Subclass 117 Sponsor Finances 2026: Preparing for an Assurance of Support Request

No, a sponsor does not lodge an Assurance of Support (AoS) with every Subclass 117 Orphan Relative application — but a case officer can require one, and the request usually arrives after the application is already sitting in the queue. Under regulation 117.224 of the Migration Regulations 1994, if the Minister requires an assurance of support, it must have been accepted by the Secretary of the Department of Social Services before the visa can be granted. Based on the Australian Department of Home Affairs Orphan Relative visa (subclass 117) official page as of August 2026, the department does not provide progress updates within normal processing times and will let you know if it needs anything further. This is general information about how that requirement works rather than advice on any individual file; the legislation and the department's current pages should always be read against your own circumstances, and a registered migration agent or legal practitioner can advise on the personal position.

Is an Assurance of Support compulsory for a Subclass 117 application?

It is conditional, not automatic. Regulation 117.224 attaches only where the Minister requires it, which means the requirement can appear late in assessment rather than at lodgement. Departmental guidance (the Procedures Advice Manual, PAM3) describes the trigger as the possibility that the applicant would need to rely on social security such as special benefit — and notes that a minor applicant is generally limited to emergency special benefit. That framing matters: the question being asked is not "does the sponsor earn enough by some published benchmark" but "would this child, once in Australia, need income support that the sponsor cannot absorb".

The same conditional logic extends to secondary applicants. Regulation 117.324 provides that where an assurance of support is required for the main applicant, a secondary applicant must be covered by that assurance or have a separate one of their own.

What has the sponsor already promised on Form 40CH?

A Subclass 117 application is made on paper using Form 47CH (Application for migration to Australia by a child) and Form 40CH (Sponsorship for a child to migrate to Australia), sent together to the Child and Other Family Processing Centre in Perth. The undertaking inside Form 40CH is the substantive commitment: departmental guidance describes it as a promise to provide the financial and accommodation support the child needs for two years after their first entry to Australia.

That promise is assessed, not merely collected. PAM3 directs case officers to evaluate whether the sponsor can actually meet the undertaking, with particular attention to sponsors supporting more than one applicant, and it lists insufficient financial capacity among the common reasons an application fails. Sponsorship itself is separately conditioned: regulation 117.212 requires the sponsor to be either the Australian relative or the spouse or de facto partner of that relative, and in either case to be at least 18, settled, and an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen, with a partner sponsor also cohabiting with the Australian relative; regulation 1.20KB limits the Minister's discretion to approve a sponsorship, including where the sponsor has a registrable offence record.

What must hold at decision time	Where it comes from	What it means for the sponsor
Assurance of support accepted, if required	Regulation 117.224	Accepted by the Secretary of the Department of Social Services, not by the visa case officer
Secondary applicants covered	Regulation 117.324	Included in the main assurance or covered by a separate one
Sponsorship approved and still in force	Regulation 117.222, read with regulation 1.20KB	Eligibility and discretion limits apply to the sponsor, not just the child
Two-year support undertaking	Form 40CH, per PAM3 guidance	Financial and accommodation support from the child's first entry
Sponsor eligible and settled	Regulation 117.212	Age, status and settled-ness are prerequisites to any financial assessment

What income, asset and housing evidence should be assembled before lodging?

The sensible assumption for a sponsor is that a financial picture will eventually be examined, whether or not an AoS is requested. Practical preparation documented in guidance comes down to three strands:

Income: employment evidence and tax records showing current, ongoing earnings rather than a single historical snapshot.
Assets and savings: bank statements and evidence of funds available to absorb the costs of an additional household member.
Housing: proof of the accommodation the child will live in, since the Form 40CH undertaking covers accommodation as well as money. Where the applicant is under 18, welfare arrangements under PIC 4017 and 4018 sit alongside this and are usually documented through a statutory declaration from the sponsor covering guardianship, schooling and living arrangements.

Two mechanical points are worth building into the file from the start. Only certified copies should be sent — the department's certified-copies guidance applies and originals should not be posted — and the sponsor should keep a complete copy of everything lodged. Evidence should also stay current, since a request that arrives many months after lodgement is answered with documents that describe the sponsor's position now, not at the time of application.

How much time does a sponsor get if the request arrives mid-assessment?

The department will let you know if it needs anything further, and the published step-by-step page sets out no single standard response period: it asks that documents missing from the application be provided as soon as you can. Departmental guidance separately notes that where evidence is insufficient or doubts remain, a case officer will usually issue a request under section 56 of the Migration Act 1958, giving an opportunity to explain or supplement the file.

That is why the useful work happens before the letter arrives. An AoS is not a document the sponsor produces alone — regulation 117.224 requires it to have been accepted by the Secretary of the Department of Social Services, so the clock covers an external acceptance step as well as the gathering of payslips, statements and housing proof. A sponsor who already has a current income, asset and housing folder can respond in days; one who starts from zero may be assembling evidence while a separate acceptance process is also running.

Change is the other timing risk. Under section 104 of the Migration Act the applicant must promptly notify the department of any change that would make information already given incorrect, and guidance warns that delayed notification of changed circumstances can contribute to refusal. A sponsor who loses income, changes address or takes on another sponsorship commitment during processing should expect that to be relevant to the same assessment.

Practical channel: once a paper application is imported into ImmiAccount, additional documents can be uploaded there; where ImmiAccount cannot be used, or the application was lodged outside Australia before 1 April 2020, documents go through the Child and Orphan Relative Visa Processing Centre online form.

Does sponsoring more than one applicant change the evidence?

Yes, in two ways. Capacity to meet the two-year undertaking is assessed with particular care where a sponsor supports multiple people, so the file should include a short written explanation of how support is spread — per-person living costs, bedroom space, and who covers schooling and incidentals. And under regulation 117.324, every secondary applicant must sit inside the assurance of support or be backed by a separate one; regulation 117.312 separately requires the main applicant's sponsorship to cover them. A household that comfortably supports one child is not automatically treated as supporting three.

Who can lawfully be paid to prepare this part of the application?

Only some people can give immigration assistance. Home Affairs' page states that a person appointed to provide immigration assistance must be a registered migration agent, a legal practitioner, or an exempt person, appointed using Form 956. Anyone can be appointed merely to receive correspondence, using Form 956A. Preparing and presenting the financial side of a sponsorship is assistance work, so a sponsor paying for it should check which of those categories the person falls into.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is an Assurance of Support required for every Subclass 117 application?

No. Regulation 117.224 makes it a requirement only where the Minister asks for one, so many applications are decided without it. Departmental guidance links the request to a risk that the applicant would need to rely on social security such as special benefit, noting that a minor is generally limited to emergency special benefit.

Who has to accept the Assurance of Support?

Regulation 117.224 requires the assurance to have been accepted by the Secretary of the Department of Social Services. Acceptance is therefore a step outside the visa application itself, which is why a late request carries more than just a document-gathering burden.

What does the Form 40CH sponsorship actually commit the sponsor to?

Departmental guidance describes the Form 40CH undertaking as providing the financial and accommodation support the child needs for two years after their first entry to Australia. Case officers assess whether the sponsor can realistically meet that undertaking, and insufficient capacity is listed among common refusal reasons.

How long does a sponsor have to respond to a request?

Home Affairs' published page states that the department will let you know if it needs anything further and that documents not included with the application should be provided as soon as you can; guidance adds that such requests are usually issued under section 56 of the Migration Act.

Does the sponsor's income have to reach a set threshold?

The regulations and departmental guidance frame the question as capacity to meet the two-year support and accommodation undertaking rather than as a fixed income figure. Guidance directs attention to the sponsor's ability to deliver what Form 40CH promises, with closer scrutiny where several applicants are being supported at once.

What if the sponsor is supporting more than one child?

The file should explain, person by person, how financial and housing support will be provided, because capacity is assessed with particular care in multi-applicant cases. Under regulation 117.324 each secondary applicant must be included in the assurance of support or covered by a separate one.

What happens if the sponsor's finances change during processing?

Under section 104 of the Migration Act the applicant must promptly notify the department of any change that would make information already provided incorrect, and guidance warns that delayed notification can contribute to refusal; a sponsor whose income, address or sponsorship commitments change should expect those changes to be relevant to the same assessment. Because the assessment looks at current capacity, a drop in income or a new dependent may need to be addressed before a request is even issued.