Subclass 117 Sponsorship in 2026: Proving Settled Status and Handling Registrable Offence Issues

A Subclass 117 sponsorship is refused at the sponsor end in two quite different ways: the sponsor cannot show they are "settled", or the sponsor — or their spouse or de facto partner — has a registrable offence record that leaves the Australian Department of Home Affairs almost no room to approve. According to the Department's Orphan Relative visa (Subclass 117) page, as of August 2026, a pending registrable offence charge means the sponsorship and the visa application are refused, while a conviction can be approved only in very limited circumstances. This article is general information about published rules rather than advice on any particular case; because the outcome in offence cases turns on facts the public page does not set out, the Department's current policy and any professional advice you take should govern what you actually lodge.

What does "settled" require of a 117 sponsor?

The starting point is the status the sponsor holds rather than how long they have been in the country. The Department's page states that the child must have a relative who is a settled Australian citizen, eligible New Zealand citizen or Australian permanent resident. Settled status is therefore attached to one of three statuses; holding one of them without being settled does not meet the criterion.

The Migration Regulations 1994 add the structural detail. Under the subclass 117 criteria, the sponsor must be at least 18, and may be either:

the Australian relative personally, if they are 18 or over and a settled Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen; or
the spouse or de facto partner of that Australian relative, if they are 18 or over, settled, and living with the Australian relative.

The Australian relative must fall within the categories the Department lists: an eligible sibling or step-sibling, grandparent or step-grandparent, aunt, uncle, step-aunt or step-uncle. "Settled" itself is a defined term in the Regulations (reg 1.03), and that legislative text is the authority — the public visa page does not set out a fixed residence period, and any working benchmark such as two years of lawful residence should be checked against current official guidance before you rely on it.

How is settled status actually evidenced?

Because no fixed checklist is published on the visa page, the practical task is to show an established, continuing life in Australia rather than a temporary or recent presence. Suppose a sponsor returned to Australia eleven months ago after a decade abroad: the status (citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen) is not in doubt, but the settled question is the one that will draw questions, and the evidence has to carry it.

What must be shown	Where it comes from	Records commonly assembled
Sponsor is a citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen	Department's Orphan Relative visa page	Citizenship or permanent residence evidence, passport
Sponsor is settled	Migration Regulations 1994, reg 1.03 and the subclass 117 criteria	Residence history, employment and tax records, bank statements, housing or tenancy records, children's schooling, community ties
Sponsor is 18 or over	Subclass 117 sponsorship criterion	Identity documents
Sponsoring spouse or de facto partner lives with the Australian relative	Subclass 117 sponsorship criterion	Joint residence records

Duration matters, but it is evidence rather than a threshold: a long residence supported by nothing else is weaker than a shorter one documented across housing, work and family ties. Where the sponsor is a spouse or de facto partner standing in for the Australian relative, the cohabitation element has to be documented as well, since it is part of the same criterion.

Does the sponsor's partner get checked too?

Yes, and this is the point practitioners most often see missed. The Department's page applies the registrable offence test to "the sponsor and/or their spouse or de facto partner (if any)". The household, not just the signing sponsor, is in scope.

That has a structural consequence. Where the blocking record belongs to the Australian relative, moving the sponsorship to that relative's spouse does not solve the problem — the relative's record still counts, because the test reaches the spouse or de facto partner of whoever sponsors. Restructuring only helps when a genuinely different eligible relative is available: the criterion is met by any eligible sibling or step-sibling, grandparent or step-grandparent, aunt, uncle, step-aunt or step-uncle, so a different qualifying relative whose own household is clear may be able to sponsor instead.

What happens with a pending registrable offence charge?

A pending charge is the hard case. The Department states that if the sponsor and/or their spouse or de facto partner have a pending registrable offence charge, it will refuse both the sponsorship and the visa application. No discretion is described on the public page for that situation.

Timing matters because sponsorship is a separate approval that must be in place before the visa can be granted, and the criterion requires the approved sponsorship to remain in effect at the decision. A charge laid while the application is being processed is therefore not a procedural footnote; it goes directly to whether the sponsorship can stand. This is why the offence position is worth resolving, or the sponsorship plan worth rethinking, before the papers are lodged rather than after.

Can sponsorship survive a registrable offence conviction?

Only barely. The Department's position is that where the sponsor and/or their spouse or de facto partner have a registrable offence conviction, sponsorship can be approved only in very limited circumstances. The Regulation that produces that narrowness is reg 1.20KB, which limits the discretion to approve the sponsorship; it is a constraint on the decision-maker, not a waiver an applicant can apply for.

The public visa page does not enumerate the exceptions — the Department sets out its child protection approach in separate guidance on measures for the protection of children. Anyone assessing this pathway should read that guidance and the current text of reg 1.20KB rather than assume the public summary is the whole rule. Two practical points follow: the assessment happens at the sponsorship stage, before any visa grant, and the narrow pathway is assessed on the facts of the household, which includes the sponsor's spouse or de facto partner.

What else does the sponsorship assessment touch?

Two adjacent issues tend to surface alongside the settled and offence questions.

The first is capacity. The Department's procedures guidance (PAM3) describes the Form 40CH sponsorship as including an undertaking to provide accommodation and financial support for two years from the child's first entry, with the decision-maker assessing whether the sponsor can actually deliver it — with closer scrutiny where the same sponsor is supporting more than one applicant. PAM3 is not reproduced on the public visa page, so confirm the current wording against official guidance. A sponsor who is clearly settled but has no stable housing or income is exposed on this limb rather than on settled status.

The second is who may lawfully be paid for help. The Department's page notes that before paying anyone, you should check who can help with your application: giving immigration assistance requires a registered migration agent, a legal practitioner, or an exempt person. Appointing someone merely to receive correspondence is separate, and anyone can be appointed for that. The relevant appointment forms are Form 956 (immigration assistance) and Form 956A (authorised recipient).

On timing generally, a police certificate used for immigration purposes is treated as valid for 12 months from its issue date, which is worth planning around if certificates are being obtained for a household check ahead of lodgement.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a fixed number of years that makes a sponsor "settled"?

No fixed period appears on the Department's public visa page. "Settled" is a defined term in the Migration Regulations 1994, so the legislation is the authority, and any commonly used working benchmark should be checked against current official guidance.

Do step-relatives have to be settled as well?

The eligible categories include step-siblings, step-grandparents, step-aunts and step-uncles, and the settled requirement attaches to the sponsoring relative generally. A step-relative who holds Australian citizenship, permanent residence or eligible New Zealand citizenship still has to meet the settled element.

My partner has the charge, not me. Does it still count?

Yes. The Department applies the registrable offence test to the sponsor and/or their spouse or de facto partner, so a partner's pending charge or conviction is assessed as part of the same sponsorship.

Can we lodge the visa first and sort out the sponsorship later?

Sponsorship must be approved before the visa can be granted, and the approved sponsorship must still be in effect at the decision. Lodging first does not defer the sponsorship problem, and a pending charge leads to refusal of both.

Is a conviction ever approvable?

Only in very limited circumstances, per the Department's page. The public page does not list what those circumstances are; the child protection guidance and reg 1.20KB are where the limits are set out.

Does the child need police certificates too?

Children aged 16 or over must provide police certificates from every country where they have spent 12 months or more in the last 10 years since turning 16, and Australian certificates must be AFP National Police Certificates applied for under Code 33 – Immigration/Citizenship.

Who can lawfully be paid for help with a 117 sponsorship?

Only a registered migration agent, a legal practitioner, or an exempt person can give immigration assistance for a fee. Anyone can be appointed to receive correspondence on your behalf, which is a separate role.