Subclass 400 Financial Evidence 2026: Why Large Recent Deposits Fail

A large sum that lands in your account in the weeks before you lodge is one of the weakest financial documents you can attach to a Subclass 400 application. The Temporary Work (Short Stay Specialist) visa (Subclass 400) page published by the Australian Department of Home Affairs asks you to show that you can support yourself and any family you bring; as of August 2026 that page lists evidence of funds — an employment contract or bank statements — or a letter from your bank or financial institution stating your financial position, and adds that allowances, accommodation and other help from your employer can also be considered. The Department's policy guidance for decision makers (PAM3) is blunter about quality: large sums deposited suddenly, and cash or traveller's cheques, are generally not treated as reliable evidence. This article is general information rather than advice on your own circumstances, so for a decision that affects you, rely on the Department's current published requirements or on a registered migration agent, legal practitioner or exempt person — the only categories the Department lists as able to give immigration assistance.

What does the financial requirement actually ask?

The eligibility rule is short: while you are in Australia, you and your family members must have adequate means to support yourselves. In the Migration Regulations 1994 this sits in clause 400.214 for the main applicant, which covers having enough funds for the stay or having access to that support, and clause 400.314 applies the same test to family members included in the application.

Neither the official page nor PAM3 sets a dollar figure. Sufficiency is judged on the individual case against what your own trip is expected to cost — travel, accommodation and living expenses for the period of the work. That is why the question applicants worry about ("how much?") is not the question that decides most cases. The question that decides them is where the money came from and whether it will still be there.

Why does a deposit made just before applying fail?

A decision maker is reading your financial documents for two things: whether the money is genuinely available to you for the whole stay, and whether it is yours to spend. A balance that jumps from small to large days before lodgement answers neither.

Such a movement is equally consistent with borrowed money, a transfer from a relative, or a shuffle between your own accounts to manufacture a closing balance. Nothing in the statement shows that the funds will remain available when you book flights or pay for accommodation, and nothing connects the sum to your own income. PAM3 flags exactly this: sudden large deposits, and cash or traveller's cheques, are generally not regarded as reliable. Cash and traveller's cheques carry a second problem — there is no independent record of who provided them.

The consequences are not hypothetical. Insufficient or unreliable financial support is listed among the common grounds for refusing a Subclass 400, and the official page states that the application charge is not refunded if the application is refused. Separately, clause 400.215 applies public interest criteria that include PIC 4020, so a document that is not genuine creates a problem far larger than a weak balance.

How are different fund sources weighed?

PAM3 indicates an order of preference in which a steady salary flow outranks a lump sum that appears suddenly, while leaving the final judgment to the decision maker. The table below is an editorial reading of that order.

Source of funds	What it demonstrates	How it tends to be weighed
Overseas employer salary that continues during the stay, shown by contract and payslips	Income tied to the same period as the visa	Strongest — regular, verifiable, and self-explaining
Bank statements showing regular salary credits over several months	A history of income and a normal spending pattern	Strong
Personal savings with a documented origin	A balance held over time	Acceptable, provided the origin is shown
Employer allowances, accommodation or other help	Support in kind, accepted under the official page	Needs the contract or invitation letter to evidence it
Letter from your bank or financial institution stating your financial position	Confirms a stated position	Supporting rather than standalone
Financial support letter from another person	Third-party backing	Weaker unless backed by that person's own records
Large sum deposited shortly before lodgement	Only a closing balance	Weak — no source trail
Cash or traveller's cheques	Possession of funds, nothing more	Generally not reliable under PAM3

What does a bank statement that survives scrutiny look like?

The pattern matters more than the total. The useful signals are:

A period measured in months, not days. PAM3 practice guidance points to stable records such as payslips for the last three to six months together with account balances.
Credits that match your employment contract. Salary arriving on a predictable cycle, from a named payer, at roughly the amount your contract states.
A closing balance consistent with the running balance, rather than one created by a final transfer.
The account in your own name, so ownership is not a separate question.
No round-number credits arriving just before lodgement that you cannot name a source for.

If you rely on a bank letter instead, note what the official page asks for: a letter from your bank or financial institution stating your financial position. A letter that only confirms a balance on one date shows less than statements showing how that balance behaves over time, so the two are usually better together.

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Can a large deposit ever be explained?

Yes — the problem is not the deposit itself but the missing trail. A genuine lump sum, such as a completion payment, a bonus, an employer advance or sale proceeds, can be supported by the document that created it: the employer letter, the payslip, the contract, the sale record, or the transfer record naming the payer.

The distinction is simple to state and hard to fake: the deposit should be the endpoint of a chain you can show, not the beginning of your evidence. Where doubts about funds remain, PAM3 directs decision makers to use section 56 of the Migration Act to request further information rather than refuse outright — but that request arrives after lodgement, adds delay, and is not something to plan around.

Borrowed money is the case that most often looks like savings and is not. If funds are not freely yours to spend for the length of the stay, presenting them as your own balance misstates your position, and the inconsistency is what draws scrutiny.

Do employer allowances and accommodation change the picture?

They change the shape of your evidence rather than rescuing a bad deposit. The official page confirms that allowances, accommodation and other help from your employer can be considered, so the cash-in-bank test is not the only route to satisfying clause 400.214.

But that support has to be documented in the same documents that prove the work itself: the invitation letter, job offer, employment contract or other document from the Australian organisation confirming your position and duties, the duration of the work, why you are required in Australia, support for the application, your employment conditions and wages, and the applicable workplace standards or industry award. A modest, well-documented balance combined with documented employer support usually reads better than one large unexplained number.

What if family members are on the same application?

The test extends to them. The official page frames the requirement as supporting yourself and any family you bring to Australia, and clause 400.314 applies it to secondary applicants.

In practice the same credibility test is applied per person, which is where a single pooled deposit becomes a risk multiplier: split across several applicants, the amount attributable to each person shrinks while the source remains undocumented. Note also that the official page requires each family member's application charge to be paid and their documents attached to their own application.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a minimum bank balance for a Subclass 400 application?

No figure is published on the official page, and PAM3 records no set amount. Sufficiency is assessed on your own circumstances, measured against expected travel, accommodation and living costs for the period of the work, so the amount that is adequate for one applicant may not be for another.

How many months of bank statements should I provide?

The official page does not fix a period. PAM3 practice guidance refers to stable records such as payslips for the last three to six months together with account balances, which is a reasonable indication of the history a decision maker is looking for rather than a formal rule.

My parents transferred money into my account last week — is that fatal?

Not automatically, but on its own it is weak, because sudden large deposits are generally not treated as reliable evidence. Add the transfer record showing the payer, a support letter, and documents showing where your parents' money came from, so the sum sits at the end of a visible chain.

Can I show cash or traveller's cheques as financial evidence?

PAM3 states that cash and traveller's cheques are generally not regarded as reliable evidence. They demonstrate possession of funds at one moment without any independent record of the source or of your ongoing access to them.

Is a letter from my bank enough on its own?

The official page accepts a letter from your bank or financial institution stating your financial position, so it is a recognised form of evidence. It confirms a position but not a history, so it is usually paired with statements or an employment contract.

Will I get the application charge back if the visa is refused over funds?

No. The official page states that the application charge is not refunded if the application is refused, and this applies regardless of which criterion the refusal turns on.

Does employer-provided accommodation count as support?

Yes. The official page states that allowances, accommodation and other help from your employer can be considered. To rely on it, the arrangement needs to appear in the employment contract, invitation letter or job offer you submit with the application.