New Child Visa Lodgement Rules from 2 September 2026: What Families Need to Know About LIN 26/081

Published 24 September 2026  |  Australian Migration Law

If you are preparing a Child visa application for Australia — or helping a family member do so — a new legislative instrument quietly came into force on 2 September 2026 that you need to know about. It doesn't overhaul eligibility criteria, but it does change where you send the paperwork, which form you must use, and how the adoption restriction rules apply. Getting those procedural details wrong can mean your application is invalid — full stop.

Here is a plain-English breakdown of what changed, why it changed, and what you actually need to do.

What Is LIN 26/081?

The Migration (Arrangements for Child Visa Applications) Instrument 2026 (LIN 26/081) is a legislative instrument made under subregulation 2.07(5) of the Migration Regulations 1994. It was signed by Assistant Minister for Immigration Matt Thistlethwaite on 31 August 2026 and commenced the following day, 2 September 2026.

Its purpose is straightforward: it sets out the approved form, manner and place for lodging applications in three specific visa classes. It replaces the old Arrangements for Child Visa Applications 2016/051, which had been in place for nearly a decade and was due to sunset on 1 October 2026.

The government describes the changes as minor and technical — and for the most part, that's accurate. But "minor and technical" matters enormously when we are talking about visa validity.

Which Visa Classes Are Affected?

LIN 26/081 governs lodgement arrangements for three visa classes:

• Child (Migrant) (Class AH) — includes Subclass 101 (Child) and Subclass 102 (Adoption)
• Child (Residence) (Class BT) — includes Subclass 802 (Child) and Subclass 832 (Adoption)
• Extended Eligibility (Temporary) (Class TK) — Subclass 445 (Dependent Child)

These are the paper-based child and family visa classes where lodgement is still done by post or courier. This instrument does not affect Child visa subclasses lodged online through ImmiAccount.

What Are the Correct Forms?

The approved forms specified in LIN 26/081 are:

• Form 47CH — required for both Child (Migrant) (Class AH) and Child (Residence) (Class BT) applications
• Form 918 — required for Extended Eligibility (Temporary) (Class TK) applications

These forms are unchanged from the previous instrument, so if you were already using Form 47CH, you're on the right track. But confirm you are using the current version from the Department of Home Affairs website before lodging.

Where Must Applications Be Sent?

This is the most important practical change. From 2 September 2026, there is a new postal lodgement address. Applications must be sent by prepaid post or courier to the Department of Home Affairs' Child and Other Family Processing Centre. The correct addresses are:

By Post:
Department of Home Affairs
Child and Other Family Processing Centre
GPO Box 241
Port Melbourne VIC 3008
Australia

By Courier:
The instrument also specifies a Wellington Central delivery address in West Perth, Western Australia, for courier lodgements.

These applications remain paper-based and must be lodged in precisely the manner required by the legislation. Sending your application to an outdated address — or using the wrong delivery method — risks the application not being considered validly made. That is not a recoverable situation in most cases.

What About Transitional Arrangements?

If you posted your application to an address specified under the old 2016/051 instrument before the new instrument commenced, you are protected. Section 8 of LIN 26/081 provides that applications received at an address specified under the former instrument are treated as complying with the new instrument, and are taken to have been received on the date they were first received and stamped at that address.

In short: applications already in the system before 2 September 2026 are not disturbed by the new instrument.

The Adoption Restriction: Pakistan Remains the Only Specified Country

LIN 26/081 continues an existing and important restriction concerning overseas adoptions. Pakistan remains the only country specified for the purposes of this provision, and there is no time limitation applied to the relevant adoption period.

What this means in practice: an application for a Child (Migrant) or Child (Residence) visa will not be valid where the applicant seeks to satisfy the relevant visa criteria by claiming to have been adopted in Pakistan. This provision is not about Pakistani nationality — it is specifically about adoptions arranged in Pakistan under Pakistani law. Families who believe this may affect them should seek specialist migration advice before lodging any application.

Does This Change Child Visa Eligibility?

No — and this is worth saying clearly. LIN 26/081 governs how and where an application must be made. It does not rewrite the substantive requirements for Child, Adoption, Orphan Relative or Dependent Child visas. Applicants must still satisfy the eligibility criteria for their particular subclass, including requirements relating to the child's relationship to the sponsoring parent or relative, the sponsor's Australian citizenship or permanent residence status, the child's age and dependency, and character and health requirements.

Choosing the correct subclass and preparing strong supporting evidence remain just as critical as sending the paperwork to the right address.

Practical Checklist: What to Do Right Now

1. Confirm your visa class — are you applying for Class AH, BT or TK? If so, LIN 26/081 applies to you.
2. Download the current approved form — Form 47CH (Class AH/BT) or Form 918 (Class TK) from the Department of Home Affairs website.
3. Use the correct lodgement address — GPO Box 241, Port Melbourne VIC 3008 for postal lodgements from 2 September 2026 onwards.
4. Send by prepaid post or approved courier — the instrument specifies the manner of lodgement, not just the destination.
5. Check whether adoption circumstances are relevant — if your application involves an overseas adoption, particularly in Pakistan, get advice before lodging.
6. Don't rely on the old address — transitional protections apply only to applications already received under the former instrument.

The Bottom Line

LIN 26/081 is a procedural update, not a policy revolution. But immigration law has very little tolerance for procedural errors. A valid visa application that goes to the wrong address, uses an outdated form, or omits a required step can be declared invalid — and once that happens, depending on the circumstances, it may affect the applicant's legal status in Australia and their future application rights.

If you are lodging one of these applications yourself, take the extra ten minutes to verify the current requirements. And if you have any doubt at all about whether LIN 26/081 applies to your situation, get clarity before you post anything.

Sources

• Migration (Arrangements for Child Visa Applications) Instrument 2026 (LIN 26/081), registered 1 September 2026
• Explanatory Statement to LIN 26/081, Department of Home Affairs
• Migration Regulations 1994, subregulation 2.07(5)
• Arrangements for Child Visa Applications 2016/051 (repealed)
• Migration Alliance Immigration Daily News, 2 September 2026
• Australian Migration Lawyers, New Instrument Governs Child Visa Application Submissions, September 2026
• Heenan & Browne Migration Services, New Child Visa Application Arrangements From 2 September 2026, September 2026
• RACC Migration, New Instrument for Child Visa Applications Commences in Australia, September 2026