Fill Out Home Affairs Form 26 Online

How the form is completed

The form splits responsibility between you and the clinic, and each part must be done in the right order.

• Applicant: complete Part A and Part B before attending the appointment, answering every question, including your medical history, truthfully.
• Applicant: complete Part C, the declaration, in the presence of the examining physician, not before.
• Examining physician: verifies your identity, certifies your photograph as a true likeness, records your examination findings and completes Part D.
• Clinic: sends the completed form to the Department of Home Affairs. You do not lodge this form yourself.
• Visa details: write the visa subclass number and visa name on page 4 so the department can link the examination to your application. You can find both on the visa listing pages of the department's website.

Booking and what to bring

Outside Australia, book with your closest panel physician and attend the same panel physician for all of your health examinations. In Australia, bookings are made online with the Migration Medical Services Provider. The costs of health examinations are paid by you directly to the clinic, with possible extra costs for additional tests or couriers, although the Australian Government covers examination costs for offshore refugee and humanitarian program applicants.

• A valid original passport, the department's preferred identity document. Alternatives are accepted only in limited circumstances, and unsatisfactory identification can delay or stop the examination.
• Any prescription spectacles or contact lenses you wear.
• Existing specialist reports for any known medical condition.
• Passport sized photographs if attending a clinic outside Australia; in Australia the Migration Medical Services Provider advises whether photos are needed when you book.

What the examination can involve

The tests depend on the visa you are applying for. All applicants for permanent visas aged 15 or over undergo HIV testing, and younger applicants are tested where they are being adopted, have a history of blood transfusions or have other clinical indications. The same approach applies to provisional visas with a permanent pathway. Temporary visa applicants are not normally tested for HIV unless they fall into certain groups or the panel physician considers it clinically indicated.

Applicants intending to work or study as a doctor, dentist, nurse or paramedic undergo a chest x-ray and medical examination plus HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C testing. Where a chest x-ray is required, the results are reported separately on form 160.

Timing and results

In some circumstances the department allows health examinations before a visa application is lodged, but examinations can need repeating if you apply for a different subclass, stay longer, leave examinations incomplete or let results expire before a decision. If a significant condition is found before you have lodged an application, the Medical Officer of the Commonwealth opinion is not provided until after you lodge.

After a decision is made, the department usually retains the medical information for future health assessments and for panel physician audits. Results themselves go from the clinic to the department, not to you, and any questions about how they affect your application should go to the department or a registered migration agent.