Why Subclass 864 Parent Visa Applications Are Refused in 2026

A Contributory Aged Parent visa (subclass 864) refusal almost always traces back to one specific requirement the application could not satisfy, or to something that went wrong between lodgement and decision. According to the Department of Home Affairs' official Contributory Aged Parent visa (subclass 864) page (as at the official page current in July 2026), when the department refuses the visa it tells you why, and tells you whether you have a right to have the decision reviewed. That letter is the starting point for everything else: the ground it names decides whether review is worth pursuing, whether a fresh application would fix the problem, or whether neither will help.

This article is general information about how these refusals arise and what review can and cannot do. It is not advice about your own circumstances, which should be checked against the official pages and with a qualified professional.

What does a subclass 864 refusal letter actually tell you?

The refusal notice does two jobs. It sets out the reasons for the refusal, and it states whether the decision carries a right of review. The same official page confirms that the application fee is not refunded if the application is refused, so the money already paid is not recovered through the review process itself.

Read the reasons closely, because they sort into very different buckets. A refusal for missing or defective evidence may be curable in a new application. A refusal based on a fact that existed when you applied — your children's residence, a sponsorship that was never approved, an identity you could not prove — is harder to shift, because review generally asks whether the visa criteria were met, not whether you could meet them later.

Which eligibility requirements fail most often — sponsorship and the balance of family test?

Sponsorship and the balance of family test are the two requirements parents most often underestimate, and both must be satisfied at the same time.

Sponsorship. You must have an eligible sponsor, and the department must approve the sponsorship. Usually an eligible child sponsors you; if that child is under 18, an eligible relative or a community organisation can sponsor instead. The sponsor completes Form 40 Sponsorship for migration to Australia. If you hold a Contributory Aged Parent (Temporary) (subclass 884) visa and your sponsor dies, you might still be eligible for the 864.

Balance of family test. You meet the test if at least half of your children and step-children are eligible children, or if there are more eligible children living in Australia than in any other single country. The department's own balance of family test page describes the evidence used: how you are related to each child, each child's Australian citizenship or country of permanent residence, and evidence that a child should be excluded from the test, such as a death certificate. If you hold a subclass 884 visa, you have already met the test.

In practice, disputes here are about counting: which children are in the pool, whether a child's living arrangements in Australia were proved, and whether a child was wrongly included or excluded.

Can age, Assurance of Support or a pending parent application also cause refusal?

Yes, and these grounds are often missed because they look administrative.

Age. You must be old enough to receive the Age Pension in Australia; the Department of Social Services sets that age. If you applied on the basis that you are an "aged parent" and the evidence does not establish it, the application cannot succeed.

Assurance of Support. You must be able to obtain an Assurance of Support, accepted by the Secretary of Social Services, unless you apply as a retiree under the Retirement visa pathway. The assurance covers you and any family members coming to Australia with you on this visa, and it guarantees you will not need to rely on government assistance during the assurance period. The sponsor or a family member does not have to provide it — an individual, more than one person, or an organisation can.

A pending parent application. If you have applied for a different Parent visa and no decision has been made on it, you must withdraw that application when you apply for the 864. The corresponding visa criterion (clause 864.230 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994) requires that earlier parent application to be finalised. A related bar also applies to the temporary stream: you cannot apply for the 864 if you have already applied for or hold a Sponsored Parent (Temporary) (subclass 870) visa.

The 884 pathway timing. If you apply as a subclass 884 holder, you qualify for the two-stage pathway if you hold the 884 when you apply, or held it at any time in the 28 days before applying, or more than 28 days have passed since it ended and you can demonstrate compelling and compassionate circumstances to regain your previous visa status — with evidence, and the Minister must be satisfied those circumstances exist. If none of these apply, the department processes the application as a standard subclass 884 application rather than the two-stage pathway.

Do health, character and identity issues decide the outcome on their own?

They can, and each applies to more people than the main applicant.

You and any family members applying with you must meet the health requirement and the character requirement. The department may also ask non-migrating family members to meet both. Health examinations and police certificates are requested when the department needs them, not before.

Providing a bogus document or false or misleading information is treated seriously; the regulations and the department's procedural guidance deal with this through public interest criterion (PIC) 4020, which is associated with a 10-year period. The department's providing accurate information page sets out the consequences of information that is not accurate or complete. Clause numbering and current wording should always be checked on the Federal Register of Legislation and the official pages.

Identity failure is the sharpest of these. If you cannot prove your identity, the official page states the department will refuse the application, might not grant you another visa for 10 years, and might not grant a visa for 10 years to any family members listed on your application.

Two further grounds sit in the same family. If you or any family members owe the Australian Government money, the debt must be repaid or there must be an approved arrangement to repay it. And the department considers your immigration history, so a previously cancelled visa or refused application can count against you; in some circumstances a permanent visa application may still be possible, and the official page points to the department's material on limitations on applications in Australia.

What lodgement and decision-time mistakes lead to refusal?

Some refusals have nothing to do with whether you were a suitable applicant. They happen because a procedural condition was missed.

Being outside Australia at decision time. You must be in Australia, and not in immigration clearance, when the department makes its decision on the application, unless you apply as a retiree under the Retirement visa pathway — retiree applicants can be in or outside Australia when the decision is made. If you travelled while the application was on hand and were offshore when the decision was made, the visa cannot be granted.
The second instalment. You must pay the second instalment before the visa is granted. The department sends an invoice when it is due, and if you do not pay it, the application will be refused.
Unreported changes. Changes to your phone number, email, address, passport, relationship status or family composition — including the birth of a child — need to be notified. For 884 holders, changes since the 884 was granted also need evidence, including a family member no longer being a dependant, a change in partner relationship, a new passport, or wanting to nominate a new sponsor.
Mistakes on the form. If you made a mistake on the application, Form 1023 Notification of incorrect answers is the mechanism for correcting it.
Staying lawful. Applying in Australia will likely result in a bridging visa, which starts if your current visa expires before a decision. Cancelling your current visa can leave you unlawful and ineligible for a bridging visa.

Do you have a right to review, and what does the Administrative Appeals Tribunal look at?

Not every refusal carries review rights, and the letter tells you whether yours does. Where review is available, the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) reconsiders the decision. The Tribunal's task is to decide whether the visa criteria were met; it does not change the criteria themselves.

The regulations and the department's procedural guidance indicate where these disputes usually concentrate:

Refusal ground	What the law requires	What review usually turns on
Balance of family test	At least half of your children and step-children are eligible children, or more eligible children live in Australia than in any other single country	Whether each child was counted correctly, and whether settled status in Australia was proved with evidence
Sponsorship	An eligible sponsor, and the sponsorship must be approved (clause 864.213)	Whether the sponsor met the eligibility requirements and whether the sponsorship was properly made and approved
Health	The applicant and accompanying family members meet the health requirement	Whether the health criteria are met, or whether a waiver applies where the criteria allow for one (PIC 4007)
Character	The applicant and accompanying family members meet the character requirement	How the character criteria (PIC 4001–4003) apply to the conduct relied on
Assurance of Support	An assurance of support accepted by the Secretary of Social Services (clause 864.226)	Whether an accepted assurance was in place when required; not required on the Retirement visa pathway

Two of these deserve a note. Sponsorship has a specific safety valve: for a subclass 884 holder whose sponsor has died and there is no other qualifying sponsor, the regulations treat the sponsorship requirement as met in the circumstances described in clause 864.213(4). And balance of family disputes under regulation 1.05 are usually argued child by child, so the evidence you gather for review should be organised that way rather than as a general narrative.

What should you weigh before choosing review or a fresh application?

Ask what actually went wrong. If the refusal rests on evidence you can now supply — a sponsor's settled status, an accepted Assurance of Support, up-to-date health or police documents — review is the natural route, because it asks the decision-maker to look at the same application again.

If the refusal rests on a fact fixed at the time you applied, review rarely changes the outcome. Being outside Australia at decision time, holding or having applied for a subclass 870 visa, an unwithdrawn parent application, a child-count that fails the balance of family test, or an identity that could not be proved are all grounds where the answer was already determined before the letter arrived. A later application, made once the underlying facts have changed, is often the more realistic path — and remember that refused applications do not attract a refund.

Either way, the reasons in your letter, the criteria in Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994, and the official pages as at the time you act are what will decide it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will I get my application fee back if my 864 visa is refused?

No. The Department of Home Affairs' official page states that the application fee is not refunded if the application is refused.

I have already applied for a subclass 870 visa — can I still apply for the 864?

No. You cannot apply for the subclass 864 if you have already applied for or hold a Sponsored Parent (Temporary) (subclass 870) visa.

Does holding a subclass 884 visa reduce my risk of refusal?

It removes one hurdle: 884 holders have already met the balance of family test. You also do not need to supply some usual documents if you hold the 884 when you apply, or if it ended in the 28 days immediately before you apply. If more than 28 days have passed since it ended, you must demonstrate compelling and compassionate circumstances and the Minister must be satisfied they exist.

Can I correct a mistake I made on my application?

Yes. Form 1023 Notification of incorrect answers is used to tell the department about incorrect answers, and it can be uploaded in ImmiAccount or sent with the Parent visa processing centre form.

Do I have to be in Australia when the decision is made?

Yes, unless you apply as a retiree: you must be in Australia, and not in immigration clearance, when the department makes its decision on a subclass 864 application, but retiree applicants can be in or outside Australia when the decision is made.

Is a health or character problem always the end of the application?

The health and character requirements must be met by you and by any family members applying with you, and non-migrating family members may also be asked to meet them. At review, the question can extend to whether a waiver applies where the criteria allow one, such as the health criteria that provide for waiver.