Australia Conditions 8620 and 8621 Explained: Curfew, Monitoring Device Faults (2026)
If your monitoring device stops working, condition 8621 does two separate things: it requires you to take any steps specified in writing by the Minister — plus any other reasonable steps — to keep the device and its related monitoring equipment in good working order, and it requires you to notify an authorised officer as soon as practicable once you become aware that either is not in good working order. On the curfew side, condition 8620 sets the default window at 10 pm to 6 am, but the Minister may specify other times in writing, and those times cannot be more than 8 hours apart. This follows the official text of the Migration Regulations 1994, Schedule 8, conditions 8620 and 8621, as published on legislation.gov.au, the Australian Federal Register of Legislation, as at September 2026.
What must I do if my monitoring device is not in good working order?
Condition 8621 splits the duty into prevention and reporting. Subclause (3) requires the holder to take any steps specified in writing by the Minister, and any other reasonable steps, to ensure that the monitoring device and any related monitoring equipment remain in good working order. Subclause (4) then requires the holder, on becoming aware that either the device or the related equipment is not in good working order, to notify an authorised officer as soon as practicable.
Two details carry most of the practical weight. The reporting duty is triggered by awareness rather than by the fault itself, and the standard is "as soon as practicable" rather than a fixed number of hours. The same condition also requires the holder to wear a monitoring device at all times (subclause (1)) and to allow an authorised officer to fit, install, repair or remove the device or its related monitoring equipment (subclause (2)).
What counts as the device and its "related monitoring equipment"?
Condition 8621(5) defines a monitoring device as any electronic device capable of being used to determine or monitor the location of a person or an object, or the status of an object. Related monitoring equipment, for a monitoring device, means any electronic equipment necessary for operating the monitoring device.
Both definitions turn on function rather than on a product name. That matters because the duty to keep things in good working order, and the duty to report a fault, apply to the related equipment as well as to the device itself — so a fault in the equipment needed to operate the device is caught by the same reporting obligation.
Can the curfew hours be different from 10 pm to 6 am?
Yes, but only within a hard ceiling. Condition 8620(1) sets the default: the holder must remain at a notified address for the holder between 10 pm on one day and 6 am the next day, or between such other times as are specified in writing by the Minister. Subclause (2) caps that discretion by providing that if the Minister specifies other times, the times must not be more than 8 hours apart.
The default window is itself 8 hours, so a written notice can shift or shorten the window, but it cannot stretch it beyond 8 hours. For example, if a written notice specified 11 pm to 6 am instead, the two times would be 7 hours apart and therefore within the ceiling; a notice specifying 8 pm to 6 am would not be.
Which address counts as the "notified address" for curfew?
Condition 8620(3) gives three routes, and they are alternatives rather than a hierarchy.
| How the address qualifies | What the condition says | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| An address already on record | the address notified by the holder under condition 8513, or, if the holder has notified another address under condition 8625, the last address so notified | already notified |
| A place the holder stays at regularly | an address at which the holder stays regularly because of a close personal relationship with a person at that address, and which the holder has notified to Immigration for this purpose | notified in advance |
| A one-off address for a particular night or nights | an address notified to Immigration for that day or those days | no later than 12 pm on the day before that day, or the earliest of those days |
The second route is worth reading closely: regular stays alone are not enough, because the address must also have been notified to Immigration for the purposes of that paragraph. The third route is the flexible one, and its deadline is the strict part — notice has to reach Immigration by 12 pm on the day before.
Address changes interact with this in a second way. Condition 8625 requires the holder to notify the Minister of any change in the holder's name, an address of the holder, a phone number of the holder, or an email address of the holder within 2 working days after the change occurs.
Do these conditions apply while I am in hospital or in custody?
Both conditions carry a note referring to regulation 2.25AF: a visa is taken not to be subject to the condition during any period in which the visa holder is under arrest or detained in custody, or is admitted as an in-patient to receive treatment at a public or private hospital, registered mental health facility or other registered medical facility.
The wording is tied to being under arrest or detained, and to admission as an in-patient to receive treatment. On its face it does not extend to an outpatient appointment or a hospital visit that does not result in admission as an in-patient.
What happens if a condition is breached?
Whether a visa of a particular class may be made subject to these conditions at all depends on the relevant provision in Schedule 2 of the Migration Regulations 1994, so the starting point is always which conditions were actually imposed on the visa in question. The note attached to both conditions points to sections 41 and 116 to 119 of the Migration Act 1958 on cancellation for breaches of conditions.
This article is general information about how the two conditions read as at September 2026, not personalised advice about any individual's visa, and provisions of this kind are amended from time to time — the current official text and advice from a qualified professional are what should be relied on for a specific situation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does condition 8621 give me a set number of hours to report a faulty device?
No. Subclause (4) requires the holder to notify an authorised officer as soon as practicable after becoming aware that the device or its related monitoring equipment is not in good working order. There is no fixed hour or day count in the condition itself.
How long can an alternative curfew period be?
Condition 8620(2) provides that if the Minister specifies times other than the default 10 pm to 6 am, the times must not be more than 8 hours apart. The default window is also 8 hours, so the ceiling effectively prevents any longer curfew rather than setting a typical length.
Can I spend curfew hours at a partner's place?
Yes, if it fits condition 8620(3)(b): the address must be one at which the holder stays regularly because of a close personal relationship with a person at that address, and the holder must have notified it to Immigration for the purposes of that paragraph. Regular stays without that notification do not satisfy the limb.
What is the latest I can notify an address for one particular night?
Condition 8620(3)(c) requires the notification to reach Immigration no later than 12 pm on the day before that day, or, where several days are covered, 12 pm on the day before the earliest of those days. Notice given after that cut-off does not create a notified address under that limb.
Do I have to let an officer repair or remove the device?
Yes. Condition 8621(2) requires the holder to allow an authorised officer to fit, install, repair or remove the holder's monitoring device and any related monitoring equipment for it.
Am I breaching curfew if I am an in-patient in hospital?
Under regulation 2.25AF, as noted in condition 8620, a visa is taken not to be subject to the condition during any period in which the holder is admitted as an in-patient to receive treatment at a public or private hospital, registered mental health facility or other registered medical facility. The same note appears in condition 8621 for the monitoring device duties, along with the arrest or detention case.
What if I breach condition 8620 or 8621?
The notes to both conditions refer to sections 41 and 116 to 119 of the Migration Act 1958 for cancellation following a breach of a visa condition. Whether the condition applies at all depends on the relevant Schedule 2 provision for that visa class and on what was actually imposed on the visa.