Do I Have to Pay the Second Instalment of the 116 Carer Visa in 2026?
Yes. If you are asked to pay the second instalment of the Carer visa (Subclass 116), you have to pay it: the Australian Department of Home Affairs states on its Carer visa (Subclass 116) page (as of the July 2026 version of that page) that the visa will not be granted unless the second instalment is paid. The only relief the same page describes is a discretionary reduction of that instalment to nil where paying it would cause you, or the person you are caring for, severe financial hardship — and that relief is never extended to anyone applying with you. What follows is general information about how the published rules read, not an assessment of your own circumstances; a decision on any individual case is made by the Department on the evidence put to it.
What is the second instalment, and when will you be asked for it?
The Carer visa is paid for in two parts. You pay the first instalment when you apply — the application is a paper application, and payment is made before it is submitted. The second instalment is paid later, when the Department asks you to.
The request does not arrive at lodgement. The Department sends an invoice for the second instalment after you have met all the other requirements for the visa. Because Other Family visas are subject to capping and queueing, and demand for places exceeds the number available each year, that invoice can arrive a long time after the application goes in. It is worth planning on the basis that the second instalment is still owed years later, rather than treating it as a cost that might never be called in.
Is there any way to avoid paying it?
Only one, and it is narrow. The Department may consider reducing the second instalment to nil if you can show that paying it is likely to cause severe financial hardship — to you or to the person you are caring for.
That second limb matters. The hardship does not have to be yours alone. A carer who is supporting an Australian relative with a long-term medical condition can point to the financial position of the household they care within, which is a different and wider test than many applicants expect.
Everything else is payable. The visa simply will not be granted without the second instalment, and the Department does not refund the application fee if an application is refused.
Who can get the reduction, and who cannot?
| Who | Second instalment | Can it be reduced to nil? |
|---|---|---|
| Main applicant | Charged | Possibly, on severe financial hardship |
| Family members applying with you | Charged for each person | No — the page states it will not be reduced for anyone applying with you |
This is the point that most often surprises applicants. The reduction is personal to the main applicant. Each family member included in the application carries their own charge, and those charges stand even where the main applicant's second instalment is reduced to nil. Suppose an applicant is granted a reduction because paying it would cause severe hardship to the relative they care for: the accompanying partner's and dependent children's charges are still payable, and the visa cannot be granted until they are paid.
What counts as "severe financial hardship"?
The Department's page uses the phrase but does not publish a definition, a threshold, or an evidence checklist, so the published rule is all that can be stated with confidence: the hardship must be severe, and it must be financial. How a particular set of facts is weighed is the Department's judgement to make on the material you provide; an article like this can describe the rule but cannot tell you in advance whether your situation clears it. Treat any published description as general guidance only and check the current wording against the Department's own page before relying on it.
How do you ask for the reduction?
In writing. The Carer visa page says to send the Department a written request; it does not name a dedicated form for this purpose on that page. Because the invoice arrives only after every other requirement has been met, the natural time to make the request is when you receive it, not at lodgement.
Two practical consequences follow. First, keep your financial records — and any records bearing on the care recipient's financial position — organised well before the invoice arrives, because the request will be assessed on what you can put in writing. Second, do not let the request delay the payment itself beyond any deadline the invoice sets, since non-payment means no grant.
What other costs sit alongside the second instalment?
Each applicant may also need to pay for health checks, police certificates and biometrics. The Department notes that concessions apply to the visa application charge in limited circumstances, and that a lower visa application charge applies from 1 July 2026 to eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens who lodge a valid application, based on the primary applicant's passport.
One budgeting trap: the Visa Pricing Estimator does not include the second instalment or these other costs. A figure taken from the estimator is therefore a partial figure, and the second instalment is the large, deferred part of it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have a choice about paying the second instalment?
No. The Department states it will not grant the Carer visa (Subclass 116) unless the second instalment is paid. The only alternative is a successful written request to have that instalment reduced to nil on severe financial hardship grounds.
When does the Department ask for the second instalment?
It sends an invoice after you have met all the other requirements for the visa, which for a capped and queued Other Family visa can be long after lodgement. There is no fixed interval published on the visa page.
Can my partner's or child's second instalment be waived as well?
No. The Carer visa page states that the second instalment will not be reduced for anyone applying with you, even where the main applicant's instalment is reduced to nil. Each accompanying family member's charge remains payable.
Whose hardship counts for the reduction?
Either yours or that of the person you are caring for. The published rule refers to severe financial hardship caused to "you or the person you are caring for", so a carer can rely on the care recipient's financial position, not only their own.
Is there a form for requesting the reduction?
The visa page does not name one; it says to send the request in writing. No specific form or document list is published on that page, so the request is assessed on the written material you provide.
Will I get my money back if the visa is refused?
The Department states that it will not refund the application fee if an application is refused.