Who Can Sponsor a Child for the Subclass 102 Adoption Visa in 2026?
Explains who may act as sponsor for a Subclass 102 Adoption visa in 2026, what the sponsor promises, and when the sponsorship fails.
A Subclass 102 Adoption visa can only be granted if the child is sponsored, and the sponsor must be an Australian citizen, the holder of an Australian permanent visa, or an eligible New Zealand citizen who is the child's adoptive or prospective adoptive parent. The child must be under 18 at the time of the adoption, when the application is lodged, and when the decision is made, and the sponsorship itself must be approved and still in force at the moment the visa is granted. This reflects the Adoption visa (Subclass 102) page published by the Australian Department of Home Affairs, as at August 2026, read together with Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994. This article explains the rules generally and is not advice on any individual situation; sponsorship outcomes depend on your own circumstances and on the Department's requirements as currently published.
Who counts as an eligible sponsor?
The sponsor is the adoptive parent, or the prospective adoptive parent where the adoption is not yet finalised. The eligibility test is about the sponsor's own status: Australian citizen, holder of an Australian permanent visa, or eligible New Zealand citizen. Clause 102.212 of the Migration Regulations 1994 frames the requirement the same way, and the Department's Procedures Advice Manual describes an eligible New Zealand citizen in this context as a Special Category visa holder protected under the Social Security Act 1991.
For a couple, the requirement can be met through either party: where two people are adopting as spouses or de facto partners, it is sufficient that one of them holds one of these statuses. A person who holds only a temporary visa, or whose permanent visa has expired without a replacement, does not meet the test in their own right.
Does the sponsorship have to stay valid right up to the decision?
Yes, and this is where sponsorships most often come undone. The Department must approve the sponsorship before the visa can be granted, and the sponsorship must still be operative at the time of that grant rather than only at lodgement. Under clause 102.212 and the time-of-decision criteria, an approved sponsorship that later lapses cannot support a grant.
Three situations commonly put the sponsorship at risk during processing:
- the sponsor withdraws the sponsorship;
- the sponsor loses the qualifying status that made them eligible, for example their permanent resident status expiring without being renewed;
- the sponsor dies.
Where a sponsor is actively taking steps to restore their status, the processing of the sponsorship can await that outcome. The practical implication for anyone whose permanent visa is close to expiry is that renewing their own residence status belongs on the critical path of the child's application, not alongside it.
What does signing Form 40CH actually commit you to?
Sponsorship is made on Form 40CH (Sponsorship for a child to migrate to Australia), which is lodged together with Form 47CH (Application for migration to Australia by a child). There is no online lodgement route for this visa: both forms are paper lodgements, must be completed in English, and go to the Child and Other Family Processing Centre in Perth, either by post to Locked Bag 7, Northbridge WA 6865, or by courier to 836 Wellington Street, West Perth WA 6005. The application charge must be paid before the application is posted, and evidence of payment goes in the envelope. Original documents should not be sent — certified copies only.
Departmental guidance describes the Form 40CH undertaking as a commitment to provide necessary assistance with accommodation and financial support for two years after the child first enters Australia. The exact scope of the undertaking is set out in the wording of the current Form 40CH and should be read before signing.
Can a criminal record end the sponsorship?
This is the part of the test that reaches beyond the sponsor alone. Under the child protection measures applied to family-stream sponsorships, a pending charge for a registrable offence involving the sponsor, or involving their spouse or de facto partner if they have one, means the sponsorship and the visa application will be refused. A conviction for a registrable offence means the sponsorship can be approved only in very limited circumstances.
Two features are worth separating. The first is that "pending" and "convicted" are treated differently: an unresolved charge on its own is fatal to the sponsorship, while a conviction opens a narrow discretion rather than a routine pathway. The second is that the spouse or de facto partner of the sponsor is within scope even where they are not the adopting parent, so the assessment is not confined to the person whose name appears as sponsor on Form 40CH.
How does the adoption pathway change the sponsorship question?
The sponsor's identity is constant across pathways, but the evidence around them is not. The same profile of Australian citizen, permanent visa holder or eligible New Zealand citizen applies whether the adoption was arranged through an Australian state or territory central authority, completed under the Hague Adoption Convention between two other countries, or made as an expatriate adoption with no Australian authority involved.
Expatriate adoptions carry additional conditions that fall on the adoptive parent rather than on the child. The adoption must have been made by an Australian citizen, eligible New Zealand citizen or holder of an Australian permanent visa, and at least one adoptive parent must have resided outside Australia for more than 12 months immediately before the application was lodged. That parent must not have arranged to live overseas in order to avoid Australia's intercountry adoption laws, must hold full and permanent parental rights with no remaining legal ties between the child and the birth parents, and the adoption must comply with the adoption laws of the child's home country.
Australian Government agencies have no role in an overseas expatriate adoption and do not issue letters of support or certificates of no objection for it. Where an adoption has been completed overseas under that country's law, that legal validity does not by itself satisfy the Subclass 102 requirements.
When might an Assurance of Support be required separately?
An Assurance of Support is a distinct instrument from the sponsorship undertaking, and whether one is required is a matter of discretion rather than a standard step. Departmental guidance indicates that adoptions arranged through an Australian state or territory central authority are not usually asked for an Assurance of Support, consistent with the suitability assessment those authorities already perform, while expatriate adoptions may attract closer financial scrutiny.
Where the child visa stream gives the Minister a discretion to require an Assurance of Support, it must have been accepted before the visa can be granted. Nothing about this changes the sponsor's eligibility test; it operates on the finances available to the household.
What else has to hold true at the time of decision?
Sponsorship sits inside a wider set of requirements, several of which are assessed again at the decision stage. The child must meet the health requirement, and children aged 16 or over must meet the character requirement. The best interests of the child are a separate consideration: the visa may not be granted if granting it would not be in the best interests of an applicant under 18. Any debt owed to the Australian Government by the child or a member of the child's family must be repaid or be subject to a formal repayment arrangement. Providing false or misleading information carries its own consequences under the public interest criteria.
After lodgement, changes in the sponsor's circumstances — including changes to marital or de facto status, address, or passport details — need to be notified, and those changes can bear directly on whether the sponsorship remains effective.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a permanent resident sponsor an adopted child for Subclass 102?
Yes. The holder of an Australian permanent visa is explicitly within the eligible group, alongside Australian citizens and eligible New Zealand citizens. The practical risk for permanent residents is timing: their own residence status has to be maintained so that the sponsorship is still held by an eligible person when the visa decision is made.
Can two people sponsor the same child?
The undertaking can be given by both members of a couple adopting together, but eligibility does not require it. Where adoptive parents are spouses or de facto partners, the status requirement is met if one of them is an Australian citizen, permanent visa holder or eligible New Zealand citizen.
What happens if the sponsor withdraws before the decision?
A withdrawn sponsorship cannot support a grant. Because the sponsorship must be approved and still in force at the time the visa is granted, withdrawal during processing removes the foundation of the application, and the visa application cannot succeed on its own.
Does my partner's criminal record affect my sponsorship?
It can. The registrable offence assessment covers the sponsor and their spouse or de facto partner. A pending charge against either person means the sponsorship and visa application will be refused, and a conviction against either means the sponsorship can be approved only in very limited circumstances.
Is an Assurance of Support always required for Subclass 102?
No. Whether one is required is discretionary, and it is a separate mechanism from the Form 40CH sponsorship undertaking. Adoptions arranged through an Australian state or territory central authority are generally not asked for one, while expatriate adoptions may face closer financial review.
Does the two-year undertaking make me legally responsible for the child's costs?
The Form 40CH undertaking is a commitment to provide necessary assistance with accommodation and financial support for two years after the child's first entry, according to departmental guidance. Its precise scope is set out in the wording of the current form and should be read before signing.