Family stream basics: who can sponsor a parent to Australia (subclass 143) in 2026?
To sponsor a parent for the Contributory Parent visa (subclass 143), you normally have to be their child, be at least 18, and be a settled Australian citizen, a settled Australian permanent resident, or a settled eligible New Zealand citizen — and the Department of Home Affairs still has to approve the sponsorship itself. That answer comes from the Australian Department of Home Affairs official page for the Contributory Parent visa (subclass 143), read as of the July 2026 official pages, together with Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994. This article is general information only and is not personalised advice about your own case, so anything that turns on your family's exact history should be checked against the current official pages or with a qualified professional.
Who is actually allowed to be the sponsor?
The sponsorship requirement is not a formality — it is a separate legal criterion that the department assesses on its own. On the eligibility page, the rule is stated simply: you must have an eligible sponsor, and the department must approve that sponsorship.
In practice, the sponsor is the child whose Australian status makes the parent eligible in the first place. Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994 sets out who that can be. Where the child is 18 or over, the sponsor can be that child, or the child's spouse or de facto partner, provided that person is also 18 or over and settled. Where the child is under 18, the department's page says an eligible relative or a community organisation can sponsor instead, and the Regulations describe the same group as the child's partner, a relative or guardian of the child, or a community organisation.
So the question is never just "does my parent love me and want to live near me". It is whether the person standing behind the application fits one of the categories the law recognises, and whether the department approves them.
What makes a child an "eligible child"?
The child does not simply need to live in Australia. The department's overview describes an eligible child as one who is a settled Australian citizen, a settled Australian permanent resident, or a settled eligible New Zealand citizen.
"Settled" is doing real work in that sentence. A child who has only just arrived, or whose own visa is temporary or unresolved, may not satisfy the criterion even though they are physically in Australia. The Regulations frame the same point through clause 143.211: the applicant must be the parent of a person who is a settled Australian citizen, a settled Australian permanent resident, or a settled eligible New Zealand citizen.
There is a narrow exception worth knowing about. Under clause 143.211(1)(b), if the applicant holds a Contributory Parent (Temporary) (subclass 173) visa or a substituted Visitor (subclass 600) visa and the child has since died, it is enough that the child once met that test.
What if the sponsoring child is under 18?
Age changes who can stand in. A minor cannot carry the sponsorship themselves, so the law routes it to someone else — an eligible relative, a guardian, or a community organisation, depending on which reading of the requirements applies to the family. The department's eligibility page names the eligible relative and community organisation routes directly.
This is also the situation where families most often assume the rules work differently than they do. Being under 18 does not make the parent ineligible; it changes who signs, and that substitute sponsor still has to be approved.
Does the sponsor have to pay for everything?
No, and this is one of the most commonly misunderstood parts of the subclass 143 structure.
The visa has two distinct financial elements. The first is the visa application charge, paid in two instalments — the first when you apply, the second when the department asks for it. The department's page states the visa costs from AUD49,900 for a single applicant, with additional charges for each family member who applies with you, and notes that costs may be lower for Contributory Parent (Temporary) (subclass 173) holders and holders of a substituted Visitor (subclass 600) visa.
The second is the Assurance of Support, which is a different thing entirely. It is a guarantee to the Australian Government that the parent will not need to rely on government assistance during the Assurance of Support period, and it covers the applicant and any family members coming to Australia on the visa. Crucially, the department states that the sponsor or a family member does not need to provide it: an individual, more than one person, or an organisation can. The department tells you when it is needed.
Who still has to pass the balance of family test?
Sponsorship and the balance of family test are separate hurdles, and passing one does not pass the other.
The test is met 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. Note that step-children count in that calculation even where they are not the people linking you to Australia.
There are two important exemptions. If you hold a Contributory Parent (Temporary) (subclass 173) visa, you have already met the test and do not need to meet it again provided you apply for the subclass 143 before the temporary visa ceases. And if you apply as a retiree under the Retirement visa pathway, you do not need to meet it at all.
When does the sponsorship requirement disappear?
Only in the retiree pathway. Under that pathway, the department's page requires that on 8 May 2018 you held, or had previously held, an Investor Retirement (subclass 405) visa or a Retirement (subclass 410) visa, that you have not held any other substantive visa between that date and the date you applied, and that you are in Australia.
If you qualify, three things fall away at once: the balance of family test, the Assurance of Support, and the sponsor. In exchange, you take on a different obligation — you are personally liable for your healthcare costs in Australia while the visa is processed, and you must maintain adequate health insurance until the visa is granted, covering medically necessary treatment including transport.
Holding a subclass 173 visa does not remove the sponsorship requirement. What it does is preserve your earlier balance of family test result and let you apply through the two-stage permanent pathway.
What happens if the sponsor dies?
The law anticipates this, but narrowly. If you hold a Temporary Contributory Parent (subclass 173) visa, the department's page says you might still be eligible if your sponsor dies. Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994 gives the mechanism: where the applicant holds a subclass 173 visa and the original sponsor has died and no other eligible sponsor is available, the applicant is taken to have been sponsored as required.
If the child through whom eligibility was established has died, clause 143.211(1)(b) allows the test to be met on the basis that the child once qualified, provided the applicant holds a subclass 173 or substituted subclass 600 visa.
What else does the whole family have to clear?
Sponsorship sits inside a longer list, and any one of these can stop an application:
- You cannot apply if you have already applied for, or hold, a Sponsored Parent (Temporary) (subclass 870) visa.
- You and any family members applying with you must meet the health requirement and the character requirement; non-migrating family members may also be asked to meet them.
- Any debt owed to the Australian Government must be repaid, or be subject to an approved repayment arrangement.
- Your immigration history is considered, and a visa may be refused if you have previously had a visa cancelled or an application refused.
- If you are 18 or over, you must have read, or had explained to you, the Life in Australia booklet and sign the Australian Values Statement.
- The visa will not be granted if doing so would not be in the best interests of an applicant under 18.
Family members can be included in the application, and you must list all of them even if they are not migrating. If you apply as a retiree, you can include your partner if they also hold a Retirement or Investor Retirement visa, but you cannot include your children.
Where subclass 143 sits in the family stream
Parent visas are capped and queued. The department's page states plainly that demand is greater than the number of places available each year, so processing times are long, applications are released from the queue in the order received, and assessment happens in two stages: an initial eligibility check that either queues or refuses the application, then a final assessment as places become available.
Applicants and any family members can be in or outside Australia when applying, as long as they are not in immigration clearance. The exception is the retiree pathway, which requires the applicant to be in Australia at the time of application.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can my spouse or partner sponsor my parent instead of me?
Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994 allows the child's spouse or de facto partner to act as sponsor where the child is 18 or over, provided that person is themselves 18 or over and settled. The department still has to approve the sponsorship. The department's eligibility page describes the general position as an eligible child sponsoring the parent.
Can I apply for subclass 143 if I already hold or applied for a subclass 870 visa?
No. The department's eligibility page states that you cannot apply for this visa if you have already applied for, or hold, a Sponsored Parent (Temporary) (subclass 870) visa. That is an absolute bar on the criteria page, not a matter of weighing.
Does the Assurance of Support have to come from the sponsor?
No. The department states that the sponsor or a family member does not need to provide it, and that an individual, more than one person, or an organisation can. The Assurance of Support is a guarantee that the applicant will not rely on government assistance during the Assurance of Support period, and the department will tell you when it must be provided.
Do I need a sponsor if I apply as a retiree?
No. Under the Retirement visa pathway, the department's page says you do not need a sponsor, do not need an Assurance of Support, and do not need to meet the balance of family test. You do, however, need to hold adequate health insurance until the visa is granted, because you are personally liable for your healthcare costs during processing.
Can I include my partner or children in a subclass 143 application?
Family members can generally be included, and everyone listed must be declared even if they are not migrating, with health and character requirements extending to migrating family members and potentially to non-migrating ones. If you apply as a retiree, you can include your partner only if they are also a Retirement or Investor Retirement visa holder, and you cannot include your children.
What happens to my application if my sponsor dies while I hold a subclass 173 visa?
The department's page says you might still be eligible, and Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994 provides that where a subclass 173 holder's sponsor has died and no other eligible sponsor is available, the sponsorship requirement is taken to be satisfied. This relief is tied to holding the temporary visa, so it does not automatically extend to a direct subclass 143 application.