Working on an 870 visa in 2026: breaching condition 8103 and the consequences
Working on a Subclass 870 visa breaches condition 8103 — what cancellation means and how it affects later visa applications.
Working for payment while you hold a Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa (Subclass 870) is not a grey area: it breaches your visa's no-work condition, known as condition 8103, and the most serious consequence is that the visa can be cancelled. According to the Australian Government Department of Home Affairs' official Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa (Subclass 870) page, as at the August 2026 version of that page, "You are not allowed to work in Australia while you hold this visa," and the visa ends if the Department cancels it. What follows is general information about how that rule works and what it puts at risk, not personalised advice; for your own circumstances, rely on the official page as currently published and on advice from a registered migration agent or legal practitioner.
What does condition 8103 actually prohibit on an 870 visa?
Condition 8103 is the no-work condition attached to the Subclass 870 visa. The Department's policy guidance and the Migration Regulations 1994 describe condition 8103 as prohibiting work unless the Minister gives written permission, and current policy does not grant subclass 870 holders any work rights. Because that condition number comes from the Migration Regulations 1994 and the written-permission carve-out from the Department's policy guidance, confirm the current wording on the official Subclass 870 page and in your own grant letter.
The practical test is simple: if an activity would be considered work, an 870 holder cannot do it. That covers paid employment, casual or cash-in-hand jobs, and regular work in a business, whether the arrangement is formal or informal. The visa is a temporary parent visa, and it is not a pathway to working rights.
Which activities are still allowed, and where is the line?
The official page sets out a narrow list of unpaid activities that are permitted:
- providing care for grandchildren or other minor relatives in a domestic environment
- undertaking volunteer work in a non-commercial capacity, such as assisting a charitable organisation
- assisting at a local school where the sponsor's children or other minor relatives attend
The same page then draws the boundary that catches many families out: you cannot undertake any unpaid work in a commercial environment or in a family business. So the line is not "paid versus unpaid" — it is "domestic or genuinely non-commercial versus commercial". Helping in a child's shop, café or clinic, even without wages, sits on the prohibited side of that line.
What happens if the Department decides you have worked?
The official page lists cancellation as one of the ways an 870 visa ends, alongside the expiry date on your grant letter, the sponsor withdrawing sponsorship without a replacement, and the sponsorship being cancelled. Holders must obey all Australian laws and meet all visa conditions, and you can check your own conditions in VEVO (Visa Entitlement Verification Online) — the same system you use to show your conditions to someone else.
| Consequence | Where it comes from | What it means in practice |
|---|---|---|
| The visa can be cancelled | Official 870 visa page: "we cancel it" | You lose the visa before the date on your grant letter and must hold another visa or leave Australia |
| The visa ceases if sponsorship ends | Official page: 35 days to find a new sponsor after withdrawal; 90 days after a sponsor's death | A breach that also damages the sponsorship can end the visa through that route as well |
| No extension is available | Official page: "You cannot stay in Australia longer by extending this visa" | There is no mechanism to repair the 870 itself once it ends |
| No parent visa application while you hold or have applied for an 870 | Official page | Losing the 870 does not open an automatic parent visa pathway |
Assume an applicant who takes a paid cleaning job while holding an 870. If the Department becomes aware of the work, the exposure is not a fine or a warning that can be paid off — it is the loss of the visa, and with it the loss of lawful status unless another visa is granted.
How does a breach affect your next visa application?
This is the consequence families tend to underestimate. Clause 870.225 of the Migration Regulations 1994 requires an applicant to have substantially complied with the conditions of their last substantive visa and any subsequent bridging visa. A recorded breach of condition 8103 therefore speaks directly to a mandatory criterion for the next 870 application, and failure to meet it is one of the commonly cited reasons for refusal.
Several other official limits shape what happens next:
- You generally must lodge a further Subclass 870 application from outside Australia, unless you hold Permission to Apply in Australia, which the official page says may be approved only in exceptional circumstances.
- If you apply from outside Australia, you are not eligible for grant unless you have been outside Australia for at least 90 consecutive days since your relevant departure day.
- The cumulative maximum stay across all 870 visas is 10 years; the 18-month COVID-19 concession extension does not count towards that cap.
- A sponsor's household is limited to one sponsorship at a time, covering up to two parents, and a new sponsorship application cannot be lodged until the current approved sponsorship ends.
What can sponsors and families do to stay on the right side?
Assume a family business owner who wants a parent to "help out occasionally". The safest steps, in order:
- Check the visa conditions in VEVO before any arrangement starts.
- Treat every paid or business-related task as prohibited.
- Keep unpaid help inside the three permitted categories.
- Keep the setting domestic or genuinely non-commercial.
- Reconsider the plan if the task could be described as work by an outsider.
Records matter too: volunteer roles, school assistance and grandchild care in a home are easier to explain when the setting and the hours are clear.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is unpaid work always safe on an 870 visa?
No. The official page prohibits unpaid work in a commercial environment and in a family business, even when no wages change hands. Only the three listed unpaid activities — grandchild or minor relative care in a domestic environment, non-commercial volunteering such as for a charity, and assisting at the sponsor's children's school — are permitted.
Can the visa be cancelled for a small amount of work?
The official page does not set a minimum number of hours or a threshold amount. It states that the visa ends if the Department cancels it, and that holders must meet all visa conditions, so any work carries the same category of risk.
If my 870 visa is cancelled, can I apply for another one from inside Australia?
Generally no. The official page says you must be outside Australia when you apply, unless you have Permission to Apply in Australia, which may be approved only in exceptional circumstances such as a serious illness or a natural disaster preventing travel.
Does a breach affect my sponsor?
It can. Sponsorship is a separate approval, and the official page states that the visa ceases if the sponsorship is cancelled or if the sponsor withdraws and a new sponsorship application is not lodged within 35 days (or 90 days after a sponsor's death). Where a new sponsorship is approved, outstanding health debts incurred by the sponsored parent in Australia while the previous sponsor was their parent sponsor remain payable by that former sponsor.
Can I apply for a permanent parent visa after a breach?
Not while you hold or have applied for a Subclass 870 visa. The official page states that this visa does not lead to permanent residence and that you cannot apply for a permanent or temporary parent visa when you have applied for or hold it.
How do I prove what my conditions allow?
Use VEVO. The official page directs holders to VEVO both to see their visa expiry and conditions and to show those conditions to someone else.