Australia Conditions 8612, 8615, 8616: What Personal Associations Must You Report? (2026)
Conditions 8612, 8615 and 8616 require an Australian visa holder to report three things to Immigration: the people who live with them, any association with organisations that have more than incidental contact with minors or vulnerable persons, and contact with anyone the holder knows has been charged with or convicted of a criminal offence. Condition 8612 and 8615 both start with a report due within 5 working days of the grant and then a 2 working day deadline for every later change, while 8616 is written as a standing duty with no stated number of working days, and it excludes therapeutic, legal and incidental contact. This reflects the text of Schedule 8 to the Migration Regulations 1994 as published by the Federal Register of Legislation. It is general information about how these clauses are written, not advice about your own visa — for that, rely on the official text and on a qualified professional.
What exactly does each condition ask you to report?
The three conditions sit next to each other in Schedule 8 but cover different risks, so the details you must supply differ.
| Condition | What must be reported | First deadline | Later changes | Exclusions written into the clause |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8612 | Full name and date of birth of each person who ordinarily resides with the holder at the holder's residential address | Within 5 working days of the grant | Within 2 working days after the change occurs | None stated |
| 8615 | Details of the holder's association with, or membership of, any organisation engaging in activities involving more than incidental contact with minors or vulnerable persons (within the meaning of Part 070 of Schedule 2) | Within 5 working days of the grant | Within 2 working days after the change, including the beginning or end of any association or membership | Organisations formed to communicate on governmental or political matters, and organisations whose regular functions or activities involve such communications |
| 8616 | Details of any contact with an individual known by the holder to have been charged with, or convicted of, a criminal offence | No number of working days is stated in the clause | Applies to the contact itself | Contact while attending a therapeutic or rehabilitative service; contact in connection with legal proceedings or legal advice; incidental contact |
The practical reading is that 8612 and 8615 are calendar-driven: one snapshot after the grant, then a short clock every time the facts change. 8616 is event-driven: the duty attaches when the contact happens.
Who counts as someone who "ordinarily resides" with you under 8612?
Condition 8612 is tied to your residential address, not to a lease or a family relationship. The trigger is whether a person ordinarily resides with you at that address, and the clause does not set a minimum number of nights or a list of acceptable relationships. What you must provide is limited and specific: each such person's full name and date of birth.
Because the duty also covers changes, the same 2 working day clock applies in both directions. Suppose a visa holder's adult sibling moves into the flat and stays as a matter of routine — that is a change in the persons who ordinarily reside at the address, not merely a visit. Equally, a departing housemate is a change, since the list of residents is what Immigration holds on file.
Which organisations trigger condition 8615, and what is exempt?
8615 is aimed at organisations whose activities involve more than incidental contact with minors or vulnerable persons. That phrase takes its meaning from Part 070 of Schedule 2, so the first question is always whether the organisation's activities actually bring it into more than incidental contact with those groups — coaching, youth programmes and care or support work are the obvious territory, while an organisation with no such contact falls outside the condition entirely.
The second question is the exemption, and it is broader than many holders expect. A reporting duty does not apply to an organisation formed for the purpose of engaging in communications on governmental or political matters, nor to one whose regular functions or activities involve that kind of communication. In other words, condition 8615 targets the child- and vulnerable-person-contact dimension of an organisation, not political or governmental advocacy as such. Note also that the 2 working day rule covers the beginning or end of an association or membership, so resigning or letting a membership lapse is itself a reportable change.
What contact with a charged or convicted person must be reported under 8616?
Condition 8616 has three elements: there must be contact, it must be with an individual, and the holder must know that the person has been charged with or convicted of a criminal offence. Two features matter most in practice.
First, "charged with, or convicted of" means a charge is enough. A reportable contact does not wait for a conviction, and an acquittal or a withdrawn charge does not retrospectively make the earlier contact unreportable.
Second, knowledge is built into the clause. The duty is expressed by reference to an individual who is known by the holder to have been charged or convicted, so the condition is engaged by what the holder actually knows at the time of the contact rather than by the person's record alone.
Does 8616 have a 5 or 2 working day deadline?
No number of working days appears in the text of condition 8616. The 5 working day and 2 working day deadlines belong to 8612 and 8615: 5 working days of the grant for the initial report, then 2 working days after a change occurs. 8616 is drafted as an open-ended duty to notify Immigration of the details of the contact, which means the safe assumption is that it should be notified promptly rather than held back — but the specific deadlines that appear elsewhere in Schedule 8 should not be read into it as if they were written there.
Which visas carry these three conditions?
The clauses themselves do not attach to every visa. Each carries the standard note that whether a visa of a particular class may be made subject to the condition depends on the relevant provision in Schedule 2 of the Migration Regulations 1994. The conditions that bind you are the ones recorded on your own visa grant, so the starting point is always that record rather than the number alone.
What happens if a report is missed or late?
Breaching a visa condition is not a paperwork slip with no consequence. The notes to all three conditions point to sections 41 and 116 to 119 of the Migration Act 1958 for the cancellation consequences of breaching a condition. Non-compliance therefore feeds directly into the cancellation framework, which is why the 2 working day change deadlines in 8612 and 8615 deserve more attention than their length suggests.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to report a housemate who only stays part of the week?
Condition 8612 turns on whether the person ordinarily resides with you at your residential address, and the clause does not set a night-count threshold. A person who lives at the address as a matter of routine is caught; an occasional overnight guest is not. Either way, what you report is their full name and date of birth.
Is a political party or advocacy group covered by condition 8615?
Usually not. Condition 8615 does not apply to an organisation formed for the purpose of communicating on governmental or political matters, or to one whose regular functions or activities involve such communications. The condition is concerned with organisations whose activities involve more than incidental contact with minors or vulnerable persons.
What counts as "incidental contact" under condition 8616?
Schedule 8 lists incidental contact as an exclusion without further definition, so it is judged on the facts of the encounter rather than by a fixed rule. Brief, unavoidable contact of the kind that carries no relationship is the natural reading; sustained or deliberate contact with someone you know has been charged is not incidental.
Do I need to report contact with someone who was charged but never convicted?
Yes. Condition 8616 refers to an individual known by the holder to have been charged with, or convicted of, a criminal offence, so a charge on its own is enough to bring the contact within the duty.
What if I did not know about the person's charge or conviction?
The clause is limited to individuals known by the holder to have been charged or convicted, so knowledge is part of the test. This is general information only — whether your own contact was reportable depends on facts that the official text and a qualified professional are better placed to assess.
Do conditions 8612, 8615 and 8616 apply to my visa?
They apply only if they were imposed on your visa. Each clause carries the note that whether a visa of a particular class may be made subject to the condition depends on the relevant provision in Schedule 2 of the Migration Regulations 1994, so check the conditions recorded on your grant.