“Member of the Family Unit” – Who can I include in my Australian visa application?

When you apply for an Australian visa, in most instances you’re able to include certain family members in your visa application as dependents. This enables your family to be granted the same visa, for the same duration as you.

There are restrictions on exactly which family members you can include. Typically, you can include someone who is known as a “Member of the family unit” (MoFU).

The below explains who is considered a MoFU, and what’s required to include family members.

What is the general rule?

The main applicant is referred to as the “family head”. The general rule is that the following individuals are considered to be a MoFU of the family head:

1. the spouse or de facto partner;
2. a child (or step-child) of the family head OR of a spouse/de facto partner of the family head, who:
   1. is not engaged, and does not have a spouse / de facto partner; and
   2. has not turned 18 years of age; or
   3. has turned 18, but has not turned 23, and is “dependent” on the family head (or the spouse / de facto partner of the family head); or
   4. has turned 23 and is wholly or substantially reliant on family head (or the spouse/ de facto partner of the family head) because they are incapacitated for work due to the total or partial loss of their bodily or mental functions;
3. A “dependent child” of a person who meets point 2 above (i.e. a grand child).

Practically this means that you cannot include parents, and children who are not dependent on you (up until 23 years of age) unless they have a loss of bodily/mental functions.

What does dependent mean?

A child is dependent on another person (i.e. parent or their spouse / de facto partner) if, at the time of establishing dependency:

1. the child is, and has been for a substantial period immediately before that time, wholly or substantially reliant on the parent for financial support to meet their basic needs for food, clothing and shelter; and
2. the child’s reliance on that parent is greater than any reliance by the child on any other person, or source of support, for financial support to meet their basic needs for food, clothing and shelter.

Typically where a child is living at home, and studying full-time, this is relatively simple to demonstrate. It can get complicated if a child is working and/or no longer studying.

We have a separate article that details what this means, and evidentiary requirements, in further details here.

What are the other rules?

For certain visa applications, a person is considered a MoFU if they:

1. hold a particular visa at time of application for a new visa (see Column 2 below) on the basis that they were a MoFU of a person who held the same visa; and
2. are applying for a particular visa (see Column 1 below) and included in that application.

There are also separate rules for who you can include in protection/humanitarian visas (which have a more generous interpretation of who is considered a MoFU), Student visas, and Global Talent visas (for under-18 applicants to be able to include a parent).

More information?

Hannan Tew has assisted many families with their relocation to Australia, and can advise about family members that you can or cannot include. Feel free to contact us by email at [email protected] or phone (03) 9016 0484 for information on how we can assist to make this aspect of your move as seamless as possible.

This document does not constitute legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship. Please consult an immigration professional for up to date information.