Health examinations are how the criterion is tested, and the HAP ID is the reference number that ties your results to your application. The legal test itself is on health requirement.
What a HAP ID is
A HAP ID is a health identifier issued by the Department of Home Affairs and printed on the referral letter you take to your appointment. The clinic enters it when it uploads your results, and it is the only thing connecting a set of chest X-rays in a clinic's system to your visa file. No identifier, no match. There are two routes to one, both published by the Department on its health pages:
- Before you lodge. The Department operates an online service through which an intending applicant can complete a health declaration and be issued an identifier and referral letter in advance, with no visa application on foot. It is published under the name My Health Declarations, but this guide could not verify the current name or process from a source it can cite — confirm it on the Department's health pages first.
- After you lodge. The referral letter is generated through ImmiAccount, either automatically or after a health assessment request. The identifier and the examinations required for your circumstances appear on it.
Either way, the list of examinations is generated for you, not chosen by you, so do not book against a list you found somewhere else. Lodging in ImmiAccount covers where letters appear in the account.
Who carries out the examinations
Not your own doctor. Criterion 4007 provides that an applicant in a class specified by the Minister in a legislative instrument must undertake any medical assessment specified in the instrument and must be assessed by the person specified in the instrument, unless a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth decides otherwise. In plain terms, the Department directs applicants to approved providers, and results from anywhere else do not count.
In Australia those clinics operate under a contracted arrangement with the Department; overseas, examinations are done by physicians the Department has approved for that country. The name of the current Australian provider could not be verified from a source this guide can cite, so it is not stated here. Your referral letter lists the approved clinics.
What the examinations usually involve
The examinations are a check against specific criteria, not a general health assessment and not a diagnosis service. For most adult applicants the appointment is short: an examination by the physician and, where the list calls for it, imaging and laboratory tests. Criterion 4007(1) names what the process is looking for. It requires that the applicant:
- is free from tuberculosis;
- is free from a disease or condition that is, or may result in the applicant being, a threat to public health in Australia or a danger to the Australian community;
- is free from a disease or condition in relation to which a person who has it would be likely to require health care or community services, where providing that care would be likely to result in significant cost to the Australian community or to prejudice an Australian citizen's or permanent resident's access to those services — regardless of whether the care would actually be used; and
- has provided a signed undertaking, where a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth has requested one.
Bring photographic identification and your referral letter. If you are pregnant, or may be, tell the clinic before any imaging: the regulations contemplate alternative tuberculosis screening arrangements in that situation.
How long results last
Key facts
As at 23 September 2026 the Department says health assessment results are valid for 12 months and that a health undertaking runs for 6 months. Check both on the Department's subclass 820 pages before you book.
Twelve months is the same clock that governs police certificates, and it is often shorter than the wait for a decision. The Department's visa processing time guide tool shows recently decided cases and is described as a guide only, not specific to your application. If it suggests a wait well beyond a year, results obtained at lodgement may expire before anyone assesses them, and the examinations repeated at your own expense.
The health undertaking is a different thing, and the six-month figure is not a second validity period for your results. Under criterion 4007(1)(d) an undertaking is a signed commitment to present yourself to a health authority in the State or Territory of your intended residence for a follow-up medical assessment, given where a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth asks for one. It usually arises where a condition needs monitoring rather than one that fails the criterion.
Before lodging or after: the timing decision
There is no universally right answer. The trade-off:
| Approach | Argument for | Argument against |
|---|---|---|
| Before lodgement | The file is complete on day one, which supports a faster assessment and avoids a later request | The 12-month clock starts at its earliest point, and the money is spent before you know the application is valid |
| After the Department's request | You pay once, when the results are most likely to still be current at decision | The request arrives with a deadline, and clinic appointments are not always available quickly |
Decision-ready applications sets out the case for front-loading a partner file, and 820 visa processing time explains how to read the Department's tool. Either way, the Department's advice on the subclass 820 pages is to provide all required information with the application or as soon as possible after.
What happens if a condition is found
The file goes to a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth, under regulation 2.25A of the Migration Regulations 1994. The Minister must seek that officer's opinion on whether the person meets the tuberculosis, public-health and significant-cost requirements, and regulation 2.25A(3) provides that the Minister is to take the opinion to be correct for that purpose. That is why arguing with the medical conclusion rarely goes anywhere directly.
The route that does exist is the waiver. Because a subclass 820 applicant is in Australia when the application is made, clause 820.223 applies criterion 4007 rather than 4005 — and unlike 4005, criterion 4007 contains one. Under 4007(2) the Minister may waive paragraph (1)(c), the significant cost and access limb, if the applicant satisfies all other criteria for grant and the Minister is satisfied that granting the visa would be unlikely to result in undue cost to the Australian community, or undue prejudice to access to health care or community services.
Two points follow. The waiver reaches only paragraph (1)(c) — it cannot cure a tuberculosis or public-health finding. And it is open only to an applicant who meets everything else, so it is not a way around a weak relationship case.
A waiver submission is one of the places where an application prepared with an Australian migration lawyer is more likely to succeed. It is an evidence-building exercise with no second chance: what support is available, what your sponsor and family will provide, and why the cost assessed would not be undue in your circumstances. Applicants who assemble it alone usually under-evidence it. Why 820 visas are refused shows where health sits among the reasons.
What the examinations cost
The examinations are arranged and paid for by the applicant, separately from the visa application charge. The Department says the published visa cost does not include other costs, and points applicants to its Visa Pricing Estimator for the charge itself. No price is quoted here: clinic fees vary by provider, country and the examinations your letter lists. Get a quote before you book. The other costs of applying puts medicals, certificates and translations together.
What to do next
Decide the timing question first, after reading the Department's current processing time guide. Then order your police certificates on the same schedule, so the two 12-month clocks run together rather than months apart. The rest of the file is on the 820 visa document checklist. If you are approaching the permanent stage, 801 stage documents explains what has to be refreshed, and Medicare on the 820 visa covers health cover after grant.
Common questions
What is a HAP ID?
It is the health identifier the Department of Home Affairs uses to link your medical examination results to your visa application. The clinic enters it when it uploads your results, which is why results cannot be matched to your file without one. You take the identifier, and the referral letter it appears on, to your appointment.
How long are health examination results valid?
The Department of Home Affairs says health assessment results are valid for 12 months, and that a health undertaking runs for 6 months. Because partner applications can take longer than 12 months to decide, results can expire before a decision and the examinations may need to be repeated.
Should I do the medical before or after I lodge the 820?
Both are possible. Doing it before lodgement can make the application decision-ready, but it starts the 12-month validity clock earlier. Waiting for the Department's request avoids paying twice if processing is slow. Check the Department's current processing time guide before deciding.
Is the medical included in the visa application charge?
No. The examinations are arranged and paid for separately by the applicant and are not part of the visa application charge. The Department says the published visa cost does not include other costs, and points applicants to the Visa Pricing Estimator for the charge itself.
What happens if the medical finds a health condition?
The case is referred to a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth, whose opinion on the health criterion the decision maker must treat as correct. Because a subclass 820 applicant is assessed against public interest criterion 4007 rather than 4005, the significant cost limb of the criterion can be waived by the Minister in the circumstances set out in that criterion.
Sources
Keep reading
Police Certificates for the 820 Visa
Who needs a police certificate for the subclass 820, which countries to get them from, the 12-month validity trap, and what happens if one shows a conviction.
Read the guide →
Identity Documents, Name Changes and Translations
Passports, birth certificates, name change evidence and English translations for the 820 visa — what to provide, what certification means, and how to handle mismatched names.
Read the guide →