Australia Visa Social Media Screening

Under Section 501 of the Migration Act 1958, all Australian visa applicants must pass a "character test." The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) may review publicly available social media as part of this assessment.

• Social media may be checked for evidence of criminal conduct, hate speech, or association with extremist groups
• DHA has confirmed using open-source intelligence (OSINT) including social media in character assessments
• Visa cancellations under Section 501 have increased significantly in recent years

Australian immigration officers focus on content that relates to the character test criteria defined in the Migration Act.

• Violent, threatening, or extremist content that fails the character test
• Posts suggesting intent to work illegally on a tourist (subclass 600) visa
• Student visa (subclass 500) applicants posting about work exceeding the 48-hour fortnightly limit

Different Australian visa categories carry different social media scrutiny levels. Work visas (482/494), student visas (500), and visitor visas (600) each have unique red flags.

• Subclass 482 (TSS): LinkedIn must match your nominated occupation and employer exactly
• Subclass 500 (Student): Social media should reflect genuine temporary entrant (GTE) criteria
• Subclass 600 (Visitor): Content should not suggest plans to work, study, or overstay