How do you prove 3 years of dependency for Subclass 114 in 2026?

To prove three years of dependency for the Aged Dependent Relative visa (Subclass 114), you must show that for at least the three years immediately before you apply you relied on your Australian relative for basic needs—food, shelter and clothing—and you support that claim with records such as bank statements, money transfers and rent receipts, together with evidence of how long the support has been provided. According to the Australian Department of Home Affairs’ Aged Dependent Relative visa (Subclass 114) official page (as of August 2026), this three-year dependency on basic needs is a core eligibility requirement, and the same page names bank statements, money transfers and rent receipts as the kinds of evidence you can provide. This article is general information only and does not constitute personalised migration or legal advice; because individual circumstances differ, check your position against the latest official material or consult a registered migration professional.

What does “dependent on a relative for basic needs” actually mean?

The criteria are set out in the Migration Regulations 1994, but the official visa page states the requirement in plain terms: you must have been dependent on your relative in Australia for basic needs like food, shelter and clothing for at least three years before you apply for the visa. The dependency does not have to be the only support you ever received, but it must be for those basic needs, and the period is measured backwards from the date you apply—not from the date the visa is decided or granted. The same page notes that you could be dependent on your relative due to a disability that prevents you from working.

Separately, you must have no partner, be old enough to receive the Age Pension in Australia, be sponsored by an eligible relative or their partner, and meet assurance of support, health and character requirements; the dependency evidence is one part of that wider picture, but it is the part most applicants find hardest to document.

Which documents does the Department say you can use as dependency evidence?

The step-by-step document guide on the official page asks you to provide evidence that you are dependent on your relative for basic needs such as food, shelter and clothing, and of how long this support has been provided. It then gives three examples: bank statements, money transfers and rent receipts. Those three categories are the backbone of most dependency claims, because they can show both that money moved from the sponsor to (or for) the applicant and when it moved.

They are examples rather than a closed list, so the real task is to use them to cover food, shelter and clothing across the whole three-year window, rather than to treat any single document as a substitute for the full picture.

How do you build a three-year evidence plan?

The most reliable approach is to work backwards from your intended application date and treat the 36 months before it as the period you have to cover. Start by marking that window on a calendar, then map the support you can prove inside it.

Basic need or element	Evidence the Department names	What the records should show
Food	Bank statements, money transfers	Regular payments from the sponsor that correspond to the applicant’s food and daily living costs
Shelter	Rent receipts, bank statements	The sponsor pays, or substantially pays, for the housing the applicant lives in
Clothing	Bank statements, money transfers	Ongoing financial support that covers clothing as a basic need
Length of support (at least 3 years)	All of the above, dated across the full period	The support was continuous across the three years before the application

How far back does the three-year window reach?

The three years is counted before you apply, so the safest method is to take the date you plan to lodge the paper application and count back three calendar years from that date. Any month inside that window where you cannot show support is a gap a decision maker may question, so the aim is continuous coverage rather than a few large transfers near the end.

How do you cover food, shelter and clothing in practice?

Food and clothing are usually proved through the same flow of money transfers or bank statements that show the sponsor sending regular amounts for living costs. Shelter is the category where rent receipts matter most: if the applicant rents, dated rent receipts paired with evidence the sponsor paid the rent address shelter directly. If the housing arrangement is different, the bank records still need to show the sponsor carrying the housing cost, because the test is about who meets the basic need rather than about a particular document type.

How do you show the support continued for the whole period?

Continuity is shown by the dates. Statements and transfer records should be spread across the full 36 months, not clustered in the final year. Where a regular pattern exists—such as a monthly transfer for living costs—keep the full sequence rather than a sample, and keep the rent or housing payments on the same timeline. A short written schedule that lists the documents by date and category can help a decision maker see that the three-year requirement is met.

How do you show the dependency is substantive, not occasional help?

The official page does not set a dollar threshold or a formula; it asks whether the applicant was dependent for basic needs. In practice, this means the sponsor’s support should look like the ordinary, ongoing funding of the applicant’s food, shelter and clothing, rather than isolated gifts or one-off assistance.

Department policy guidelines (PAM3) are generally understood to require dependency that is substantive and continuing, and to treat an applicant’s own independent income as capable of breaking the dependency if it is enough to maintain them; because policy detail can be updated, rely on the official visa page for the requirement itself and check the latest official guidance before you finalise your evidence. If the applicant has any income, the next section explains how to present it.

What if the applicant has their own income, such as a pension?

Having a small pension or other income does not by itself decide the question, but it does have to be addressed. The correct approach is to disclose the income and show, with the same kind of dated records, that it is not enough to cover basic needs, so that the sponsor’s support remains the source on which the applicant depends for food, shelter and clothing.

If the applicant’s own income is in fact sufficient to maintain them, the dependency requirement will not be met, which is why the comparison between income and basic living costs is the point to document rather than to leave implicit.

How should the dependency evidence be packaged for a paper application?

Subclass 114 is applied for on paper using Form 47OF (Application for migration to Australia by other family members), completed in English, and the sponsor completes Form 40 (Sponsorship for migration to Australia). You must be outside Australia when you apply, and the official guide is explicit that you should not send original documents with your application: send certified copies only, and keep a copy of the completed application and supporting documents for your own records.

Because the application is paper-based, the dependency records should be organised and certified before lodgement. After you receive your acknowledgement letter, you can import the application into ImmiAccount to manage further documents online.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a small pension stop the applicant from being dependent?

A small pension does not automatically end dependency, but it must be disclosed and shown to be insufficient for basic needs. The decision turns on whether the sponsor’s support is what actually meets the applicant’s food, shelter and clothing. If the pension alone can maintain the applicant, the dependency requirement is unlikely to be met.

Do bank transfers on their own prove three years of dependency?

Bank transfers are one of the examples the official page names, and they are strong evidence of support, but they work best when they are regular and dated across the whole three-year window. On their own they may not explain what the money was for, so they are usually combined with rent receipts or a schedule showing the payments covered basic needs. The key is continuity rather than a single large transfer.

Can rent receipts be used if the applicant does not rent?

Rent receipts are named in the official guide because renting is a common shelter arrangement, but the underlying question is who pays for the applicant’s housing. If the housing cost takes another form, the bank statements and money transfers still need to show the sponsor meeting that cost, supported by whatever housing records exist. The evidence should match the actual living arrangement.

When should you start keeping dependency records?

Records should cover the three years immediately before the application, so in practice you start keeping them at least three years before you intend to lodge. If you are already supporting a relative, keep the ongoing sequence of transfers, statements and rent receipts from now on, because a continuous run of records is easier to assemble than one started late. Missing early months are one of the most common weaknesses in a dependency claim.

Do you need to send original bank statements with the application?

No. The official step-by-step guide says not to send original documents with the application and to send certified copies only. You should also keep a copy of the completed application and all supporting documents for your own records. Originals may still be needed if the Department later asks you to verify a document.

What happens if some months in the three-year window are missing?

Gaps weaken the picture of continuous dependency, so the first step is to reconstruct the missing period with any available records, such as statements, transfer confirmations or rent receipts. If a genuine gap remains, explain it honestly in a short schedule or cover note rather than leaving the decision maker to guess. The Department may ask for further information if the documents lodged are not sufficient, and any request will set out the deadline that applies.

References

Australian Department of Home Affairs — Aged Dependent Relative visa (Subclass 114) Australian Department of Home Affairs — Certified copies of documents Australian Department of Social Services — Age Pension Australian Government Department of Human Services — Assurance of Support Federal Register of Legislation — Migration Regulations 1994