ImmiAccount document upload: 5 MB per file, 30 to 60 files, no removing them
What Home Affairs allows when you attach visa documents, and how to prepare files that cannot be taken back once attached.
The rules can change, so check the Home Affairs help pages and your attach screen before you upload. Deftfile is not part of the Australian Government and is not a registered migration agent. We cannot tell you which documents to attach or whether the Department will accept them.
The limits for visa applications
These come from the help pages Attach documents and How to attach documents before submitting a visa application, and an older quick reference guide dated June 9, 2015.
- File size
- 5 MB per file.
- File types
- bmp, dcm, doc, docx, dot, gif, jpg, pdf, png, ppt, pptx, rtf, txt, xls, xlsx.
- Refused
- "Compressed files and encrypted pdf files cannot be accepted."
- Number of files
- 30 to 60, "depending on the application type" (2024 page and 2015 guide).
- Removing a file
- Not possible. "Attachments cannot be deleted as they form part of your application."
- Documents with several pages
- "provide the pages in a single pdf document."
- Scanning
- Scan each document separately, include both sides, and scan in colour if the original is in colour.
- Quality
- "If you attach low quality scanned documents, it may delay the processing of your application."
These rules are for visa applications, including sponsorship and nomination. Citizenship applications have their own (jpg preferred, "limit the size of the file to 500Kb"), which this guide does not cover.
How the sources differ
All three give 5 MB ("5MB" on the 2026 page, "5Mb" in the others). The 2026 page says there is a file limit "for each applicant" but gives no number, and the page it links to showed none either. Some websites quote higher counts for certain visas, but we found no Home Affairs source for them.
Why we use 4,800 KB
5 MB can mean 5,000,000 or 5,242,880 bytes. Our tools count 1 KB as 1,000 bytes, so 4,800 KB (4,800,000 bytes) is under 5 MB either way. This is our arithmetic, not a Home Affairs figure.
Plan before you press Attach
With 30 to 60 files allowed, a ten-page bank statement uploaded page by page would use ten of them, and the Department wants it as one PDF anyway. Nothing can be removed, so check every file before you start, and attach Required documents before Recommended ones, as the help page asks.
The page also says to scan each document separately. Our own approach, not a Home Affairs rule, is to join the pages of one document into one PDF but keep a passport and a payslip in separate files.
What "compressed files" means here
The help page does not define the term. We read it as archives such as .zip or .rar, which are not on the accepted list; a PDF made smaller is still a .pdf file.
Getting a file under 5 MB
If a file is under 5 MB, in an accepted type and easy to read, attach it as it is. The Department asks for "high quality scanned documents", and the tools below shrink files by lowering image quality or resolution, so use them only for files over the limit or documents spread across several files.
- For the pages of one document saved as separate PDFs or scans, use merge PDFs under 4,800 KB. If the joined file fits, its pages stay as they were; if not, every page becomes an image and text can no longer be selected.
- For phone photos of paper documents, use images to PDF under 4,800 KB. Its "Two per page, stacked" option puts the front and back of a card on one page. iPhone HEIC photos are not on the list, so convert them with HEIC to JPG first.
- For one PDF over 5 MB, use compress PDF to 4,800 KB. It redraws each page as an image at about 108 dpi or lower, and it tells you if the original already fits.
- Open the finished file, read every page at normal zoom, and check it is the right document for the right applicant. There is no undo after Attach.
Encrypted PDFs
ImmiAccount refuses encrypted PDFs, and our PDF tools can neither open them nor remove passwords. Save a copy without protection in your PDF reader and attach it once it opens with no password.
Questions
Can I attach HEIC or WebP images?
Neither is on the list. HEIC to JPG gives you jpg files, and images to PDF accepts WebP and gives you a pdf.
I attached the wrong file. What now?
It stays on the application. You can still attach the right one until the application is finalised, even in a category marked Received. We would also say in the optional description which file is the corrected one; Home Affairs does not ask for this.
Are my documents sent to Deftfile?
No. The tools fetch open-source libraries from cdnjs and work on your device, and your documents are not sent anywhere (see our privacy page). Home Affairs has not reviewed or approved Deftfile.
Limits of this guide
This page covers visa upload rules as written on November 1, 2026, not which documents you need. The 30 to 60 file range comes from pages last changed in 2024 and 2015. If your attach screen shows a different limit, follow it.