The "one fails, all fail" rule

Introduction
The "one fails, all fail" rule is a criterion applicable to a number of visa subclasses, that requires all "members
of the family unit" (as defined in reg 1.12 of the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth) (the Regulations)) of the
primary applicant, to meet certain Public Interest Criteria such as the health and character requirements. This
also applies to non-migrating family members.
The "one fails, all fail" rule applies to most permanent visas, as well as those provisional and temporary visas
which lead to a permanent visa. Refer to visa-specific Sch 2 criteria to determine whether the "one fails, all fail"
criterion applies to specific visas.
Where the “one fails, all fail” rule applies to a particular visa, this means that where any member of the primary
applicant's family unit (whether migrating or not) fails to meet a particular PIC to which the rule applies such
as the health requirement and no waiver is available, no family member (including the primary applicant) can
be granted a visa.

Non-migrating family members

In certain circumstances, case officers may elect to not require non-migrating family members to undergo
health examinations if they are satisfied that it would be unreasonable to do so. A decision not to require a
non-migrating family member to undertake health examinations is not a "waiver" of the health requirement.
Two common situations (among others) in which Department of Home Affairs (Department) officers may find
it "unreasonable" to request a health examination from a non-migrating dependent include:

o if the family member has been institutionalised; or

o if the health examination cannot be undertaken due to custody arrangements.
Practice Tip: It is important to identify whether applicants have any children from previous relationships that
are still considered dependent of them but are not migrating to Australia. Applicants often omit non-migrating
dependents, especially when their dependants have moved on and started families of their own. Should a non-
migrating dependent fail to meet the health requirements (and no waiver is available to them), then the
applicant may be refused a visa by reason of the "one fails, all fail" rule.