A 482 dependent visa is the Skills in Demand visa (subclass 482) granted to the primary holder’s partner or dependent child, and it costs $4,015 for each family member aged 18 or over and $1,005 for each child under 18 from 1 July 2026. Family members can live, work and study in Australia, with no limit on who they work for, and their visa ends when the primary holder’s visa ends. Include them in the main visa application, or, if they join later, lodge a subsequent entrant application with a written letter from the sponsor agreeing to include them.
| Item | Amount | Applies from | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 482 visa charge, each family member aged 18 or over | $4,015 | 1 July 2026 | Home Affairs: Core Skills stream |
| 482 visa charge, each child under 18 | $1,005 | 1 July 2026 | Home Affairs: Core Skills stream |
| 482 visa application charge, main applicant | $4,015 | 1 July 2026 | Home Affairs: Core Skills stream |
| Pacific Island or Timor-Leste concession, family member 18 or over | $3,290 | 1 July 2026 | Home Affairs: Core Skills stream |
| Pacific Island or Timor-Leste concession, child under 18 | $825 | 1 July 2026 | Home Affairs: Core Skills stream |
| Subsequent temporary application charge (applying in Australia after an earlier temporary visa) | $700 | current | Home Affairs: subsequent temporary application charge |
Who counts as family on a 482
| Family member | Can be included? | Conditions | Work | Study | Visa ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spouse | Yes | A married relationship under Migration Act 1958 s 5F: a valid marriage, a mutual commitment to a shared life, genuine and continuing, living together or not permanently apart | Any employer, any hours: condition 8607 binds only the primary holder (cl 482.611) | Yes, without government assistance | With the primary holder’s visa (cl 482.511 item 3) |
| De facto partner | Yes | The relationship meets Migration Act s 5CB (mutual commitment, genuine and continuing, living together or not permanently apart); both partners 18 or over (reg 2.03A(2)); no minimum length for the 482 (reg 2.03A(3) does not list it) | As for a spouse | As for a spouse | As for a spouse |
| Child or stepchild under 18 | Yes | Not engaged, married or in a de facto relationship; public interest criteria 4017 and 4018 (custody and consent) | Yes | Yes | With the primary holder’s visa (item 3) |
| Child aged 18 to 22 | Yes, if dependent on you or your partner | Wholly or substantially reliant on you or your partner for financial support for food, clothing and shelter (reg 1.05A(1)(a); reg 1.12(2)(b)(ii)) | Yes | Yes | No later than the day before the 23rd birthday (item 4) |
| Child 23 or older | Only if reliant on you because they cannot work through a total or partial loss of bodily or mental function (reg 1.05A(1)(b)) | Not engaged, married or in a de facto relationship (cl 482.312) | Yes | Yes | With the primary holder’s visa |
| Your partner’s child or stepchild | Yes | As for your own child of the same age (reg 1.12(2)(b)) | Yes | Yes | As for your own child |
| A dependent child of an included child | Yes | Must be that child’s dependent child: not engaged or partnered, and under 18, or 18 or over and dependent or unable to work through incapacity (reg 1.12(2)(c); “dependent child” in reg 1.03) | Yes | Yes | With the primary holder’s visa |
| Parents, brothers, sisters and other relatives | No | Not members of the family unit (reg 1.12(2)) | – | – | – |
Who can be included on a 482 visa?
Members of the family unit can be included: a partner, a dependent child or stepchild, your partner’s dependent child or stepchild, and their own dependent children (Migration Regulations 1994, reg 1.12(2); Home Affairs Core Skills stream page). The table above sets out the conditions for each.
Partners: married or de facto
A “482 partner visa” is not a separate subclass: a partner is granted the same subclass 482 visa as a secondary applicant. A spouse must be in a married relationship under section 5F of the Migration Act 1958, and a de facto partner must meet section 5CB. Both partners must be at least 18 (reg 2.03A(2)). The Migration Regulations set no minimum relationship length for a 482 de facto partner: regulation 2.03A(3) lists the visas that need one (permanent visas, the 494, student, partner and general skilled visas), and the 482 is not among them.
Documents for each family member
- A passport.
- For a partner: a marriage certificate, or evidence of the de facto relationship.
- For each child: a birth certificate.
- For a child when another parent is not migrating: custody or consent documents (public interest criteria 4017 and 4018).
- Health examinations, arranged before lodging.
- Police certificates for each member aged 16 or over.
- Evidence of adequate health insurance (cl 482.314).
Each secondary applicant must also be listed on the nomination, or the sponsor must agree in writing that they may be a secondary sponsored person (cl 482.315).
An immigration lawyer is more likely to get every family member granted because they check the relationship evidence against s 5CB, the custody documents against PIC 4017 and the sponsor’s listing or written agreement under cl 482.315 before lodgement, and a family member left off at lodgement cannot be added later.
Can your partner work?
Yes, for any employer in any occupation, because condition 8607 is imposed only on the primary holder (cl 482.611). Every family member must keep adequate health insurance under condition 8501 (cl 482.612).
The partner’s visa depends on the primary visa. If the primary visa is cancelled under section 116 of the Migration Act, visas held as members of the family unit are cancelled too (s 140(1)).
Children and the age rule
Children under 18 are included if they are not engaged, married or in a de facto relationship. A child aged 18 to 22 must be dependent on you or your partner, and a child aged 23 or over must be dependent because of a loss of bodily or mental function (reg 1.05A(1)(b)). Children aged 16 and over must meet the character requirement (Core Skills stream page). Children study without government assistance.
Time limit
A child included as a dependant aged 18 to 22, or included on a later 482 as a family member under 23, holds a visa that ends no later than the day before their 23rd birthday, unless they are dependent through incapacity (cl 482.511 item 4).
What does adding family cost?
| Family member | Charge from 1 July 2026 | Pacific Island or Timor-Leste passport concession |
|---|---|---|
| Each member 18 or over | $4,015 | $3,290 |
| Each child under 18 | $1,005 | $825 |
| A child applying alone as a subsequent entrant | $4,015 (the base charge) | $3,290 |
The concession follows the primary applicant’s passport and covers the family (Home Affairs subsequent entrant page). A subsequent temporary application charge of $700 per applicant applies to some applications made in Australia. Health checks, police certificates and biometrics cost extra (Core Skills stream page), and Home Affairs does not usually refund the visa application charge if the application is refused (Home Affairs refunds page). Every charge the worker and the employer pay is on the 482 visa cost page.
Family members included in the main application are decided with it, and Home Affairs publishes no separate processing time for them.
Do children pay school fees?
It depends on the state or territory: NSW, WA, SA and the ACT charge tuition to some or all 482 dependants, and Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania and the Northern Territory do not, although Tasmania charges an application fee.
| State or territory | Do 482 dependants pay public-school tuition? | Amount (and year) | Per child or per family; exemptions and waivers | Source and date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | Yes, unless the regional exemption applies | 2026: K–6 $6,400; Years 7–10 $6,400; Years 11–12 $7,600. 2027: $6,600; $6,700; $7,800. Plus a non-refundable $150 application fee | Per student; family cap not published. Regional exemption from 1 January 2025: no tuition if the child holds a 482, lives with the primary 482 holder in an eligible regional postcode and attends an eligible regional school ($150 still payable). Low-income exemption considered case by case; income threshold not published | NSW DE International, Temporary Residents Program and tuition fee fact sheet (10 September 2026); regional exemption fact sheet (24 November 2025) |
| VIC | No | Nil | 482 (Skills in Demand) and 457 listed as not required to pay fees or enrol in the International Student Program | Victorian Department of Education, International Student Visa Fee Table (file dated 24 April 2026), linked from its school fees page |
| QLD | No | Nil | 482 listed as fee exempt | Queensland Department of Education, schedule of visa subclasses and enrolment conditions (October 2022) under its fee exemptions policy (version 1.3, 14 December 2022) |
| WA | Yes | $4,000 a year per family; year not published | One fee per family whatever the number of children from Pre-primary to Year 12; nil if the eldest child is in Kindergarten; waiver if combined gross family income is $90,000 or less (reapply each year); hardship waiver after an unforeseen change; collected by TAFE International Western Australia; an employer can pay it | WA Department of Education, Enrolment Framework for Students with a Visa (effective 11 February 2025) |
| SA | Yes, at government schools in greater Adelaide | 2026 maximum per student: primary $6,700; high school $7,900; pro rata for part years | Eldest child full fee, 10% off each additional child; with 4 or more children only the youngest 3 are charged. No fee if combined family income is $75,000 or less (one sentence on the page says “less than”); reduced fees below $101,000 (1 child), $120,000 (2) and $139,000 (3 or more); no fee at listed country schools or preschool | SA Department for Education, student fees for subclass 482 visa holders (14 May 2026) |
| ACT | Yes, unless an exemption is granted | Preschool $4,200; K–6 $11,100; Years 7–10 $14,500; Years 11–12 $16,200 a year; year not published. Plus a non-refundable $265 application fee | Per child or per family: not published. 482 holders can apply for an exemption with an ACT employment contract or a labour agreement, the main holder working and living in the ACT (the page’s wording is “ACT Employment Contract (MLTSSL) or Labour Agreement”; the MLTSSL no longer applies to the 482); hardship fee waivers | ACT Government, Enrol a child (dependant) of a temporary resident (14 September 2026) |
| TAS | No tuition | Tuition nil; $150 application fee per student; school levies payable to the school | Students aged 18 at commencement may be fee liable; an Authority to Enrol is needed | Tasmanian Government Education International, Temporary Resident Program and “Visas at a Glance” (version 18, 22 August 2025) |
| NT | No | Nil | 482 listed “Pay fees: No” | NT Government, School fees for international students (page metadata 1 December 2025) |
Only the Victorian and ACT sources name the “Skills in Demand” visa. NSW, Queensland, WA, Tasmania and the NT still label subclass 482 “Temporary Skill Shortage”, and none says whether that label covers visas granted since 7 December 2024, so check with the department before enrolling (not published). Voluntary contributions, materials and services charges, levies, uniforms and excursions can apply even where tuition is nil.
Child care subsidy
Child Care Subsidy is not a visa matter: Services Australia decides eligibility under its Residence rules for Child Care Subsidy. Check those rules for the family, including whether either partner qualifies in their own right, before enrolling a child in care.
Can you add family after the grant?
Yes, as a separate application, not by changing the one already made.
- No additions to a lodged application. Family members cannot be added once the primary application is lodged (Core Skills stream page).
- A separate application. They apply as a 482 subsequent entrant, with the sponsor’s written agreement to include them (cl 482.315; Home Affairs subsequent entrant page).
- Tell Home Affairs about the change. A new partner or the birth of a child is a change in circumstances to report, using Form 1022.
What happens to your family at permanent residence?
Family members apply with the primary applicant for the 186. The 186 charges $3,070 for each member 18 or over and $1,535 for each child, plus a second instalment of $4,890 for each member 18 or over without functional English (Home Affairs 186 TRT stream page).
The de facto rule changes at this step. A permanent visa is one of the visas listed in regulation 2.03A(3), so a de facto partner must show the minimum relationship period set there, unless the relationship is registered (reg 2.03A(3), (5)).
Unregistered agents
An unregistered agent who gives immigration assistance on a sponsorship, nomination or visa is breaking the law (Migration Act 1958 s 280). They also carry no professional indemnity insurance, so if their mistake leads to a refusal, lost fees or a closed pathway, the worker or employer has no insurer to claim against. A practising Australian lawyer must carry that insurance.
In this section
Questions people ask
Can dependents work on a 482 visa?
Yes. Partners and children on a 482 can work for any employer; the work limits of condition 8607 apply only to the primary holder.
How much is a 482 visa dependent?
From 1 July 2026, $4,015 for each family member aged 18 or over and $1,005 for each child under 18, plus health checks and police certificates.
Can I add my partner to my 482 visa?
Not to an application already lodged. Your partner applies as a subsequent entrant, with your sponsor's written agreement.
Do you pay school fees on a 482 visa?
It depends on the state or territory. NSW, WA, SA and the ACT charge tuition to some or all 482 dependants; Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania and the Northern Territory do not charge tuition.
How long does it take to get a 482 dependent visa in Australia?
Family members included in the main application are decided with it. Home Affairs does not publish a separate processing time for dependants.
Can a 482 family get the Child Care Subsidy?
Child Care Subsidy eligibility is decided by Services Australia under its own residence rules, not by the 482 visa. Check those rules for your family before enrolling a child.