail. If any family member does not meet the health requirement, the visa cannot be granted to anyone in the family.

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Work, study and regional conditions

Family members can work and study in Australia, and are not tied to your employer. They do, however, have the regional conditions 8578, 8579, 8580 and 8581, so they must live, work and study only in a designated regional area and notify changes within 14 days. See 494 visa conditions explained.

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Moving to permanent residence

After you have held your 494 for at least three years, you may be able to apply for the Subclass 191 permanent visa, and family members may be able to be included. Get advice on your situation. Everyone must have complied with their 494 conditions. 494 holders also cannot apply for some other visas, such as an onshore partner visa, until they have held the 494 for three years. See the 3 year rule for 491 and 494 holders.

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What you should do now

• List your family on the nomination: it avoids delays waiting for the employer’s written agreement.
• Check English for adult family members: it decides whether the second charge applies.
• Plan health checks early: one family member’s result affects everyone.
• Choose a regional home for everyone: the regional conditions apply to the whole family.