The balance of family test looks at where your children live and how many are eligible children in Australia.
The test is designed to assess the parent's links to children in Australia. It considers the number of children and step-children of the applicant and their partner, and sometimes former partners, and where those children live.
You meet the test if at least half of your children and step-children are eligible children, or if you have more eligible children than children living in any other single country.
Eligible children include Australian citizens, Australian permanent residents usually resident in Australia, and eligible New Zealand citizens usually resident in Australia.
Temporary visa holders in Australia are generally not eligible children for this test.