The 143 Visa (Contributory Parent): Costs, Queue and Strategy in 2026

The 143 visa costs AUD 49,900 for one parent and AUD 95,625 for a couple, paid in two instalments, and Home Affairs estimates 18 years to process one. The wait is not a backlog being worked through. It is a cap: 7,060 parent visa places for the whole 2026–27 program year, down from 8,500, with every application queued until a place is free.

What does the 143 visa cost in 2026?

The couple figure is the base charge of AUD 6,300 plus an additional applicant charge of AUD 2,125 for the second parent, then AUD 43,600 each at the second stage. Visa charges are reviewed each 1 July, so treat AUD 43,600 as today’s figure for planning rather than a locked price. The current figures for every visa are on our visa fees and thresholds reference page.

How long is the parent visa queue right now?

Every parent visa is capped and queued. Home Affairs assesses applications in lodgement order, gives those that meet the core criteria a queue date, and releases them for final processing as places become available. This is where the line stood at 31 August 2026.

Home Affairs publishes its own estimates on its parent visa queue and processing times page: 18 years for contributory parent visas and 42 years for the non-contributory Parent and Aged Parent visas. The second figure is the reason the contributory route exists. A parent who lodges a 103 at 60 would, on that estimate, be 93 when it is decided.

Why did the wait get longer this year?

Places were cut. On 12 May 2026 the Government set the 2026–27 permanent program at 185,000, the same total as the two years before, and reduced the parent allocation inside it from 8,500 to 7,060.

The family program as a whole barely moved, at 52,460 places. Partner visas rose to 41,500 and child visas to 3,500, and parent and other family places paid for it. Fewer places against the same queue means each year’s release date moves forward more slowly than the last.

Is the 173 then 143 route cheaper than applying for the 143 visa directly?

No. It costs more in total and splits the payments.

• Subclass 173 first — AUD 4,245 to lodge, then AUD 29,130 before grant, for a two-year temporary visa.
• Then subclass 143 — AUD 555 to lodge, then AUD 19,420 before grant.
• Total AUD 53,350 — AUD 3,450 more than the direct 143.

In practice the difference the 173 route makes is that the AUD 43,600 second payment is split into two, AUD 29,130 and then AUD 19,420 about two years later. That mattered when the queue was short. With both visas released at the same point, November 2018, and an 18-year estimate on each, you are paying AUD 3,450 to split a payment that falls due more than a decade from now.

What does the Assurance of Support lock up?

An Assurance of Support is mandatory for the 143. Someone in Australia, usually the sponsoring child, promises to repay certain social security payments the parent receives and lodges a refundable bond with the Commonwealth Bank.

For the subclass 143 the period is 10 years. The bond is AUD 10,000 for the primary applicant and AUD 4,000 for each additional adult, so a couple means AUD 14,000 held in a bank guarantee for a decade. Services Australia checks that the assurer’s income is high enough to qualify.

The bond is returned at the end of the ten years, less anything the Commonwealth has had to recover. Budget it as money you cannot touch rather than money you have spent.

Can you apply for the 143 visa from inside Australia?

Not the 143, but its onshore equivalent: the Contributory Aged Parent visa (subclass 864), open to parents who have reached Australian age pension age. Two validity rules apply to both and catch families out:

• One parent application at a time — if your parent has already lodged another parent visa, that application must be decided or withdrawn before a new one can be validly made.
• The subclass 870 rule — a 143 application is not valid while the parent holds a subclass 870 Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa. If they held one before, they must have left Australia since it ceased. Families who bring a parent out on an 870 and then try to lodge the permanent application while they are still here fall into this.

What can your parents do while they wait?

The move that changes most for a family is the onshore switch. If your parent lodged a 143 offshore some years ago and has since reached age pension age, they can enter Australia on a visitor visa that does not carry condition 8503 (the “no further stay” condition), lodge an 864 here, and withdraw the 143, which the one-application rule requires. A Bridging visa A follows and lets them stay in Australia while the 864 is queued.

The cost of that switch is queue position. The 864 gets its own queue date when it is assessed, so the years already spent in the 143 queue are not carried across. What the family gains is a parent living in Australia for the wait rather than overseas.

Two temporary options also exist, and neither shortens the queue:

• Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa, subclass 870 — up to three or five years per visa, to a maximum of ten years in Australia. It needs an approved Parent Sponsor before you can lodge and carries no work rights. Read the 870 rule above before combining it with a 143.
• Visitor visa, subclass 600 — shorter stays, renewable, and far cheaper, for a parent whose life is still based overseas.

Frequently asked questions

How can parents lodge an onshore parent visa application?

The parent needs to be in Australia on a visa without condition 8503, the “no further stay” condition, and to have reached age pension age for the 864. Most families use a visitor visa (subclass 600) granted without 8503. If 8503 is on the visa, it has to be waived before anything can be lodged, and a waiver needs compelling and compassionate circumstances that arose after the visa was granted and were outside the parent’s control.

Can parents work and get Medicare on a bridging visa while the 864 is queued?

The Bridging visa A that follows an onshore parent application carries full work rights once it comes into effect, which is when the visitor visa ends. It does not bring Medicare. Parent visa applicants are excluded from the Medicare eligibility that other permanent visa applicants on bridging visas can access, so private health cover is a cost of the wait.

Is the 173 visa faster than the 143?

No. Both sit in the same queue and are released at the same point. The 173 splits the second payment into two stages, but costs AUD 3,450 more in total.

Can my parents work in Australia on a 143 visa?

Yes. The 143 is a permanent visa, so holders can work and study, access Medicare, and apply for citizenship once they meet the residence requirements. The temporary subclass 870 is different and carries no work rights.

Can a parent on a bridging visa travel overseas?

Not on a Bridging visa A, which ends if they leave. They need a Bridging visa B first. In our recent practice the department has been granting parent visa applicants Bridging visa Bs with a multiple-entry travel facility of up to five years, but the travel period is a discretionary decision on each application, not an entitlement.