Form 40CH Sponsorship Undertakings and Assurance of Support: 2026 Guide for Subclass 102

Form 40CH is the sponsorship form the adoptive or prospective adoptive parent signs for an Adoption visa (subclass 102), and it does two things at once: it puts the sponsor's own commitment on record, and it is the document the Department of Home Affairs assesses before it will approve the sponsorship. As of August 2026, the Department's official Adoption visa (subclass 102) page states that the child must be sponsored by an eligible adoptive parent or prospective adoptive parent and that the sponsorship must be approved before the visa can be granted. What follows is general information about published requirements and policy, not an assessment of any individual case; where an application turns on discretion, the current official pages and any professional advice you take are the final reference.

What does signing Form 40CH actually commit you to?

The undertaking is a promise of support, not of permanent income replacement. Departmental policy guidance on subclass 102 describes the sponsorship undertaking as an obligation to give the child the financial and accommodation assistance they need for two years after their first entry into Australia. In practice that means the sponsor is the person the Department looks to for the child's housing and day-to-day support during the settlement period, and the wording on the current form and policy guidance should be read directly rather than paraphrased.

The commitment is also time-sensitive in a second sense. The sponsorship has to be approved and still in force when the visa decision is made, not only when the application is lodged. Policy guidance treats the sponsorship as lapsing if the sponsor withdraws it, loses the status that qualified them, or dies; if the sponsor has an application on foot to restore that status, the case officer may wait for the outcome rather than refuse immediately.

Can the Minister require an assurance of support on top of the sponsorship?

Yes, and this is the part sponsors most often miss. The subclass 102 criteria in the Migration Regulations 1994 include a condition that, if the Minister requires an assurance of support, that assurance must have been accepted. The requirement is discretionary rather than automatic, which is why two families with similar applications can be treated differently.

Policy guidance draws a rough line by adoption pathway. For adoptions arranged with an Australian state or territory central authority, an assurance of support is generally not pursued, because the central authority's own assessment of the prospective parents has already covered their suitability and capacity. For expatriate (private) adoptions, where no Australian central authority has assessed the family, the financial side is more likely to be examined, and an assurance of support is more likely to be considered. Treat this as a tendency in published policy, not a rule that removes the discretion either way.

Why do expatriate adoptions attract closer scrutiny?

Because nothing else has checked the arrangement. The Department's official page is blunt about this: the Australian Government, including the Department, has no role in overseas expatriate adoptions and does not issue letters of support or certificates of no objection for them. It only assesses and decides the visa. So the visa process becomes the only point at which the adoption is examined against Australian requirements.

For an expatriate adoption, the official page requires all of the following: at least one adoptive parent resided outside Australia for more than 12 months immediately before the application was lodged; the parent did not move overseas to avoid Australia's intercountry adoption laws; the parent holds full and permanent parental rights with no remaining legal ties between the child and the birth parents; and the adoption complies with the adoption laws of the child's home country. Two of those are judgement calls rather than tick-box items. Whether overseas residence was contrived and whether parental rights are truly "full and permanent" are assessed on the evidence — employment records, leases, schooling, the wording of the adoption order — and the Department recommends independent legal advice in both Australia and the child's country of usual residence before proceeding with an expatriate adoption, since a legal adoption overseas does not by itself guarantee a subclass 102 outcome.

What can stop the sponsorship from being approved?

The sponsorship has its own failure modes, separate from the child's eligibility. The official page states that if the sponsor, or their spouse or de facto partner, has a pending registrable offence charge, both the sponsorship and the visa application will be refused. If there is a registrable offence conviction, the sponsorship can be approved only in very limited circumstances. Policy guidance notes that where a state or territory central authority has already screened the prospective adoptive parents, this check is usually treated as satisfied without further police certificates; that does not extend to expatriate adoptions, where no such screening exists.

Sponsorship also fails on the basics: the sponsor must be an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen, and must hold that status continuously. The child must be under 18 at the time of adoption, when the application is submitted and when the decision is made.

How does Form 40CH fit into the paper application?

Subclass 102 is a paper application. The official page directs applicants to complete Form 47CH (Application for migration to Australia by a child) and Form 40CH and send both together by post or courier to the Child and Other Family Processing Centre in Perth, with the application charge paid before posting; applications lodged any other way, or in person, are not valid. The forms must be completed in English, and only certified copies of documents should be sent.

Two practical consequences follow. A sponsorship signed but not supported by evidence of the sponsor's status will slow the file down, and a sponsorship that lapses during processing — because the sponsor withdraws it, loses the Australian citizenship, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen status that qualified them, or dies — can defeat an otherwise eligible application at the decision stage.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is an assurance of support required for every subclass 102 application?

No. The criterion is written so that an assurance of support is required only if the Minister asks for one, and it must then have been accepted. Published policy indicates it is rarely pursued for adoptions arranged through an Australian state or territory central authority and is considered more often for expatriate adoptions.

How long does the Form 40CH undertaking last?

Departmental policy guidance describes the undertaking as covering financial and accommodation assistance for two years after the child's first entry into Australia. Read the current form and policy guidance for the exact wording, since the form is what the sponsor signs.

Is the sponsor's spouse or de facto partner assessed as well?

Yes. The official page states that a pending registrable offence charge against the sponsor or their spouse or de facto partner leads to refusal of both the sponsorship and the visa application, and that a conviction can be approved only in very limited circumstances.

What happens if the sponsor withdraws, loses status, or dies before the decision?

Policy guidance treats the sponsorship as no longer in force in those situations, and since the sponsorship must be approved and still effective at the time of decision, the visa cannot be granted on that sponsorship. Where the sponsor has applied to restore the relevant status, the case officer may wait for that outcome.

Why is an expatriate adoption harder to evidence than a Hague Convention adoption?

A Hague Convention adoption comes with an adoption compliance certificate and central authority involvement on both sides; an expatriate adoption has neither, and the Australian Government explicitly takes no role in it. The applicant must instead prove 12 months of overseas residence, that the residence was not contrived, full and permanent parental rights, and compliance with the home country's adoption laws.

Can I lodge Form 40CH on its own?

It is lodged together with Form 47CH, by post or courier to the Child and Other Family Processing Centre in Perth, with the application charge paid first. The two forms sent together are what make a valid subclass 102 application.