Sources checked 3 October 2026.
Form 80 is Home Affairs’ “Personal particulars for assessment including character assessment” form, used to collect an applicant’s personal information for assessment.
Form 80 for a partner visa
This static information card summarises the government form for partner visa preparation; it is not a substitute for the PDF.
| Label | Information |
|---|---|
| Who completes | Applicants aged 16 and over under the Home Affairs Form 80 instructions; the subclass 820, 309 and 300 checklists list the form for completion and attachment. |
| What it covers | Personal particulars for character assessment, including 10 years of address history, according to the Home Affairs Form 80 PDF. |
| What happens to a wrong answer | The Migration Regulations 1994, Schedule 4, PIC 4020 addresses bogus documents and false or misleading information in a material particular. The Migration Act 1958, sections 107–109, provides a separate cancellation process following non-compliance involving incorrect information. Neither consequence is automatic for every wrong answer. |
Download Form 80 from Home Affairs.
Download the government PDF rather than a locally hosted copy. This guide does not complete, submit or validate Form 80.
What is Form 80?
Form 80 is Home Affairs’ “Personal particulars for assessment including character assessment” form, used to collect an applicant’s personal information for assessment.
It provides supporting information about the applicant; it is not the partner visa application itself. Use the government PDF linked above. The Home Affairs Form 80 PDF checked on 3 October 2026 has design date 03/21, while its PDF forms-list entry was updated 11 July 2024. These are different attributes, not evidence that the form expired.
For the wider visa pathway, see the Australia marriage visa guide.
Is Form 80 required for a partner visa?
Yes—the Home Affairs subclass 820, 309 and 300 checklists list Form 80 among the character documents to complete and attach, while the Form 80 instructions apply to applicants aged 16 and over.
| Government source | What it says | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Home Affairs Form 80 PDF | Applies to applicants aged 16 and over, “as requested by the office processing the application”. | Read the form instructions alongside the visa-specific checklist. |
| Home Affairs subclass 820, 309 and 300 checklists | “Complete and attach to your application” under character documents. | Prepare and attach Form 80 rather than relying on the PDF wording alone. |
| A Department request received for the application | The Migration Act 1958, section 56, permits a request for further information in a specified way. | Check the actual request, requested documents and stated response deadline; there is no universal Form 80 response period given here. |
Should you wait for a request?
No—the Home Affairs subclass 820, 309 and 300 checklists already tell applicants to complete and attach Form 80.
Use the checklist for your relevant visa and read any individual Department request carefully. The proactive instructions described here are from the Home Affairs 820, 309 and 300 pages checked on 3 October 2026. They are checklist instructions, not a claim that omission automatically invalidates an application or causes refusal. This guidance does not establish that a fresh Form 80 is required for every 801 or 100 permanent-stage assessment.
What Form 80 asks
Form 80 asks for personal particulars for character assessment and 10 years of address history, according to the Home Affairs Form 80 PDF.
Use these five preparation checks before attaching it. They are practical checking advice, not a verbatim inventory of the PDF’s questions.
- Personal particulars. Compare identifying details with the records already used in the visa application. Investigate differences rather than changing facts simply to make documents match.
- Address history. Prepare the 10 years of address history identified in the Home Affairs Form 80 PDF. Compare dates and addresses with available records, noting anything you need to clarify.
- Travel. Use passport and travel records to check relevant dates rather than guessing. Keep track of any date you cannot confidently establish.
- Work. Compare relevant work dates with employment records and earlier application answers. Identify discrepancies before finalising your answers.
- Character answers. Read each applicable question carefully. Identify any answer that needs an explanation or legal advice rather than assuming a difficult answer can be omitted.
The Home Affairs Form 80 PDF supports the 10-year address-history requirement. The other checking actions above are recommendations, not claims that Home Affairs requires those particular supporting records.
The Home Affairs subclass 820, 309 and 300 checklists list Form 80 alongside police certificates as separate character documents. Form 80 is not a police certificate and does not replace one.
For certificate requirements, see the police check partner visa guide.
Answering the character questions truthfully
Answer Form 80 truthfully and check apparent inconsistencies before submission; the Migration Regulations 1994, Schedule 4, PIC 4020 addresses bogus documents and information that is false or misleading in a material particular.
| Issue | Legal basis | What this means for Form 80 |
|---|---|---|
| Bogus documents or false or misleading information in a material particular | Migration Regulations 1994, Schedule 4, PIC 4020(1). | The information limb concerns false or misleading information in a material particular, not simply any difference between records. A typo, date discrepancy or innocent mistake should be checked and corrected, but is not automatically a PIC 4020 refusal. |
| Incorrect information and cancellation after grant | Migration Act 1958, sections 107–109; Migration Regulations 1994, regulation 2.41. | The process involves a section 107 notice, a section 108 non-compliance decision and a discretionary section 109 cancellation decision having regard to prescribed circumstances. Cancellation is not an automatic consequence of every wrong answer. |
The 4020 PIC guide covers that information-integrity criterion separately.
Character assessment and information integrity are related concerns, but PIC 4020 and section 109 are different legal mechanisms under the Migration Regulations 1994 and Migration Act 1958. PIC 4020 is not the section 501 character test.
The legal explanation here uses Migration Act 1958 compilation 171 and Migration Regulations 1994 compilation 288, checked on 3 October 2026. The government legislation links may display later versions; that does not mean this page has had a later source check.
What if an earlier answer is wrong?
An incorrect earlier answer needs correction rather than silent replacement; Home Affairs’ Form 1022 instructions identify Form 1023 for incorrect answers and Form 1022 for changes in circumstances.
- Firstly, identify the affected answer. Compare the submitted answer, the correct information and the records supporting the correction. Keep a clear account of what was wrong.
- Secondly, distinguish an error from a later change. An answer that was incorrect when given is different from an answer that became outdated afterwards. Home Affairs’ Form 1022 instructions identify Form 1023 for the former and Form 1022 for changes in circumstances.
- Thirdly, seek legal advice where the correction raises a material inconsistency or a Department notice. A lawyer can check the explanation, evidence and applicable procedure—not conceal or rewrite the history.
When Form 80 answers need a lawyer
Ask an Australian migration lawyer to check Form 80 where an answer conflicts with an earlier application, needs a character explanation, corrects material information or responds to a Department notice.
Consider legal advice for:
- A discrepancy between Form 80 and earlier visa information.
- An answer about character that needs explanation.
- Incorrect information already submitted.
- A Department request or notice concerning the answers.
A lawyer can compare Form 80 with earlier applications and supporting records, identify unresolved dates or missing explanations, and separate correction of an error from notification of a later change. If there is a notice, ask the lawyer to check which legal issue it raises and the deadline actually stated in it.
These are review tasks, not promises about the decision. Home Affairs’ “Using a legal practitioner” page says lawyers cannot fast-track processing or guarantee a visa.
If you have received a cancellation notice, read the cancelled visa guide.
For the wider assessment, see character requirements for applicants and sponsors.
Ask an Australian migration lawyer to check a Form 80 answer that conflicts with earlier records, concerns character or needs a correction or response.
Ask an Australian migration lawyer to check my Form 80
PartnerVisaLawyer.com.au is an information guide; the shared enquiry form sends private questions to Australian Migration Lawyers.