Pacific Island and Timor-Leste Fee Discount for Australian Visas From 1 July 2026
From 1 July 2026, eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens who lodge a valid Australian visa application are charged a lower visa application cost, and their family members qualify for the same reduced cost on the strength of the primary applicant's passport. This is set out on the Department of Home Affairs Child visa (Subclass 101) official page as at August 2026, which names the thirteen passports that qualify. The page does not state the reduced amount in dollars; it says the lower charge is applied during the application process and directs applicants to the Visa Pricing Estimator. Treat the following as general information rather than advice tailored to one application — amounts, start dates and eligibility details can change, so the Department's current published guidance is what governs a real lodgement.
What actually changes on 1 July 2026?
From that date, a lower visa cost applies to eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens who lodge a valid visa application. Two conditions sit behind the word "eligible": the application has to be a valid one, and the applicant has to be recognised as eligible, which Home Affairs does by looking at the passport they apply with.
The mechanism matters for planning. The reduced cost is not a rebate claimed afterwards — Home Affairs charges the lower amount during the application process itself. So the passport presented at lodgement is doing the work, and an expired passport from a listed country will not meet the test.
One scope note: the concession as quoted here appears on the Child visa (subclass 101) page. Other visa subclasses are described on their own Home Affairs pages, so applicants for a different visa should read the cost concession section published for that specific visa.
Which passports qualify for the reduced charge?
The primary applicant must hold a valid passport issued by one of these thirteen countries:
- Federated States of Micronesia
- Fiji
- Kiribati
- Nauru
- Palau
- Papua New Guinea
- Republic of the Marshall Islands
- Samoa
- Solomon Islands
- Timor-Leste
- Tonga
- Tuvalu
- Vanuatu
The wording is about the passport, not about nationality or country of birth in the abstract. A citizen of a listed country who applies on a passport issued by a country that is not on the list is not recognised under this rule as published.
Do family members get the reduced cost as well?
Yes. Family members are also eligible for the lower visa cost, and the test is not applied to them individually — it runs off the primary applicant. The published rule bases this on the passport of the primary applicant, or of the visa holder who satisfies the primary visa criteria.
| Person on the application | Reduced cost? | What decides it |
|---|---|---|
| Primary applicant | Yes, if holding a valid passport from a listed country | The passport they apply with |
| Family members included in the application | Yes | Passport of the primary applicant (or of the visa holder who satisfies the primary criteria) |
| Dependent children charged separately | The concession follows the primary applicant's passport | Each dependent child is charged individually, but eligibility is not re-tested against their own passport |
That last row matters for families: in a subclass 101 case a charge applies for each of the child's dependent children who apply, but the discount is tied to one passport rather than re-assessed person by person.
What the lower charge does not cover
The concession concerns the visa application charge. It does not absorb the other costs that commonly sit alongside a visa application — health examinations, police certificates and biometrics are listed as potential additional costs, and the Visa Pricing Estimator does not take them into account.
Two practical points follow from that. Budget for the charge and the ancillary costs as separate items, and do not assume a lower application charge means a lower total outlay. For subclass 101 specifically, Home Affairs also states that the fee is not refunded if the application is refused.
How this fits into a subclass 101 application
A subclass 101 application is a paper application, made on Form 47CH and Form 40CH, sent to the Child and Other Family Processing Centre in Perth. The application charge must be paid before the application is posted, and Home Affairs will not process an application until the correct charge is paid; if the charge is wrong it will let the applicant know and may return the application.
The child must also be outside Australia when the application is submitted. Because eligibility for the reduced cost turns on the passport held at the time of applying, the passport's validity is worth checking before the forms go in the post. A dependent child can be added to the application at any time before a decision is made, and under the published rule the concession still traces back to the primary applicant's passport rather than to the date each family member joined the file.
What to check before relying on the concession
- The primary applicant's passport is valid and was issued by one of the thirteen listed countries.
- Who the primary applicant is in your application — and, where relevant, who the visa holder satisfying the primary criteria is.
- The actual payable amount, using the Visa Pricing Estimator for the visa in question, since the reduced figure is not published as a dollar amount on the visa page.
- Whether the visa you are applying for carries the same concession wording on its own Home Affairs page.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does the reduced visa cost start?
The published start date is 1 July 2026, from which a lower visa cost applies to eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens who lodge a valid visa application. How applications lodged before that date are treated is not covered on the page, so confirm against the Department's current published guidance.
Which countries are on the Pacific Island and Timor-Leste list?
Thirteen: Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. The primary applicant must hold a valid passport issued by one of them.
Do family members need a passport from a listed country themselves?
No. Family members are eligible for the lower visa cost on the basis of the primary applicant's passport, or that of the visa holder who satisfies the primary visa criteria. Their own passport does not have to come from the list.
Does the discount remove health exam, police certificate or biometrics costs?
No. The concession applies to the visa application charge; health exams, police certificates and biometrics are listed as separate possible costs, and the Visa Pricing Estimator does not include them.
Is the fee refunded if the application is refused?
No. Home Affairs states that it will not refund the application fee if the application is refused, and that it cannot process an application where the correct visa application charge has not been paid.
How much is the reduced charge?
The visa page does not publish the reduced amount. Home Affairs directs applicants to the Visa Pricing Estimator to work out what a visa may cost, and states that the lower charge is applied during the application process.