What is a “character test”?

If you are aged over 16 years and are applying for a permanent visa, or a temporary visa for a stay of longer than 12 months, then you will need to obtain a police clearance certificate from any country you have lived in for 12 months or more over the last 10 years before making the application to prove that you are of good character. The police clearance certificate will generally only be valid for 12 months from the date of issue.

Past convictions and association with criminals may mean that you will fail the character test. A person may also fail the character test if the government suspects that you may engage in criminal conduct in Australia or pose any other risk to Australia. A character check can also be affected by disregard of the migration laws of Australia or another country.