Daniel lodged his own 820 in March. Nine years earlier a magistrate had given him a good behaviour bond for an assault outside a pub. He answered No to the conviction question because nobody had used the word conviction in court. In August the Department wrote to him under section 57 with his police certificate attached. He has 28 days to explain the answer, and the bond is the smaller of his two problems.
We see this file every month. The offence is old and the sentence was light. The tick box turned a disclosure into a credibility question.
Short answer: A conviction fails the character test automatically only where the sentence was imprisonment of 12 months or more. Below that line the Department weighs the offence against your life since, and the file is decided by disclosure and documents. The visa charge is unchanged at $11,710.
The 12 month line, and what sits below it
Section 501 of the Migration Act allows refusal where the applicant does not satisfy the Department that they pass the character test. One limb does most of the work: a substantial criminal record, meaning imprisonment of 12 months or more, or terms adding up to 12 months. Fines, bonds, community orders, suspended sentences and short terms sit below the line.
Below the line the Department can still refuse, but only on the broader ground that your conduct shows you are not of good character. That is a judgment about the whole person at the time of decision. Consequently, the file must show the person, with documents rather than adjectives.
No substantial criminal record. The question becomes whether the conduct, taken with everything since, shows bad character. Time without further offending, a completed sentence, orders obeyed and a stable family life all carry weight. Most partner visa applicants with a record are here.
The character test is failed on the record alone. Refusal is then a discretion, not a certainty. Direction 110 tells the delegate what to weigh, and the best interests of Australian children can outweigh the offending. The submission carries the whole case. Get advice before anything is lodged or answered.
Why the answer matters more than the offence
Every partner visa applicant must satisfy Public Interest Criterion 4020: no evidence of false or misleading information in a material particular. The Full Federal Court has held that false means purposely untrue, so an honest mistake is not false information. However, the Department has to be persuaded the mistake was honest, and it reads the surrounding answers. An applicant who volunteered a protection order and denied a conviction made an error. An applicant who denied everything made a choice.
Section 105 of the Act requires written notice, as soon as practicable, of any incorrect answer and the correct one, on Form 1023. A correction lodged before the Department raises the point is evidence of an innocent mistake. A correction lodged in reply to a section 57 letter is a defence. The difference is weeks, and it is in your hands.
My conviction is spent under state law. Do I still disclose it?
Yes. State spent conviction schemes do not apply to decisions under the Migration Act, and the Australian Federal Police certificate issued for immigration purposes shows spent convictions. The Department will see it. Disclose it and explain it.
What the delegate weighs under Direction 110
Where the Department is not satisfied that you pass the test, Direction no. 110 binds the delegate deciding whether to refuse. Each consideration is a question the file must answer.
| Consideration | The question behind it | What answers it |
|---|---|---|
| Protection of the community | How serious was the conduct, and what is the risk of more | The court record, any pre sentence report, and the years since |
| Family violence | Did the conduct coerce, control or frighten a family member | Full acceptance of the record and evidence of rehabilitation |
| Ties to Australia | What refusal does to a citizen partner and family | The relationship evidence and the partner’s own statement |
| Best interests of children | What refusal does to each child under 18 here | School records, care arrangements, one paragraph per child |
| Community expectations | The Government’s stated view, applied as written | Weight balanced against the other four |
Two warnings. Violent offences, offences against children and family violence are very serious whatever the sentence. And the delegate applies the Government’s view of community expectations, so arguing that the community would forgive the offence is arguing against the Direction.
The order of work
- Week 1Read the lodged application line by line and list every answer that needs correcting.
- Week 1Request the court file under your authority: certificate, orders, police facts, any pre sentence report.
- Week 2Lodge the Form 1023 with a schedule of corrections and the court documents, before any request from the Department.
- Week 3Reconcile your account with the record, in your words, before anything is signed.
- Week 4Your statutory declaration and your partner’s statement, written to the record.
- Week 5The character submission: the offence in full, the years since, the character test limb by limb, every Direction 110 consideration with a document behind it.
- Week 6Lodge the package with the police certificates and the court file.
Each step protects the next. A declaration written before the reconciliation can contradict the police facts. A submission written before the declaration has nothing to stand on. Our pre lodgement audit is where the first step usually happens.
What the file needs
What it costs
The government charge is $11,710 for the main applicant, $5,860 for each additional adult and $2,935 for each child. A character issue changes the work, not the charge. Our fees are fixed and set out on the fees and process page. If the Department has already refused, the review deadline is short.
The criteria are on our partner visa page. If a letter citing PIC 4020 has arrived, read our guide to answering it, then contact us.
Figures verified against Home Affairs visa pricing as at 1 July 2026. Law cited: Migration Act 1958 ss 57, 105 and 501; Migration Regulations 1994 Schedule 4 PIC 4001 and 4020 and regulation 1.20KC; Direction no. 110 of 7 June 2024.
Frequently asked questions
I answered No to the conviction question by mistake. What do I do first?
Lodge a Form 1023 correcting the answer, with the court documents attached, before the Department writes to you. Section 105 requires the correction as soon as practicable, and a correction you volunteer is the best evidence that the original answer was an innocent error rather than false information.
Does a good behaviour bond count as a conviction?
It depends on the order. A bond with a conviction recorded is a conviction. A bond without conviction is still a court outcome that other questions in the application ask about. Disclose the outcome either way and describe it accurately; the police certificate will show it.
Will my old assault conviction refuse my partner visa?
Not on its own unless the sentence was 12 months or more in prison. A violent offence is treated as very serious under Direction 110 whatever the sentence, so the file must confront it fully, but years without further offending, a completed sentence and a citizen family weigh heavily the other way.
Can the Department get my court file if I do not provide it?
Yes. Courts release records to the Department, and the police certificate lists every disclosable outcome. Assume the delegate will read the same police facts you agreed to at the time, and write the file to that record.
My partner is the sponsor and has a record. Does that stop the sponsorship?
Only a significant criminal record for a relevant offence, such as violence or offences against children with a sentence of 12 months or more, can refuse a sponsorship. Everything else must be disclosed on the sponsor form, and the sponsor must consent to the Department disclosing any relevant conviction to the applicant.
General information as at 14 September 2026. Not legal advice. The character test turns on your own record and circumstances, and Direction 110 can be replaced, so obtain advice before lodging or answering the Department.