Proving Dependency for a Subclass 101 Child Visa: Age Bands and Evidence in 2026

Dependency is not a single test on a Subclass 101 Child visa — it is three different tests, and which one applies depends entirely on the child's age band. Australia's Department of Home Affairs sets out those bands on its official Child visa (Subclass 101) page, and this article reflects that page as of August 2026: a child qualifies as under 18, as over 18 and under 25 while studying full time, or as over 18 with a disability. Each band asks for a different kind of proof, and the middle one is where most files come apart.

What does "dependent" actually mean here?

The child must be dependent on a parent who is an Australian citizen, an eligible New Zealand citizen, or an Australian permanent visa holder. That parent relationship can be biological, adopted, or a stepchild relationship — but only where the child is the child of the sponsoring step-parent's former partner. If the step-parent is currently the spouse or de facto partner of the child's biological or adopted parent, the dependency requirement is not met through that route.

Two qualifications sit alongside this. An adopted child must have been adopted before turning 18 by a parent who was not an Australian citizen, permanent visa holder, or eligible New Zealand citizen at the time of the adoption; adoptions by a parent who already held one of those statuses are directed to the Adoption visa (subclass 102) instead. A stepchild must be under 18, and the step-parent must hold either an Australian parenting order in force that says the child is to live with and be looked after by them, or guardianship or custody under Australian law or the law of another country.

Under 18: what do you actually have to prove?

Very little, on dependency itself. Age does the work — the Department's criteria list "under 18 years old" as a standalone band, with no study, work, or financial-support condition attached to it. In practice the evidentiary load shifts to three other things: the parent-child relationship, the sponsorship, and consent.

Relationship evidence is the birth record, adoption papers, or the combination of former-partner proof and parenting order described above. Where the documentary record is incomplete, the Department's policy guidance notes that DNA testing may be offered as an option, and that a decision can still be made on the material already lodged if the applicant does not pursue it.

Consent is the under-18 gate that catches families off guard. The visa can only be granted to a child under 18 if everyone who can legally decide where the child lives has given written consent, or the child's home country's laws allow them to leave, or the grant is consistent with any Australian child order about the child (including overseas child orders registered through the Attorney-General's Department). The Department may also refuse an under-18 application if granting it would not be in the best interests of the child.

18 to 24: the student band, tested twice

This band carries four concurrent conditions, and the Department states plainly that they must hold when the child applies and when the visa application is decided. Two time points, one continuous obligation:

The child must be a full-time student at both points.
The child cannot work full time.
The child must be financially dependent on their parent more than any other person.
The child must not be, and must never have been, married, engaged to be married, or in a de facto relationship.

What counts as full-time study?

The Department's definition has two limbs, and both are needed. The child is a full-time student if they are enrolled in a full-time course that leads to a professional, trade or vocational qualification and are attending classes. Enrolment alone is not study; attendance is a separate factual question, and a certificate of enrolment with no attendance or assessment record behind it is the single most common weakness in this band.

Timing matters too. The child should have started study since turning 18, or within 6 months (or a reasonable time) of finishing school, and any gap of more than 6 months between the final year of school and the start of further studies must be explained.

What breaks the student band?

Three things, in rough order of frequency. Full-time work is a hard stop, and the policy guidance is unsentimental about labels: the assessment looks at whether the activity would normally attract payment, so unpaid or volunteer work does not automatically escape scrutiny. Interrupted study is the second — a gap that is unexplained, or a course that does not lead to a professional, trade or vocational qualification, takes the child out of the definition. A partner is the third, and it is retrospective: "ever have been" married, engaged, or in a de facto relationship disqualifies, regardless of the current status.

Suppose an applicant enrols in a full-time vocational course at 19, works 20 hours a week in a paid retail job, and takes an eight-month break before a second course. Nothing there is automatically fatal, but the file now has three lines of argument to answer rather than one.

18 or over with a disability: the age cap falls away

A child who is 18 or older with a disability does not need to fit the student band. The two requirements are that the child has totally or partially lost their bodily or mental functions, and cannot work full time. There is no upper age limit stated for this band on the Department's page.

The evidence burden is therefore medical and functional rather than academic: documentation of the loss of bodily or mental functions, and material showing why full-time work is not possible. Because this band removes the 25-year ceiling, decision-makers test it closely, and the Department's policy guidance treats "over 25 and not shown to be incapable of work" as a standard refusal ground.

Which evidence gets questioned most often?

Evidence type	Why it is tested	What strengthens it
Enrolment and attendance	Enrolment alone does not prove study	Class attendance, assessment results, transcripts alongside enrolment records
Financial dependence	The test is dependence on the parent more than any other person, not merely some support	Regular transfer records, tuition and living-cost payments, bank statements, sponsor income evidence, and a statement that the child has no independent income source
Work status	"Not full time" is assessed by the nature of the activity, not the job title	Contracts, rosters, or employer letters showing hours
Gaps in study	Gaps over 6 months must be explained	Dated explanations with supporting documents
Parent-child relationship	Relationship is a threshold issue for every band	Full birth records; court or guardianship orders for stepchildren; DNA where the record is deficient
Continuity to decision	Conditions must hold at decision, not only at lodgement	Updated enrolment and financial records through the processing period

The Department's policy guidance also sets out that a case officer should generally give an applicant an opportunity to provide further information before deciding against them, including on relationship evidence, study evidence, and financial dependence. That is a procedural safeguard, not a cure: it works only if the underlying facts can be documented.

What else has to line up?

Dependency is necessary but not sufficient. The sponsorship must be approved before the visa can be granted, and sponsorship will be refused where the sponsor or their spouse or de facto partner has a pending registrable offence charge, with approval possible only in very limited circumstances after a registrable offence conviction. The child and any dependants applying with them must meet the health requirement, and a child aged 16 or over must meet the character requirement. Any debt owed to the Australian Government by the child or a family member must be repaid or covered by a formal arrangement. Children aged 18 or over must have read, or had explained to them, the Life in Australia booklet and sign the Australian Values Statement.

Two points drawn from the Regulations rather than the Department's public page are worth checking against the current text before you rely on them: clause 101.221 continues the dependency test to the time of decision, and contemplates the case where an applicant ceases to meet the definition only because of having reached 25; and clause 101.223 applies public interest criteria including functional English for applicants who were 18 or over at the time of application. These provisions change and should be confirmed against the latest published legislative text.

Everything above is general information about how the criteria are framed, not an assessment of any particular family's circumstances, and it is not a substitute for advice on an individual case — the official criteria and current policy are the reference point.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a child over 18 have to prove financial dependence with a specific amount?

No dollar threshold is published on the Department's page. The test is comparative: the child must be financially dependent on their parent more than on any other person. Evidence that speaks to it includes regular money transfers, proof of tuition and living-cost payments, bank statements, the sponsor's income evidence, and a statement that the child has no independent income source.

Can a full-time student in the 18–24 band work part time?

The published criterion is that the child cannot work full time, so part-time work is not excluded on its face. The policy guidance adds that the nature of the activity is examined — including unpaid or volunteer work — to see whether it would normally be paid. Hours that crowd out classes also undermine the "attending classes" limb of full-time study.

What happens if there was a gap between finishing school and starting further study?

The child should have started study since turning 18, or within 6 months or a reasonable time of finishing school. Any gap of more than 6 months between the final year of school and the start of further studies must be explained, so the explanation and its supporting documents belong in the application rather than in a later response.

Does a past marriage or de facto relationship disqualify the child permanently?

Yes, for the purposes of this visa. The criterion is that the child cannot be, or ever have been, married, engaged to be married, or in a de facto relationship. It is not limited to the current status, and the same condition applies across both the student band and the disability band.

Is a stepchild automatically eligible as a dependent child?

No. The child must be the child of the step-parent's former partner and be under 18, and the step-parent must hold an Australian parenting order in force providing that the child lives with and is cared for by them, or guardianship or custody under Australian law or the law of another country. Where the step-parent is the current spouse or de facto partner of the child's biological or adopted parent, the dependency requirement is not met.

What if the child turns 25 while the application is still being decided?

The 18–24 conditions must hold both when the child applies and when the application is decided, which is why continuous enrolment and attendance records through the processing period matter. The Regulations' decision-time clause addresses the situation where an applicant stops meeting the definition only because of reaching 25; because that turns on the exact wording, it should be read in the current legislative text.