Contributory Parent visa 143: cost, wait time, and the balance-of-family test
The subclass 143 Contributory Parent visa is the fastest route for parents of settled Australian citizens or permanent residents to obtain PR. This article breaks down the AUD 47,955 second instalment, the balance-of-family test, AoS requirements, and current queue lengths.
The Subclass 143 Contributory Parent visa is the premium — and fastest — route to permanent residency for parents of Australian citizens, permanent residents, or eligible New Zealand citizens. Its defining feature is a large upfront government charge that effectively buys priority over the non-contributory 103 queue: AUD 47,955 per applicant at the second Visa Application Charge (VAC) instalment (2025–2026), in addition to the first instalment of AUD 4,765. For a couple, the combined government charges approach AUD 105,440.
What the 143 buys, however, is speed. While the non-contributory 103 parent visa has a queue that stretches beyond 30 years at current processing rates, the contributory 143 processes applications in approximately 6 to 12 years from queue date, depending on the intake of new applications and the annual planning level set by the government. For parents who can afford it and whose children are settled in Australia, the 143 is the only practical parent visa option that delivers a result within a parent’s expected lifetime.
Who this pathway is for
The 143 is available to a parent of a child who is an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen and who is “settled” in Australia — meaning the child has been lawfully resident in Australia for a reasonable period, typically at least two years. The parent must:
- Be outside Australia at the time of lodgement and at the time of grant (the application is offshore, though the parent may enter Australia on a visitor visa after lodgement under certain conditions)
- Satisfy the balance-of-family test
- Be sponsored by the child or the child’s spouse/de facto partner
- Have an approved Assurance of Support (AoS)
- Meet health and character requirements
A parent who is in Australia and wishes to apply onshore while remaining in Australia should consider the subclass 864 Contributory Aged Parent visa or the temporary 884 to permanent 864 pathway (covered in /pathways/parent-173-884-864-split/).
The balance-of-family test
The balance-of-family test is the gatekeeper for all parent visa subclasses. The test is met if at least half of the parent’s children are Australian citizens, permanent residents, or eligible New Zealand citizens who are usually resident in Australia — or if the number of children living in Australia as citizens or permanent residents is greater than the number living in any single other country.
The test counts all children of the parent and their spouse or de facto partner, including children from previous relationships, adopted children, and stepchildren. Children who are deceased, removed from the parent’s legal custody by court order, or registered as refugees with the UNHCR are not counted.
A parent with three children — two in Australia as citizens, one in the United Kingdom — passes the test (two out of three ≥ half). A parent with four children — one in Australia, one in the United Kingdom, one in Canada, and one in India — passes the test (one in Australia, and no other country has more than one). A parent with four children — one in Australia and three in China — fails (only one out of four < half, and China has more than Australia).
The test is applied at the time of decision, not at the time of lodgement. If a child’s circumstances change — for example, a child moves from Australia to another country — the test may be failed at the decision stage despite being met at lodgement.
Sponsorship and Assurance of Support
Sponsorship. The sponsoring child (or the child’s spouse or de facto partner) must be at least 18 years old, settled in Australia, and undertake to provide financial support and accommodation for the parent for the first two years after the visa grant. The sponsor must also repay any recoverable Australian social security payments made to the parent during the AoS period.
Assurance of Support (AoS). An AoS is a legal commitment by an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or eligible organisation to repay the Australian government for certain social security payments made to the visa holder during the AoS period. For the 143 visa, the bond amount is AUD 10,000 for the primary applicant and AUD 4,000 for each secondary applicant aged 18 or over at the time of the AoS lodgement. The AoS period is 10 years for the 143 visa.
The assurer (who may be the sponsor, another person, or a community organisation) must meet an income test: the assurer’s assessable income for the current financial year and the preceding financial year must meet or exceed the threshold set by Services Australia. The threshold varies with the assurer’s family circumstances and is updated annually.
Bond lodgement. The bond is lodged with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia as a term deposit in the name of the assurer. It is held for the 10-year AoS period and released with interest at the end. If the parent receives recoverable social security payments during the AoS period, the bond is drawn down to repay those amounts before release.
Fee structure
The total Visa Application Charge for the 143 has two components:
| Instalment | Amount (2025–2026) | When payable |
|---|---|---|
| First VAC | AUD 4,765 | At lodgement |
| Second VAC | AUD 47,955 | When requested by the Department, before grant |
| Total per applicant | AUD 52,720 |
For a couple (both parents), the combined fees are approximately AUD 105,440. These fees are non-refundable if the application is refused or withdrawn after the assessment has commenced.
Processing and the queue
The 143 queue is managed by queue date — the date on which the application is assessed as meeting the initial criteria (including the balance-of-family test) and is placed in the queue. The Department publishes the queue date currently being assessed for final processing on its website.
As of May 2026, newly lodged 143 applications are being assigned queue dates approximately 12–18 months after lodgement, and the Department is processing applications with queue dates in 2017–2018 — suggesting a total wait of approximately 8–10 years from lodgement to grant, though this has fluctuated with changes to the annual planning level for contributory parent visas.
The annual planning level for contributory parent visas in the 2025–2026 Migration Program is 6,800 places. This is the number of visas that can be granted in a program year, and it determines the rate at which the queue advances. Increases in the planning level accelerate the queue; decreases slow it. The non-contributory parent visa planning level is capped at 1,500 places, which is why the 103 queue extends beyond 30 years.
Medicare and work rights
A 143 holder is entitled to enrol in Medicare immediately upon grant and arrival in Australia, and has full work rights. The 10-year AoS period does not restrict work, study, or travel. After four years of permanent residency, the parent may apply for Australian citizenship, subject to meeting the residence requirement (at least four years of lawful residence, with at least 12 months as a permanent resident).
Alternatives to the 143
- 173 Contributory Parent (Temporary) to 143 transition. The 173 splits the cost into two stages (see /pathways/parent-173-884-864-split/). The 173 first instalment is AUD 33,355, and the transition to the 143 requires a further AUD 22,370. The total cost is higher than a direct 143 (AUD 55,725 vs AUD 52,720), but the cash flow is spread across two payments.
- 864 Contributory Aged Parent (onshore). For parents who are old enough to meet the age-pension age requirement and are in Australia, the 864 allows onshore lodgement and onshore grant. The fees are identical to the 143.
- 103 Non-contributory Parent visa. The total VAC is AUD 6,990, but the queue stretches beyond 30 years (see /pathways/parent-103-804-noncontributory/).
- 870 Sponsored Parent (Temporary). A temporary visa allowing stays of three or five years (cumulative maximum 10 years), with no path to PR (more at Home Affairs).
Recent policy changes
2024 reforms. The Migration Amendment (Parent Visas) Regulations 2024 introduced a requirement that the AoS bond be lodged within 28 days of the Department’s request, rather than the previous 70-day window. This has created a tighter cash-flow timeline for families who need to arrange the bond at short notice.
2025–2026 planning level. The contributory parent visa category was maintained at 6,800 places, unchanged from the previous program year. Advocacy groups continue to press for an increase, arguing that the non-contributory queue is functionally closed to new applicants and that 6,800 places per year does not meet demand.