Why is there no fixed price for the Subclass 114 visa in 2026?

There is no single published price for the Subclass 114 visa — here is how the two instalments, the extras and the estimator work.

Published: 10 July 2026 Reading time 12 min

There is no fixed headline price for the Aged Dependent Relative visa (Subclass 114), and that is not an oversight on the Department's part. According to the Australian Department of Home Affairs' official Aged Dependent Relative visa (Subclass 114) page, as at August 2026, the visa "costs from" a base figure, concessions apply only in limited circumstances, and each family member who applies with you adds a further charge. The charge itself is then collected in two instalments rather than one payment. On top of that sit health checks, police certificates and biometrics, none of which are inside the visa price. What the Department therefore publishes is a floor plus a calculator, not a total — because the total is different for every application.

What exactly does the Department publish about the cost?

The Cost section of the official Subclass 114 page sets out a structure rather than a single sum. It states that the visa costs from a base amount, that concessions are available only in limited circumstances, and that there is an extra charge for each family member included in the application.

It then states that the visa is paid in two parts called instalments: the first instalment is paid when you apply, and the second is paid when the Department asks for it. Additional costs flagged on the same page are health checks, police certificates and biometrics.

For a figure specific to a set of applicants, the Department points to the Visa Pricing Estimator. The important caveat is written into the page itself: the estimator does not take the second instalment or other costs into account. So even the Department's own calculator gives you part of the answer only.

Why does the amount move with who is on the application?

Because almost every variable affecting the charge is personal to your family.

The official page lists your family members for this visa as your dependent child and stepchild. Dependent children can be under 18; over 18 years of age but not yet turned 23 and dependent on you or your partner; or over 23 years of age, unable to earn a living to support themselves due to physical or cognitive limitations and dependent on you or your partner. Each one included adds its own charge, so two applicants drawing the same benefit do not pay the same amount.

Family members can also be added to the application at any time before a decision is made. Note the nationality-of-location rule written on the page: any family member you add after lodgement must be in Australia at the time you add them, and added members must still meet the health and character requirements. Adding people therefore changes both the composition and the cost, right up to the point of decision.

The same applies even to relatives who are not migrating. All family members must be listed whether they migrate or not, and non-migrating family members may still have to meet the health requirement — which means health examination costs can arise for people who never travel.

When is the first instalment due, and how can it be paid?

The first instalment is due at lodgement, and for this visa lodgement is a paper process — you and all applicants must be outside Australia when you apply and when the Department decides on your application.

The application itself is made on Form 47OF (Application for migration to Australia by other family members), with Form 40 (Sponsorship for migration to Australia) completed by the sponsor, and it is sent by post or courier to the Parent, Child and Other Family Processing Centre in Perth at the address shown on the form.

Payment does not follow the same paper route. The Department states clearly that you cannot pay for this visa in person, and that you must pay before the application is submitted using the online portal payment function in ImmiAccount, then include evidence that the application is paid for with the application itself. Other payment options for paper applications are set out on the Department's separate how-to-pay page.

If any required step is incomplete — payment included — the Department may treat the application as invalid. Invalid applications are not processed, and the Department will notify you and return the application if requested.

When does the second instalment fall due?

Only after you have met everything else.

The official step-by-step guide says that the Department sends you an invoice for the second instalment after you have met all other requirements for the visa, and that you must pay it or the visa cannot be granted. There is no discretionary element here: the grant cannot happen while the instalment is outstanding.

What makes this harder to plan for than most fees is the gap between the two payments. Demand for Other Family visas exceeds the number of places available each year, the applications are subject to capping and queueing, and the Department warns that processing times can be lengthy. In practice that means the money for the second instalment has to be kept available for an open-ended period, not budgeted for a known month.

	First instalment	Second instalment
When it falls due	At lodgement, before the application is submitted	After the Department issues an invoice, once all other requirements are met
How it is triggered	You lodge Form 47OF by post or courier	The Department writes to you
Consequence of non-payment	The Department cannot process the application and may return it	The visa cannot be granted

The two halves are not interchangeable, and neither is optional.

What sits outside the visa application charge entirely?

Three categories are named on the official page: health checks, police certificates and biometrics. None of these are included in the base amount, and none are included in the Visa Pricing Estimator output either.

Health examinations and biometrics are requested by the Department rather than arranged upfront — the Department tells you if they are needed. The same is true of police certificates: do not arrange them until asked. Chronologically, then, most of the "extras" arrive later in the process, which is part of why no one can price the whole file on day one.

There is also a separate obligation that is not a government charge at all. An assurance of support is required when the Department asks for it, administered through Services Australia rather than Home Affairs, and it carries its own financial implications for whoever provides it.

Do any applicants pay less from 1 July 2026?

Yes, and this is now built into the payment process rather than applied by request.

From 1 July 2026, a lower visa application charge applies to eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens who lodge a valid visa application. The Department charges eligible applicants the lower amount automatically during the application process in ImmiAccount, recognising eligibility through a valid passport issued by one of the listed countries: Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

Family members are eligible for the same lower charge, and eligibility is based on the passport of the primary applicant — the person who satisfies the primary visa criteria — rather than on each individual's own passport. This was a change taking effect on 1 July 2026, so anyone relying on it should check how it reads on the Department's current published page.

What happens if the wrong amount is paid?

The Department is explicit: if you do not pay the correct visa application charge, it cannot process your application. You will be notified, and if necessary your application will be returned.

This is why comparing figures against the current official pages matters more than comparing figures against another family's experience. A number copied from an older published source can differ from the amount now payable, and the difference lands before processing even begins.

Can the money be recovered later?

Partly — and less than most applicants assume.

The Department states plainly that it will not refund the application fee if it refuses your application. The first instalment is, in that sense, spent on the assessment rather than on the outcome.

On the second instalment, the official page addresses consequences rather than refunds: it is invoiced only once every other requirement has been met, and it must be paid for the visa to be granted. The page does not state what happens to that payment in the event that the matter does not proceed to grant, so any assumption about recoverability there is an assumption, not a published rule.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does the Department publish a "from" price instead of a total?

Because the total depends on facts only you can supply: how many family members are applying, whether any concession applies in limited circumstances, what health checks, police certificates and biometrics end up being required, and whether the second instalment is charged. The base price plus the Visa Pricing Estimator is the closest the published system gets to a personal figure, and even the estimator excludes the second instalment and other costs.

When do I actually have to pay the second instalment?

When the Department asks you to, and not before. The Department issues an invoice after you have met all other requirements for the visa, which can be considerably later than lodgement given that Other Family visa applications are subject to capping and queueing. Until that invoice arrives, the second instalment is not due.

Can I pay the first instalment in person or by handing cash to an office?

No. The Department states you cannot pay for this visa in person. Payment is made before submission using the online portal payment function in ImmiAccount, and evidence of payment must be included with the paper application itself.

Does adding a family member after I lodge change what I pay?

Yes. There is an extra charge for each family member who applies with you, and members can be added at any time before a decision is made. Note also that family members added after lodgement must be in Australia when they are added, and must still satisfy the health and character requirements.

Are health checks, police certificates and biometrics included in the visa fee?

No. The official page lists them as additional costs you may need to pay, and separately notes that the Visa Pricing Estimator does not factor them in. Police certificates should not be arranged until the Department asks for them.

Is the application fee refunded if the visa is refused?

No. The Department states that it will not refund the application fee if it refuses your application. Its published material does not set out a position on refunding the second instalment, since that instalment is only invoiced once all other requirements have been met.