How to Apply for a Contributory Parent Visa (subclass 143/173)

Overview

The Contributory Parent visa lets Australian citizens, permanent residents, and eligible New Zealand citizens sponsor their parents to live in Australia permanently. There are two subclasses:

Subclass 143 — Permanent visa. Live in Australia indefinitely from the day it is granted.
Subclass 173 — Temporary visa (5 years). A stepping stone to the 143. Lets parents live in Australia while waiting to finalise their permanent residency.

The "contributory" part refers to a large second-instalment fee (the contribution charge) that applicants pay. This is what separates it from the non-contributory Parent visa (subclass 103), which is essentially free but has a wait time of 30+ years.

Current processing times (as of 2025):

Subclass 143: approximately 10 to 12 years from lodgement to grant
Subclass 173: approximately 5 to 7 years from lodgement to grant

Both visas are queue-based. The Department processes applications in date-of-lodgement order, and the queue grows each year because far more applications are lodged than are processed.

Eligibility

Who can apply?

The applicant (the parent) must:

Be the parent of an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen
Pass the balance of family test
Meet health requirements
Meet character requirements
Have an approved sponsor
Have an Assurance of Support (AOS) in place before the visa is granted

Balance of Family Test

This is the most important eligibility hurdle. The parent passes the test if at least half of their children are Australian citizens, permanent residents, or eligible New Zealand citizens usually resident in Australia — OR if more of their children live in Australia than in any other single country.

Note: the Department will not waive this test under any circumstances, including compelling or compassionate ones.

Example: A parent has three children. Two live in Australia (citizens or PRs), one lives in China. The parent passes because more than half of their children are in Australia.

Example: A parent has four children. One lives in Australia, two live in China, one lives in the USA. The parent fails — more children live in China (2) than in Australia (1).

Sponsor Requirements

The sponsor (the child in Australia) must:

Be an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen
Be at least 18 years old
Have been ordinarily resident in Australia for at least 2 years
Be the applicant's child, or the guardian/relative of the applicant's minor child

The sponsor is not required to also be the assurer for the AOS — these can be different people.

Two-Stage Application Process

The 143 and 173 both use a two-stage process. Stage 1 is lodgement; Stage 2 is finalisation before the visa is granted.

Stage 1 — Lodge the Application

Complete Form 47PA (Application for a Parent visa)
Complete Form 40 (Sponsorship for a Parent to Migrate to Australia) — the sponsor fills this in
Pay the Stage 1 visa application charge
Lodge the application with supporting documents

Important: The initial application for subclass 143 and 173 must be lodged by paper (post), not online. You will receive a File Number (FN) and receipt once the first charge is processed.

After lodgement you simply wait. The queue is long.

Stage 2 — Before Grant

When the Department is ready to finalise your application (years later), you will be contacted and asked to:

Complete any outstanding documents (see below)
Arrange and complete the Assurance of Support (AOS)
Complete a medical examination
Provide a police clearance certificate
Pay the Stage 2 contribution charge (the large second payment)

Once all Stage 2 requirements are met and the contribution charge is paid, the visa is granted.

Costs

The costs below are approximate 2025 figures. Fees are indexed and increase each year, usually on 1 July. Always check the official visa pricing estimator for the current amounts before lodging.

Subclass 143 (Permanent)

Applicant	Stage 1	Stage 2 (Contribution Charge)
Primary applicant	~$4,765	~$35,510
Secondary applicant (18 or over)	~$2,385	~$17,755
Secondary applicant (under 18)	~$1,195	~$8,880

Total per primary applicant: approximately $40,000+

For a couple (two primary applicants), the combined cost is well over $80,000.

Subclass 173 (Temporary)

Applicant	Stage 1	Stage 2 (to convert to 143)
Primary applicant	~$4,045	~$31,465
Secondary applicant (18 or over)	~$2,020	~$15,730

173 holders pay a lower Stage 1 charge, then pay a top-up contribution charge when they apply to convert to a 143.

Assurance of Support (AOS) bond

In addition to visa fees, the assurer must lodge a bank guarantee (bond) with Services Australia (Centrelink):

$10,000 for one applicant (10-year bond)
$14,000 for two applicants (10-year bond)

This bond is held for 10 years from the date the visa is granted. It is refunded at the end of the period if the visa holder has not accessed certain welfare payments. The bond is lodged at Commonwealth Bank — see the AOS guide for the full process.

Documents Required

Applicant documents

Valid passport (must be valid at time of application and grant)
Identity documents — one of: birth certificate (showing both parents' names), government-issued ID, family household register (hukou), or court-issued identity document
Passport photo (45mm x 35mm), name written on reverse
Chinese national ID card
Name change evidence (if applicable)

Family relationship documents

Birth certificates of all children (for balance of family test)
Proof of Australian residency status for children in Australia — citizenship certificate or VEVO check
Marriage certificate or proof of de facto relationship
Divorce or separation documents (if applicable)
Death certificate of former spouse (if applicable)
If a child is excluded from the balance of family test, provide the reason (e.g., death certificate)

Sponsor documents (Form 40)

Birth certificate proving the sponsor is the applicant's child
Proof of Australian residency for at least 2 years (utility bills, tax assessment notices, etc.)
If the sponsor is not the applicant's child: relationship proof and 2-year residency evidence

Forms

Form 47PA — main application form (applicant fills in)
Form 40 — sponsorship form (sponsor fills in)
Form 956 — appoint an agent or representative (if using a migration agent)
Form 956a — authorise someone to communicate with the Department on your behalf
Form 80 — personal particulars (usually requested by the case officer, not required at lodgement)
Form 815 — if a health issue is identified during the medical examination

All documents not in English must be translated by a NAATI-certified translator. Do not send originals — send certified copies only.

The AOS Process

The Assurance of Support is the single most time-consuming part of the 143 process. It is handled by Services Australia (Centrelink), not the Department of Home Affairs, and the Centrelink AOS team is notoriously slow.

Key points:

You cannot start the AOS until you receive an AOS invitation letter from the Department
The AOS is processed by Centrelink and typically takes 6 to 12 months (sometimes longer)
The AOS bond ($10,000 or $14,000) must be lodged at a Commonwealth Bank branch
The bond is held for 10 years from grant date

For detailed step-by-step instructions, refer to the AOS guide.

After Lodgement: What to Expect

1. File Number and receipt (weeks after lodgement)

After your Stage 1 payment is processed, you receive a File Number (FN). Keep this — it is how you reference your case with the Department.

2. Preliminary document request (optional, before formal assessment)

Some applicants receive a preliminary request for documents before their application reaches a case officer. This is the Department getting your file in order. Common requests at this stage:

AOS invitation letter (start the AOS process immediately — it takes a long time)
Medical examination

3. Formal request for documents (once assessment begins)

When a case officer picks up your file, they will send a formal request. This is likely to include:

AOS (if not already completed or still in progress)
Form 80 (personal particulars — fill this in fresh, even if you submitted one earlier)
Police clearance certificate (from each country you have lived in for 12+ months in the past 10 years)
Updated medical results (if your earlier results have expired)
Form 815 (if a health condition was flagged)

4. Stage 2 contribution charge payment

Once all documents are in order, the Department issues a request to pay the Stage 2 contribution charge. This is the large second payment. After this is paid and confirmed, the visa is granted.

Payment options for Stage 2: Credit card via ImmiAccount, or bank cheque posted to the Department.

Subclass 173 vs 143 — Which Should You Choose?

	Subclass 173	Subclass 143
Type	Temporary (5 years)	Permanent
Stage 1 cost	Lower (~$4,045)	Higher (~$4,765)
Processing time	Faster (~5–7 years)	Longer (~10–12 years)
Stage 2	Must convert to 143 (top-up fee)	Paid at grant
Total cost	Similar to 143 once converted	Slightly lower overall

Practical advice: If your parents are relatively young and healthy, lodging a 143 directly gets you the permanent visa sooner in absolute terms (because you start the queue earlier). If your parents are older and you want them in Australia sooner, 173 lets them arrive and live here as temporary residents while the 143 application is still in the queue — but note that 173 holders have limited access to Medicare and government services.

Tips and Pitfalls

Start the AOS the moment you receive the invitation. The AOS process at Centrelink can take a year or more. Any delay on your end just adds to the already long wait.

Prepare documents for both parents even if only one is applying. The Department usually requires the other parent's relationship documents regardless.

Do not apply for only one parent with the plan to use a partner visa for the second. The combined timeline is brutal: 10+ years for the 143, then 5 more years of residency before applying for a partner visa, plus 4 years for the partner visa to process. That is a theoretical 19+ year timeline — and in practice it is worse.

Submit Form 80 fresh when requested. Do not just resubmit the one you lodged at the start. The case officer wants current information, and an outdated form can slow processing.

Do not send original documents. Send certified copies only. Original documents can be lost in the post and cannot be replaced easily.

Health checks expire. Medical examination results are typically valid for 12 months. If your application is still being assessed when the results expire, you will need to redo the medical.

Police clearances also expire. China's police clearance is typically valid for 6 to 12 months. Wait until the Department formally requests it before obtaining one.

Keep the Department updated on address changes. If you move house — especially if you move back to China — update your contact details via ImmiAccount or through your migration agent.

Summary

The Contributory Parent visa is expensive and slow, but it is the only realistic pathway to bring parents to Australia permanently within a reasonable timeframe (relative to the non-contributory 103, which has a 30-year queue).

Key facts to remember:

143: permanent, ~10–12 year wait, total cost ~$40,000+ per person
173: temporary, ~5–7 year wait, must convert to 143 later
The AOS is the most time-consuming step — start it the moment you receive the invitation
Pass the balance of family test before you lodge, or you will waste the Stage 1 fee
All non-English documents must be NAATI-certified translated

Check the AOS guide and the 143 glossary for supporting information.

*[AOS]: Assurance of Support *[FN]: File Number *[CO]: Case Officer *[VAC]: Visa Application Charge *[PR]: Permanent Resident