Contributory Parent Visa (Subclass 143)

How the 143 works

The Contributory Parent visa grants permanent residence to a parent of an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen who is settled in Australia. The core requirements: a sponsoring child (usually) and sponsor eligibility, the Balance of Family test, health and character, and the Assurance of Support near grant. What distinguishes it from the non-contributory 103 is one thing — the contribution — and what the contribution buys is queue position: roughly 12–14 years against roughly 30.

The real cost timeline

• At lodgement: first instalment, around AUD $5,000 per applicant — plus health, police checks and professional fees along the way.
• Near grant (roughly 12–14 years later): the second instalment, around AUD $48,000 per primary applicant at current rates — but the figure is indexed, so the amount actually payable is whatever applies at that future date. Budget for growth, not today's number.
• Also near grant: the Assurance of Support bond — AUD $10,000 (single) or $14,000 (couple) at last review, lodged with Centrelink and refundable after 10 years — plus the assurer's income test.

The shape of the liability matters as much as its size: the big payments land at the end of the queue, not the start. Families planning a 143 today are really planning a substantial lump-sum obligation in the second half of the 2030s.

The 173 stepping stone

The Subclass 173 Contributory Parent (Temporary) splits the contribution. It is a two-year temporary visa with a second instalment around AUD $30,000; the holder then applies for the 143 and pays a reduced second instalment, most of the contribution having been paid at the 173 stage. The trade-offs:

• For: the payment is staged rather than a single hit; the parent holds a substantive visa in Australia between stages; the family gets certainty of progress.
• Against: the combined cost across both stages runs somewhat higher than going directly to the 143; two application processes; and the 173 itself is temporary — the 143 stage still has to be completed.

The equivalent pairing for parents 67 and over is the 884 → 864 onshore aged route — same staging logic, lodged in Australia. See the complete guide.

Keeping the family together during the queue

• Visitor visas (Subclass 600) — including longer-validity, multiple-entry options — cover regular extended visits without touching the queued application.
• The Subclass 870 — 3 or 5 years per grant, up to 10 years total — gives long continuous stays; many families run an 870 alongside the queued 143 deliberately. See the 870 guide.
• Parents 67+ can consider switching strategy to the onshore 864, waiting in Australia on a bridging visa rather than offshore.

Two cautions: time spent onshore must respect each visa's conditions (long visitor stays attract genuine-visitor scrutiny), and any change in the family's composition during the queue should be assessed against the Balance of Family test, which is looked at again at decision time.

The Assurance of Support, a decade ahead

The AoS is requested near grant — which means the sponsoring child's future income, not today's, is what must satisfy the income test, and the bond must be available then. The common late complications are foreseeable a decade out: an assurer who has retired or reduced income by the time the request arrives, or family circumstances that changed. Multiple people can act as joint assurers, which is often the practical fix — but it is far better planned early than improvised at the request stage.

143 vs the alternatives, honestly

• vs the 103 (non-contributory): the 103 costs a fraction of the 143 but its ~30-year queue exceeds many applicants' practical lifetimes. It is a place-holding option, not a plan.
• vs the 870 (temporary): the 870 delivers time in Australia within months, with no Balance of Family test — but no permanent residence, no Medicare through PR, and a hard 10-year ceiling. Many families do both: 870 for now, 143 in the queue.
• vs the 864 (aged, onshore): for parents 67+, substantively the 143 with an onshore wait on a bridging visa — often the better structure when the parent can be, and wants to be, in Australia throughout.