Child travelling to Australia on a 600 visa in 2026: consent, guardianship and PIC 4017/4018

Every adult who has a legal right to decide where an under-18 applicant lives, and who is not travelling to Australia with that child, must give written consent — and the child's welfare arrangements have to stand on their own. That is what the Department of Home Affairs sets out on its Tourist stream (apply outside Australia) page for the Visitor visa (subclass 600), as at July 2026: consent is given either on Form 1229 (Consent form to grant an Australian visa to a child under the age of 18 years) or by statutory declaration, and a child who will not be staying with a relative or legal guardian also needs a Form 1257 Undertaking declaration signed by the person they will stay with. The same result is written into the criteria themselves — the Migration Regulations 1994 add public interest criteria 4017 and 4018 to clause 600.213 for applicants under 18, and the Procedures Advice Manual 3 (PAM3) guidance summarises them as requiring the consent of all guardians, requiring the travel to be in the child's best interests, and requiring welfare arrangements where a child travels without a guardian.

This is general information about published requirements, not advice about any one family's circumstances; consent and guardianship turn on who holds legal responsibility for a particular child and on any court or adoption orders in place, so the current official requirements — and, where a case is contested or unusual, a professional opinion — should govern the final decision.

Who has to consent, and who counts as a guardian?

The Home Affairs page frames consent around function rather than biology: anyone with a legal right to decide where the child lives, who is not travelling to Australia with the child, must complete a consent form or declaration. In most cases that is both parents, but the same obligation follows the legal right wherever it sits — an adoptive parent, a court-appointed guardian, or a person holding parental court orders.

That distinction matters because a parent can be a biological parent without holding the decision, and a non-parent can hold it through a court order. The page separately requires proof of legal guardianship where someone other than the biological parents has it, and asks for adoption papers or parental court orders where they exist.

How is consent given: Form 1229 or a statutory declaration?

Either route is accepted on the official page, and the applicant supplies both the consent itself and proof of who signed it:

Form 1229 — Consent form to grant an Australian visa to a child under the age of 18 years; or
a statutory declaration giving that person's consent for the child to visit Australia on this visa.

Alongside either one, the applicant must include a document showing the signature and photo of the person who completed the form or declaration — the page gives a passport or a driver's licence as examples. This is the step that most often gets skipped: a signed consent with no photo identification attached leaves the decision-maker unable to match the signature to a person with legal authority.

A useful test, if you are working out how many consents are needed: assume one consent document, plus one photo-ID document, from each person who could lawfully say no to the trip.

What identity documents does a child applicant need?

The starting point on the official page is a birth certificate showing the names of both parents. Where a birth certificate cannot be provided, the page accepts one of these instead:

the identification pages of a family book showing the names of both parents
the identification pages of a government-issued identity document
the identification pages of a court-issued document that proves identity
the identification pages of a family census register

Where guardianship sits outside the biological parents, proof of that guardianship is required in addition — adoption papers or parental court orders, as applicable.

Requirement	Who it falls on	What the official page accepts
Proof of parentage	The child applicant	Birth certificate showing both parents' names, or one of the four alternatives listed above
Proof of guardianship	Applicants with adoptive parents or a court-appointed guardian	Legal guardianship proof; adoption papers or parental court orders
Consent to travel	Every person with a legal right to decide where the child lives who is not travelling	Form 1229 or a statutory declaration, plus a signed photo ID such as a passport or driver's licence
Care arrangements	A child not staying with a relative or legal guardian	Form 1257 Undertaking declaration, signed by the person they are staying with

What if the child will not stay with a relative or legal guardian?

Then the welfare question is answered on paper. The official page requires Form 1257 — Undertaking declaration, signed by the person the child will be staying with, in addition to the consent material. The signature requirement is on that person, not on a parent who is not travelling.

This is the clearest example of the difference between the two regimes: Form 1229 answers who agreed to the child leaving, and Form 1257 answers who is responsible for the child while they are here. A child travelling to stay with an aunt who is a relative is treated differently from a child travelling to stay with a family friend, a sports coach, or a homestay arranged for a short course of activities.

What do PIC 4017 and 4018 actually require?

Both are listed in clause 600.213 as additional public interest criteria for applicants under 18, alongside PIC 4012. The PAM3 guidance summarises them as a combined test of three things: the consent of all guardians, the best interests of the child, and welfare arrangements for a child travelling alone.

Two features of that test are easy to underestimate. First, it is a best interests assessment, not simply a check that a signature was collected — a consent that exists formally can still fail if the arrangements around the trip do not serve the child. Second, the welfare limb attaches to travelling alone, so a child who flies unaccompanied, or who arrives in Australia with no parent or legal guardian present, is being assessed on the arrangements that will actually be in place day to day.

The PAM3 refusal list reflects this directly: lack of parental or guardian consent, and inadequate welfare arrangements, are named among the common grounds for refusing a visitor application.

Does a child have to meet the same criteria as an adult?

Yes. Subclass 600 has no secondary criteria for members of a family unit — everyone included in the application, including a child, must satisfy the primary criteria in Subdivision 600.21. In practice that means a child's application is assessed on the same core planks as the parents':

600.211 — a genuine intention to stay temporarily in Australia for the purpose for which the visa is granted, taking into account compliance with the conditions of any previous substantive or bridging visa, willingness to comply with the conditions that would attach, and any other relevant matter
600.212 — adequate means of support, or access to adequate means
600.213 — the public interest criteria, which for a child include 4012, 4017 and 4018
600.214 — the special return criteria 5001, 5002 and 5010
600.215 — the limit on cumulative stays of more than 12 months, which requires exceptional circumstances

For a school-age child, the practical evidence overlaps with the adult file: enrolment or a letter from the school showing the child is expected back, plus the funds evidence described on the official page (itemised personal bank statements covering a three-month period, pay slips, tax records, term deposits and similar). Clause numbering and commencement should be checked against the current registered text of the Migration Regulations 1994 on the Federal Register of Legislation.

What happens if consent or welfare evidence is missing?

The official page is explicit that the Department may decide the application without requesting further information. Missing consent is not treated as a curable oversight by default. So the sequencing is: lodge a complete file rather than expecting a request, and if something is genuinely unobtainable — a parent who cannot be located, or a guardianship order that is still being processed — address it in the application itself rather than leaving a gap.

If the child's circumstances change after lodgement but before a decision — a new passport, a changed care arrangement, or a change in who is travelling — the official page requires the change to be notified, and lists changes to passport, address and relationship status, and the birth of a child, among the things to report.

Two further practical points from the same page: an applicant who applied from outside Australia must be outside Australia when the visa is decided, and travel should not be arranged until the grant is received in writing.

Who is allowed to help with a child's application?

Only some people can lawfully give immigration assistance. The official page limits it to a registered migration agent, a legal practitioner, or an exempt person. Anyone at all may be appointed to receive documents on the applicant's behalf, which is a separate and narrower role.

The appointment is made on the form that matches the role — Form 956 for someone providing immigration assistance, Form 956A for someone receiving correspondence — and the form is uploaded to ImmiAccount. Given that consent and guardianship evidence is where most child applications come undone, the useful question to ask of anyone being paid to help is not whether they are confident but which of those three categories they fall into.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a child need both parents' consent for a subclass 600 visa?

Consent is required from anyone with a legal right to decide where the child lives who is not travelling to Australia with the child. Where both parents hold that right and neither is travelling, that means both; where a court order or adoption has moved the right elsewhere, it means the person who holds it.

Is Form 1229 the only way to give consent?

No. The Department of Home Affairs accepts either Form 1229 or a statutory declaration giving consent for the child to visit Australia on this visa. Either one must be accompanied by a document showing the signature and photo of the person who signed, such as a passport or driver's licence.

When is Form 1257 needed?

Form 1257 — Undertaking declaration is required when the child will not be staying with a relative or legal guardian. The person the child is staying with must sign it, and it is needed in addition to the consent documents rather than instead of them.

What are PIC 4017 and 4018 in plain terms?

They are additional public interest criteria that apply to subclass 600 applicants under 18 under clause 600.213. The PAM3 guidance summarises them as requiring all guardians to consent to the travel, requiring the travel to be in the child's best interests, and requiring welfare arrangements for a child who travels alone.

What can be used instead of a birth certificate?

The official page accepts the identification pages of a family book showing both parents' names, a government-issued identity document, a court-issued document proving identity, or a family census register. Proof of legal guardianship — adoption papers or parental court orders — is also required where someone other than the biological parents holds it.

Can a child's application be refused for missing consent?

Yes. The PAM3 guidance lists a lack of parental or guardian consent and inadequate welfare arrangements among common refusal grounds. The Department also states that it may decide an application without asking for further information, so gaps left at lodgement are not automatically followed up.

Does the child have to satisfy the same criteria as the parents?

Yes. Subclass 600 has no secondary criteria for family unit members, so a child must meet the primary criteria including the genuine temporary stay requirement, adequate means of support, the public interest criteria and the special return criteria.