Parent visa sponsor obligations: AoS bonds, Medicare, and post-grant rules

An Assurance of Support (AoS) is a legal commitment made by an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or eligible organisation to repay the Commonwealth for certain social security payments made to a visa holder during the AoS period. For contributory parent visa holders — subclasses 143, 864, and those transitioning from 173/884 — the AoS period is 10 years from the date of permanent visa grant or entry into Australia, whichever is later. For non-contributory parent visa holders (103/804), the period is two years.

The AoS is not an optional feature. It is a visa condition: the visa cannot be granted unless an acceptable AoS is in place. Failure by the assurer to meet the AoS obligations after the visa is granted has consequences for the assurer — including debt recovery and a bar on future AoS commitments — but does not directly affect the visa holder’s status.

The AoS bond: how much, when, and how it is held

The bond is a term deposit lodged with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in the name of the assurer, held as security for the AoS commitment. The amounts for parent visas (2025–2026) are:

Applicant type	Bond amount
Primary applicant	AUD 10,000
Secondary applicant (spouse, aged 18+)	AUD 4,000
Example: couple (primary + spouse)	AUD 14,000

The bond is required only for contributory parent visas and non-contributory parent visas. Other visa subclasses that require an AoS (such as certain skilled visas) may have different bond amounts. The bond is lodged after the Department requests it and before the visa is granted. Failure to lodge the bond within the specified timeframe (28 days as of 2024) results in the visa application being refused.

The bond is held for the full AoS period (10 years for contributory, 2 years for non-contributory) and is released with accrued interest at the end, provided no recoverable social security payments have been made during the period. If recoverable payments have been made, those amounts are deducted from the bond before release.

The income test: who can be an assurer

To be an assurer, an individual must meet Services Australia’s income test. The test requires that the assurer’s assessable income for the current financial year and the immediately preceding financial year is at or above a threshold that varies with the assurer’s family circumstances. The threshold is based on the maximum annual JobSeeker Payment rate multiplied by a formula that accounts for the assurer’s own family and the number of assurees.

For the 2025–2026 financial year, approximate thresholds are:

Assurer circumstance	Approx. annual income threshold
Single assurer, one assuree	AUD 40,000
Single assurer, two assurees (couple)	AUD 48,000
Assurer with partner and one child, one assuree	AUD 57,000
Assurer with partner and two children, two assurees	AUD 68,000

These figures are indicative and should be verified against the current Services Australia AoS income threshold table at the time of lodgement. A joint AoS — where two or more people jointly assure — allows their combined income to be assessed.

Organisation assurers. A corporation or unincorporated association may also act as an assurer. The organisation must be legally established in Australia and must demonstrate financial capacity to meet the AoS obligation. This is unusual in the parent visa context but available.

What the AoS covers: recoverable vs non-recoverable payments

The AoS covers specific social security payments listed in regulation 2.38 of the Migration Regulations. Recoverable payments include:

• JobSeeker Payment
• Youth Allowance
• Austudy
• Parenting Payment
• Special Benefit
• Mobility Allowance
• Certain Farm Household Allowance payments

Importantly, the following are not recoverable under the AoS:

• Medicare benefits
• The Age Pension (once the visa holder meets the 10-year qualifying residence period from the date of permanent residency, which aligns with the end of the AoS period for contributory visa holders)
• Family Tax Benefit
• Child Care Subsidy
• National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) support
• Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme subsidies

This means a parent visa holder who becomes eligible for the Age Pension after 10 years of permanent residency is not subject to AoS recovery for those payments, even if the Age Pension is claimed immediately after the AoS period ends — the AoS period and the Age Pension qualifying residence period are the same length. This is by design, not coincidence.

Medicare enrolment for parent visa holders

Permanent parent visa holders (143, 864, 103, 804) are entitled to enrol in Medicare from the date of visa grant. Temporary contributory parent visa holders (173, 884) may be eligible for Medicare under a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement (RHCA) with their home country — but this is country-dependent. The following countries have an RHCA with Australia that covers medically necessary care: United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, Sweden, the Netherlands, Finland, Norway, Italy, Belgium, Malta, and Slovenia.

A 173 holder from a non-RHCA country has no Medicare access and must maintain private health insurance for the duration of the temporary visa. This is a cost that families should factor into the budgeting for the 173 → 143 split-pay strategy.

Sponsor obligations beyond the AoS

In addition to the AoS, the sponsor (usually the child) undertakes a separate statutory obligation under the visa sponsorship to provide financial support and adequate accommodation for the parent during the first two years after visa grant. This obligation arises under the Migration Act 1958, not under social security law, and it is enforceable by the Department, though enforcement action for breach of sponsorship undertakings is rare in practice.

What happens if the assurer cannot meet the obligation

If a recoverable payment is made to the visa holder and the assurer does not repay it, Services Australia may:

• Deduct the amount from the AoS bond at the end of the AoS period
• If the bond is insufficient, pursue the assurer for the debt as a civil debt
• Bar the assurer from lodging future AoS commitments (a ban that effectively prevents the assurer from sponsoring or assuring other visa applicants)

The visa holder’s visa status is generally unaffected by the assurer’s failure to repay. The AoS is an undertaking by the assurer to the Commonwealth, not a condition on the visa holder.

AoS for parent visa transitions (173 → 143, 884 → 864)

When a parent transitions from a temporary contributory visa (173 or 884) to a permanent visa (143 or 864), the AoS must be assessed and lodged a second time. The AoS period for the permanent visa starts from the date the permanent visa is granted, and the 10-year clock begins anew. The bond lodged for the temporary visa is not carried forward — a new bond is lodged for the permanent visa stage.

This means a family using the split-payment route will encounter two rounds of AoS assessment and bond lodgement, and the assurer will be subject to income testing twice.

Sources

• Services Australia — Assurance of Support
• Department of Home Affairs — Contributory Parent visa AoS requirements
• Migration Regulations 1994 — Division 2.5A
• Services Australia — Age Pension residence requirements
• Services Australia — Medicare enrolment