Sponsor Obligations for Australia Parent Visa 884 in 2026

Updated 2026-10-09 · General information, not migration advice · Run by the Arrivau team

For the Contributory Aged Parent (Temporary) visa (Subclass 884), you must have an eligible sponsor, and the most common sponsor is your own eligible child. If that child is under 18, an eligible relative or a community organisation can sponsor you instead, and the Department of Home Affairs must approve the sponsorship before the visa can be granted. This follows the Australian Department of Home Affairs official page for the Contributory Aged Parent (Temporary) visa (Subclass 884), as of August 2026 official pages, together with Schedule 2 of the Migration Regulations 1994. This article is general information only and is not personalised advice, so confirm your own situation against the Department's current published requirements or with a registered professional.

Who can sponsor a Subclass 884 applicant in 2026?

Start with your child. The official page states that an eligible child will usually sponsor you, and that an eligible relative or community organisation can sponsor you if your child is under 18. The sponsor then has to be approved.

The regulations go further on who counts as a sponsor. Where your child is 18 or over, the sponsor can be that child, or your child's spouse or de facto partner, provided that person is at least 18 and is a settled Australian citizen, a settled Australian permanent resident or a settled eligible New Zealand citizen.

Where your child is under 18, the regulations allow a wider set of substitutes. Any of the following may sponsor you, as long as the person is at least 18 and settled in one of those same capacities:

your child's spouse or de facto partner
a relative or guardian of your child
a relative or guardian of your child's spouse or de facto partner

A community organisation may also sponsor you.

The word "settled" does the heavy lifting here. It is not the same as simply holding citizenship or permanent status, and the regulations do not spell out a single test on the face of the criteria, so expect the Department to look at the sponsor's actual connection to Australia rather than the label on their status document.

What does the sponsor actually sign?

Your sponsor must complete Form 40 Sponsorship for migration to Australia. That is listed as a required sponsor document under Step 2 of the official page, and repeated at the application step: you complete Form 47PA Application for a parent to migrate to Australia, and your sponsor completes Form 40.

Treat Form 40 as the sponsor's own statement, not a formality you fill in on their behalf. It is where the sponsor's identity, status and relationship to you are put forward, and it is what the Department assesses when it decides whether to approve the sponsorship.

Every member of your family aged 18 or over must also complete Form 47A Details of child or other dependent family member aged 18 years or over, even if they are not migrating. All forms must be completed in English.

Is signing Form 40 the same as having the sponsorship approved?

No. They are two separate things, and both are required. The official eligibility criteria list "We must approve the sponsorship" as its own condition, so a signed Form 40 is the application for approval rather than the approval itself.

Schedule 2 of the Migration Regulations 1994 puts the approval requirement at the time of decision (clause 884.222), which means the sponsorship must be in place and approved when the visa is decided, not just when you lodge. The regulations also provide for the sponsor to be changed.

Does the sponsorship have to cover my partner or dependent children?

Yes. Under clause 884.312 of the regulations, the sponsorship must cover secondary applicants as well. In practice, that means your sponsor should not be signing only for you — the people applying with you need to be inside the same sponsorship.

This matters when your household changes during processing. The Department asks you to notify changes to your relationship status and family composition, including the birth of a child, and you can ask to add family members before a decision using Form 1436 Adding an additional applicant after lodgement. Any family member added after you apply must be in Australia at the time you add them.

What else must the sponsoring child satisfy beyond being willing?

A sponsor is not enough on its own. The applicant must also be the aged parent of a settled Australian citizen, settled Australian permanent resident or settled eligible New Zealand citizen, and must meet the balance of family test.

You meet the balance of family test if at least half of your children and step-children are eligible children, or if there are more eligible children living in Australia than in any other single country. To evidence it, you give documents showing how you are related to each child, each child's Australian citizenship or country of permanent residence, and — where a child should be excluded from the test — evidence such as a death certificate.

Two other eligibility points sit alongside sponsorship. You must already be old enough to receive the age pension in Australia, and you cannot apply for Subclass 884 if you have already applied for or hold a Sponsored Parent (Temporary) (subclass 870) visa.

How does sponsorship fit into lodging the application?

Online lodgement is not available for temporary Contributory Aged Parent visa applicants. The application is made on paper, and you must be in Australia but not in immigration clearance when you submit it.

The order runs like this:

Confirm your passports are valid for you and anyone applying with you.
Ask your sponsor to complete Form 40.
Complete Form 47PA.
Have each family member aged 18 or over complete Form 47A.
Pay the first instalment when you apply.
Post or courier everything, with certified copies only, to the address on the form.

Do not send original documents, except police certificates. Keep a copy of the whole application for your own records. If any step is incomplete, the Department may treat the application as invalid and will not process it. A second instalment is also required before the visa can be granted; the Department sends an invoice when it is due, and not paying it means the application will be refused.

What happens if the sponsor's circumstances change?

Tell the Department. Applicants are asked to notify changes to phone number, email, address, passport, relationship status and family composition, and this applies equally where the change is on the sponsor's side.

If a mistake appears on the application, correct it using Form 1023 Notification of incorrect answers. If the sponsorship itself can no longer stand, the regulations allow the sponsor to be changed, so the practical response is to put a new eligible sponsor forward rather than to leave the application unsupported.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can my child's spouse or partner sponsor me instead of my child?

Yes, where your child is 18 or over. The Migration Regulations 1994 allow your child's spouse or de facto partner to sponsor you, provided that person is at least 18 and a settled Australian citizen, settled Australian permanent resident or settled eligible New Zealand citizen.

Can a community organisation sponsor a Subclass 884 applicant?

Yes. The Department's official page states that an eligible relative or community organisation can sponsor you if your child is under 18. The regulations list a community organisation among the possible sponsors where the child is a minor, alongside the child's spouse, relatives and guardians.

Does the sponsor have to be an Australian citizen?

No, not exclusively. The regulations refer to settled Australian citizens, settled Australian permanent residents and settled eligible New Zealand citizens, so permanent residents and eligible New Zealand citizens can fall within the rule if they are settled.

Is a signed Form 40 enough on its own?

No. Form 40 is the sponsorship form your sponsor must complete, but the Department must also approve the sponsorship as a separate criterion, and that approval is a condition at the time of decision.

Does the sponsorship need to include my partner or children?

Yes. Clause 884.312 of the regulations requires the sponsorship to cover secondary applicants, so the people applying with you need to be included in the sponsorship rather than added later by assumption.

Do I still need the balance of family test if I have a sponsor?

Yes. Having a sponsor and meeting the balance of family test are separate criteria on the official page, and you must satisfy both. That means at least half of your children and step-children are eligible children, or more eligible children live in Australia than in any other single country.