Applicant resources

The documents you are asked to read, sign or check

Every Australian visa application comes with documents the Department expects you to have read: a values statement to sign, a booklet it refers to, a privacy notice about your personal information. This page keeps them in one place, in the Department’s own words, alongside the reference pages we maintain on fees, processing times and occupation lists.

Department documents reproduced unchanged and checked against the source on 26 August 2026 · the Department’s version prevails

Why these documents come with every application

The Australian Values Statement is a condition of applying, not a formality attached to the outcome. Applicants for most temporary, provisional and permanent visas confirm that they have read the Life in Australia booklet, or had it explained to them, and undertake to conduct themselves in accordance with the values it describes and to obey Australian law. Permanent applicants add two further undertakings: to make reasonable efforts to learn English, and to pledge loyalty to Australia if they later become citizens. An application lodged without the statement may be delayed or refused.

The Form 1442i privacy notice exists because the Privacy Act 1988 obliges the Department to tell you how it handles the personal information a visa application contains, which is extensive: identity, health, relationships, employment, and in many cases biometrics. The notice explains the laws the Department collects under, the purposes it uses information for, and the agencies, registers and overseas governments it may disclose to. We provide it to every client with our authority to act, because the Department treats the information in an application as collected from you regardless of who lodges it.

Reading both before you sign is the point. If anything in either document is unclear in English, the Department publishes the booklet in 40 community languages, and your solicitor can explain the statement to you.

Unsure what a document means for your application?

A short consultation is enough to explain what you are signing, what the Department will do with your information, and what your particular pathway requires beyond the standard documents.

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Common questions

Do I have to sign the Australian Values Statement?
Yes, for most temporary, provisional and permanent visas. The statement forms part of the application: online it is accepted by selecting the Australian Values Statement button in ImmiAccount, and on paper it is part of the form. The Department states that an application without it may be delayed or refused, with an exception considered only in compelling circumstances. You sign it afresh for every application, so an applicant who has held several visas will have signed it several times.
What is the Life in Australia booklet and do I really have to read it?
The booklet is the Department’s account of Australian society, history and values, and the Values Statement begins with a confirmation that you have read it or had it explained to you. The Department publishes it in English and in 40 community languages, including Korean, Vietnamese, Simplified Chinese, Thai and Khmer, all linked from our Australian values page. If you find the English difficult, the Department expressly allows a friend, family member, sponsor or your representative to explain it to you.
What is Form 1442i and why has my lawyer sent it to me?
Form 1442i is the Department of Home Affairs privacy notice. The Privacy Act 1988 requires the Department to tell you how it collects and handles your personal information, and it does so through this notice. Lawyers and migration agents commonly provide it to clients alongside the authority to act, because the Department treats the information in a visa application as collected from you whether you lodge it yourself or through a representative. It is a notice to read, not a form to sign.
Is the Form 1442i privacy notice the same as Visa Plan Lawyers’ privacy policy?
No. Form 1442i is the Department’s notice about how the Australian Government handles personal information it collects for visa, citizenship and border purposes. Our own privacy policy governs how Visa Plan Lawyers handles the information you give us as a client, and is a separate document at /privacy-policy/.
Are the documents on this site the current versions?
Each page states the Department’s own version date and the date we last checked our copy against it. We reproduce the text unchanged and link to the Department’s original in every case; if the two ever differ, the Department’s version is the one that applies to your application.

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