This visa is for people who want to travel to Australia to:
Generally the stay period allowed is up to three months but up to six months may be considered in limited circumstances if supported by a strong business case.
You must:
Up to 3 months (6 months in limited circumstances)
Last updated 16 April 2018 (for month ending 28 February 2018)
Processing times vary.
For more information read Global visa and citizenship processing times
You can apply for this visa if you want to enter Australia to:
While you are in Australia, you must be able to support yourself and your family members who come with you to Australia. You might be asked to provide evidence of funds.
You must meet certain health requirements. The health examinations you need will depend on your personal circumstances, including your period of stay, country of citizenship, time spent in another country during the last five years and your intended activities in Australia. The results of your health examinations are generally valid for 12 months.
You are responsible for all your health costs in Australia. You will not be covered by Australia's national health scheme (Medicare) while you hold this visa unless your country has a reciprocal health care agreement with Australia.
We recommend that you take out health insurance each time you travel to Australia.
You must meet certain character requirements. You must be prepared to provide a police certificate from each country you have lived in for 12 months or more during the past 10 years after you turned 16 years of age. Do not arrange for police certificates until we ask you to.
This also applies to all members of your family unit in your application who are 16 years of age or older.
You must have no outstanding debts to the Australian Government or have arranged to repay any outstanding debts to the Australian Government before this visa can be granted.
This also applies to all dependent family members in your application who are 18 years of age or older.
The Temporary Work (Short Stay Specialist) visa (subclass 400) is a temporary visa that lets you enter Australia to:
When lodging your subclass 400 visa application, you will need to allow time for the application to be processed, taking into account the date you are intending to travel to Australia.
From 19 November 2016, the Temporary Work (Short Stay Specialist) visa (subclass 400) no longer includes an Invited Participant stream.
We will tell you how many times you can enter Australia on this visa.
Combining a holiday with your intended work or activity may be allowed if the holiday is of short term duration and secondary to the main purpose of your visit.
From AUD 280
You might not need to pay this application charge if you are:
You could have to pay other costs, such as the costs of health assessments and police certificates, or any other certificates or tests. You are responsible for making the necessary arrangements.
Use the Visa pricing estimator to estimate the cost of your application.
Visa pricing estimator
You and anyone included in your visa application must be outside Australia when the application is lodged and when it is decided.
Generally this visa is granted for up to three months, but depending on your work or activity a longer period of up to six months might be allowed in limited circumstances.
We will tell you how long you can stay in the visa grant letter. Your visa will be valid during the stay period you have been granted, which will commence from the date you first enter Australia.
You must arrive in Australia within six months of the date the visa is granted, or within a shorter time-frame if granted. We will notify you of the period of time you have to first enter Australia in your visa grant letter.
Each family member you want to bring with you to Australia must be included in your visa application.
These family members must meet the requirements for including family members in your application.
Your family members will need to lodge their own application for this or another visa if:
Workers in Australia – including visa holders with permission to work – have rights under Australian workplace law.
The Fair Work Ombudsman’s Pay and Conditions Tool (PACT) provides information on pay rates, shift calculations, leave arrangements and notice and redundancy entitlements.
See also: Workplace rights for all visa holders working in Australia
You and your family must comply with all visa conditions and Australian laws.
You must do only the work or activities for which your visa was granted.
You will need to lodge a new application for this visa if you want to:
Domestic workers accompanying their employer/family household travelling to Australia for tourism or a business visit should apply for the subclass 600 Visitor (Tourist or Business Visitor stream) visa until further notice.
Domestic workers need to accompany their employer when travelling to Australia and should have the same travel itinerary as their employer.
Any subclass 400 domestic worker visa applications already lodged will continue to be processed under subclass 400 visa requirements.
You and your family members must have valid passports to be granted this visa.
Applicant documents
You must apply for this visa online using ImmiAccount.
You should upload all relevant documents with your online application and pay the visa application charge when you apply (if applicable).
These family members must meet the requirements for including family members in your application. You must provide evidence of their relationship to you. This could include marriage certificates, birth certificates, joint bank accounts and other relevant documents.
Your family members must also be able to show that they meet Australia’s health and character requirements.
Family members included in your application are not permitted to work in Australia. Therefore, you must be able to show that you and your family have enough money to support yourselves while in Australia.
Pay the visa application charge or provide one of the following documents to show that you do not need to pay the charge:
Please refer to preparing your application, for information on:
We have service standards related to the time it takes to process applications for this visa.
Your application could take longer if you need character or health checks (including x-rays), if you need to provide more information, or if your application is incomplete.
Do not make arrangements to travel to Australia until you are advised in writing that you have been granted a visa. If you are granted a visa, we will send you a visa grant letter.
You can provide more information to us, at any time until a decision is made on the application. If you want to correct information you provided, use:
We could also ask you for more information. You will have to respond by a set date. After that date, we can make a decision about your application using the information that we have.
If another person gives us information that could result in you being refused a visa, we will usually give you the opportunity to comment on the information.
You might also be interviewed. If you are asked to attend an interview in person, bring your passport or other identification and any requested documents to the interview.
If the visa is granted, we will let you know:
You will not have a visa label placed in your passport.
If the visa is refused, we will send you a letter or email stating why it was refused.
You might be asked to provide biometrics (a scientific form of identification) as part of the application.Countries and visa subclasses included in the biometrics program has more information.
You must tell us if your circumstances change. This includes a new residential address, a new passport, or a pregnancy, birth, divorce, separation, marriage, de facto relationship or death in your family.
More information is available in the Update Us tab.
You should tell us if your circumstances change. In particular, you must tell us about changes that occur after your visa is granted but before you travel to Australia.
You can use the following forms:
You can upload these forms using ImmiAccount.
The following online forms are available in ImmiAccount:
You can withdraw the application at any time before we make a decision about it. To do this, send us a letter or email to ask for the withdrawal. Your request must include your full name, date of birth, and the date of your application. If you know it, you should also include the number we gave you when you applied – this could be a file reference number, client ID, or a transaction record number.
Everyone included in the application who is 18 years of age or older must sign the letter of withdrawal or send a separate email.
There are limited circumstances in which the visa application charge can be refunded.
