Last updated: 27th December 2025

TEMPORARY PARENT SPONSOR OBLIGATIONS

A fact sheet from Emergico Migration, which gives information about how to become a Parent Sponsor, and what obligations are involved.

Information about how to become a Parent Sponsor, for the Subclass 870 Temporary Sponsored Parent Visa, and the sponsor obligations which are involved.

Introduction

When a person is approved as a Parent Sponsor, so that they may sponsor their parent or parent in law for a Subclass 870 Temporary Parent Visa, there are ongoing obligations which need to be met, by law. 

In lodging a Parent Sponsor Application, you must agree to abide by these conditions, which are mostly in place to ensure that certain costs incurred by Subclass 870 visa holders are not met by the Australian taxpayer. 

These sponsor responsibilities must be taken seriously.  The DoHA plays an important role in monitoring approved sponsors, and has considerable powers to monitor compliance and impose sanctions, if sponsor obligations are not met.

Sponsor Eligibility

In order to apply for a Subclass 870 Temporary Sponsored Parent Visa, there must be an Approved Sponsorship already in place.  This means that the Parent (Family) Sponsorship must be lodged first and approved, before 870 visa applications can be lodged. 

Eligibility Criteria to become a Sponsor* 

  • You must be at least 18 years old;
  • You must be the child, or the spouse or partner of the child of the proposed parent visa applicants. 
  • You must be an Australian Citizen or Permanent Resident; 
  • You must have lived lawfully in Australia for the preceding 4 years. 
  • If you’re sponsoring your parents in law, your spouse must also be an Australian citizen or permanent resident. 
  • You must pass the income test (specified in LIN 19/146) – currently $83,454.80 of taxable income in the most recently completed taxation year.
  • You must be of good character, and have no outstanding debts to the Australian government. 
  • You must not already be an approved Parent Sponsor.  That is, if you have been a Parent sponsor in the past, your sponsorship must have lapsed. 
  • You must not be an “Ineligible Sponsor”.  You would be an ineligible sponsor if you’ve sponsored parent(s) for a Subclass 870 Visa, and they have not left Australia since expiry of the 870 visa and they have not become permanent residents.
 

* Division 2.13A Migration Regulations 1994

Parent Sponsor Obligations (Subdivision 2.19.2 Migration Regulations 1994)

The Family Sponsor must ensure that the following costs incurred by the sponsored person are met:

  • Medical, hospital and other health costs following treatment in a public hospital or other public health facility;
  • Expenses arising from Aged Care services between 17th April 2019 and 1st January 2020, under the Aged Care Act 1997.
  • Expenses arising from the provision of aged care services after the 1st January 2020 and before the commencement of the Aged Care Act 2024;
  • Expenses arising from the delivery of a funded aged care service to a person by a registered provider that is a government entity or a local government authority within the meaning of the Aged Care Act 2024.

If the Minister specifies, by legislative instrument, a kind of record and a manner of keeping those records; an approved family sponsor must keep those records starting on the day the sponsorship commences, and ending 2 years after the family sponsorship ceases.  (At the time of writing there is no legislative instrument in place).

In the event that records are prescribed under Regulation 2.87CB, the Minister may, by written notice, request the family sponsor to provide those records to the Minister; and the sponsor must comply with the notice.

If any of the following events occur in relation to a Family Sponsor, the person must give details of the event to Immigration; and it is specified that this must be through upload to the IMMI account.

  • A change to any information provided to Immigration, whether in the person’s application for approval as a family sponsor, or otherwise;
  • The person is charged with, or convicted of, an offence;
  • A debt the person has incurred to the Commonwealth becomes overdue;
  • The person becomes the subject of an Apprehended Violence Order, or a similar order issued under an Australian state or territory law or a foreign country;
  • A person sponsored by the family sponsor dies.

If a sponsored 870 visa holder has an outstanding public health debt and it relates to an expense incurred while they were sponsored by the parent sponsor or after cessation of the sponsorship but before the visa holder leaves Australia or is granted a permanent visa; the family sponsor must, as soon as practicable, pay the debt in full.

If it is necessary, the Family Sponsor must assist the sponsored visa holder financially and in relation to accommodation, starting from the time that the person is granted a Subclass 870 visa, and ending when either the person leaves Australia after the 870 visa has expired, or the person is granted another substantive visa.

When is the Parent Sponsorship in effect? 

Once the Parent Sponsorship is approved, the corresponding Subclass 870 Visa Application(s) must be lodged within six months of approval of the sponsorship. 

The Sponsorship approval will cease in the following circumstances as prescribed in Regulation 2.64B:

(a) A permanent visa held by the Parent Sponsor is cancelled;

(b) The parent sponsor dies; 

(c) The parent sponsor withdraws their sponsorship in writing; 

(d) A Subclass 870 visa is not lodged against the approved sponsorship within the 6 month validity period; 

(e) The subclass 870 visa ceases to have effect. 

Note that some sponsor obligations continue beyond the end of the parent sponsorship period. 

The Subclass 870 Application Process

How can Emergico help?

By providing you with clear information about your Family Sponsor Obligations, we hope we will be able to reduce the chance of any problems occurring for you, while you are sponsoring a parent for a temporary  (subclass 870) visa. 

We can notify the Department on your behalf, when certain events occur, provided you let us know.  This will allow us to keep records on your behalf, of having notified in accordance with the law.  We charge a small administration fee to make notification and keep records on your behalf.

We can advise you whether any change in circumstance needs to be notified.

If you are contacted by the Department of Home Affairs in relation to a sponsor obligation, we can assist you by advising on the correct response, and compiling the response on your behalf.  We will guide you as to the information that you must produce, and the format in which it should be provided.     

If you receive such contact, it is vitally important that you respond correctly, to avoid the next step, which would be a Notice of Intention to Take Action (NOITTA).

If a NOITTA is received, we can respond to this on your behalf.  Again, this is a very important document, because the Department has the power to impose sanctions and fines if sponsorship obligations have been breached.

Emergico Migration is an Australian based Registered Migration Agency which provides advice and visa assistance for people wishing to move to, or remain in, Australia.  We specialise in Employer Sponsored, Skilled, Global Talent, Parent, Partner, Family, Student and Graduate Visas.  

You can contact us by emailing: migrate@emergico.com, calling us on (7) 3861 0726, or visiting our website at www.emergico.com

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