A decision-ready application arrives complete enough to be assessed on the spot, without a case officer having to write to you and wait. The Department of Home Affairs puts the expectation plainly in its instructions for the subclass 820: "You should provide all required information with your application, or as soon as possible after you apply." This page explains what that means in practice, and how to balance it against the pressure to lodge early.
Why it matters
Consider what happens to a file that is not complete. A case officer opens it, works out what is missing, drafts a request for more information and sends it. The application then sits until the applicant replies — chasing a police certificate from a third country, or asking a friend to redo a statement — and then goes back into the queue. None of that is time spent assessing your relationship.
An application that arrives complete skips all of it. State the claim carefully: it does not make the Department's processing times shorter, and no one can promise a date. The Department's processing time guide is described as a guide only, based on recently decided applications and not specific to your application, and applications are processed according to Ministerial Direction 117. What being decision-ready does is remove the delays you control.
The second reason matters more than speed. An application that reads as organised and consistent is assessed on the relationship. One that arrives thin, with gaps and unexplained inconsistencies, invites closer scrutiny of everything else in it.
Key facts
The Department says to provide all required information with the application, or as soon as possible after applying. A complete application can be decided without a request for information. An incomplete one waits, is asked, and waits again.
What "complete" means for an 820
Complete is a coverage test, not a volume test. The following need to be there or accounted for.
Identity and status. Passport and birth certificate for the applicant and anyone applying with them, evidence of any name change, and evidence that any previous marriage or de facto relationship has ended. Anything not in English needs a translation.
The sponsor's side. Evidence of the sponsor's status as an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen — the Department says a passport or birth certificate, and that "a driver's licence or Medicare card is not sufficient evidence". The sponsor's separate sponsorship application also has to be lodged, as soon as possible after the visa application. An application sitting without one is not decision-ready however good the evidence is. See the sponsor's part of the application.
Relationship evidence across all four areas. The Department assesses financial aspects, the nature of the household, social context, and the couple's commitment to each other. Each needs to be covered across the whole relationship, not only the last few months, with a weak area explained rather than left blank. See relationship evidence and how much evidence to provide.
Statements. Statements from each of you describing how the relationship began, developed and is lived now, plus supporting statements from people who know you both. If you do not hold a substantive visa, note the strict version: the Department requires at least two statutory declarations made within the last six weeks, by an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen, on the Commonwealth Statutory Declaration form, and says the Form 888 does not satisfy it because it is not a statutory declaration. See Form 888 statutory declarations.
Health and character. Health examinations for everyone applying, and police certificates from every country lived in. The Department says health assessment results are valid for 12 months, a health undertaking runs for six months, and police certificates are valid for 12 months from the date of issue.
Anything that needs an argument, argued. If Schedule 3 applies because you do not hold a substantive visa, the compelling reasons case belongs in the application, not a reply months later. The same goes for an unusual living arrangement or a period apart.
A checklist version is on 820 visa document checklist.
The genuine tension: lodge early or lodge complete
Lodging early has concrete benefits. It normally attracts a Bridging visa A, which keeps you lawful when your current visa ends. It fixes the date from which the permanent stage is counted: the Department says you are eligible for consideration of the permanent Partner visa two years after you first applied. And it locks in the visa application charge in force that day, which is usually indexed on 1 July each year.
The conflict is obvious: waiting three months for a police certificate from a slow issuing authority, in order to lodge complete, can mean your current visa expires first.
How people resolve it
These two pieces of advice pull in opposite directions. The usual resolution is to treat validity as the hard line and completeness as the target.
- Never let lodgement slip past the expiry of your current substantive visa to wait for a document. Falling out of status turns an ordinary application into one that must satisfy Schedule 3 criteria. No document is worth that.
- Make sure the application is valid on the day you lodge. Validity is not completeness. If you do not hold a substantive visa, the Department's list of things that must be included at lodgement is not negotiable — it says that if the information is not included, the application may be deemed invalid.
- Lodge when the application is substantially complete, not perfect — identity, the sponsor's documents, the statements and evidence covering all four areas. Those are the parts that take thought rather than waiting.
- Upload the rest as it arrives. The Department encourages it: because partner applications can have long processing times, you should update your documents and evidence of your relationship regularly through ImmiAccount.
- Show your work on anything missing. Where a document genuinely cannot be obtained before lodgement, upload a short note saying what is missing, why, when it was applied for and when it is expected, with the acknowledgement from the issuing authority attached. A documented gap reads very differently from a silent one.
The police certificate problem specifically
This is the most common reason people are tempted to delay. Certificates expire for immigration purposes 12 months after issue, and the Department may ask for them again if they expire before a decision — which is why it tells applicants to check processing times before getting them. That cuts both ways: ordering every certificate the day you start preparing can mean paying twice, while refusing to lodge until the slowest country responds can mean losing your status. The workable middle is to apply for every certificate early, lodge when the application is otherwise ready, upload proof that each outstanding one has been applied for, and add it the day it arrives. See police certificates.
If a request for information arrives anyway
It sometimes does, even on a well-prepared file, and it is not a sign the application is failing. Answer in full, within the time given, and address the actual question rather than sending more of what you already sent. Deadlines in these letters are short. See requests for more information.
Why this is where professional help pays for itself
An application prepared by an immigration lawyer is more likely to succeed, and decision-readiness is the skill being bought. The judgement is not "collect more documents" — it is knowing which of the four evidence areas your relationship is weak in and what will fix it, what a case officer will ask about before they ask, and where the line between valid and complete sits, so that you lodge on the right day rather than the anxious one.
Next: if you have not worked through the process itself, read how to apply for the 820 visa. If you are assembling the file now, relationship evidence is where most of the work sits.
Common questions
What does decision-ready mean for a partner visa?
It means the application contains everything a case officer needs to decide it, so no request for more information has to be sent. The Department of Home Affairs tells applicants to provide all required information with the application, or as soon as possible after applying. A decision-ready application includes identity documents, sponsor documents, relationship evidence across all four assessment areas, supporting statements, police certificates and health results, all organised and, where needed, translated.
Does a decision-ready application get decided faster?
It removes one of the main causes of delay, which is the cycle of a case officer requesting information, waiting for the reply and then returning to the file. It does not override processing times, which are driven by the caseload and by Ministerial Direction 117 priorities. The Department publishes a processing time guide based on recently decided applications and says it is a guide only and not specific to any individual application.
Should I wait until I have everything before I lodge?
Not usually, but it depends on your visa situation. Lodging secures the lodgement date, starts the clock towards the permanent stage and normally attracts a bridging visa, which matters most if your current visa is close to expiry. The common approach is to lodge once the application is valid and substantially complete, then upload the remaining items as soon as they arrive rather than waiting months for one document.
What if I cannot get a police certificate before I lodge?
Lodge the application, upload written evidence that you have applied for the certificate, and add it as soon as it arrives. The Department says police certificates are valid for 12 months from the date of issue for immigration purposes and that it may ask for them again if they expire before a decision, so it tells applicants to check processing times before obtaining them. Never delay past your current visa's expiry waiting for a certificate.
Is a decision-ready application just a bigger application?
No. Volume is not the same as completeness. An application with hundreds of photographs but no evidence of shared finances is incomplete, while a shorter one that covers financial aspects, the household, social context and mutual commitment, and explains any gaps, is complete. What makes an application decision-ready is coverage and organisation, not weight.
Sources
Keep reading
Lodging in ImmiAccount: Screen-by-Screen
How the 820 partner visa is lodged in ImmiAccount - who should own the account, what the form asks, attaching documents, the TRN, paying, and what happens next.
Read the guide →
The Sponsor's Part of the Application
What the 820 visa sponsor has to lodge - the Sponsorship for a Partner to Migrate to Australia form, when to lodge it, what it asks, and what happens if it is refused.
Read the guide →
Including Dependent Children in Your 820 Application
How to include children in an 820 partner visa application: who counts as a dependent child, what each child needs, consent and custody, and adding a child later.
Read the guide →