Subclass 602 funds and cost evidence: what 'adequate means' means in 2026

"Adequate means of support" for a Medical Treatment visa (subclass 602) is a coverage test, not a published dollar figure. According to the Australian Department of Home Affairs' "Medical Treatment visa (Subclass 602)" official page, as of the August 2026 official page, you may not be eligible if you do not have, or do not have access to, adequate means to support yourself while in Australia, and that assessment covers your travel to Australia, your medical treatment, other expenses of the stay, and the expenses of anyone who comes with you — including an organ donor's expenses. The criterion sits in clause 602.216 of the Migration Regulations 1994, and the official page repeats it in plain language under "Be able to support yourself."

What does clause 602.216 actually require?

The regulation states the requirement as having, or having access to, adequate means to support yourself — nothing more granular than that. The Home Affairs page then supplies the practical reading: access to money, not ownership of it, is enough, and the money has to reach four cost heads at once.

That framing matters, because applicants often prove only one head. A hospital letter that shows the surgery is paid for says nothing about accommodation, food, return travel, or the costs of the relative travelling as a support person, and the criterion is assessed across all of them.

The procedural guidance applied to this visa (the Department's PAM3 material) treats the same clause as covering day-to-day living costs such as board and lodging, and lists the kind of written evidence that can discharge it: recent bank statements — commonly the last three months — pay slips, evidence of assets or property, and written confirmation of support from relatives or friends. Treat that list as guidance rather than a checklist the regulation itself sets out.

Which costs have to be covered?

Cost head	What the official page includes
Travel	Getting to Australia
Treatment	The medical treatment or consultation you are coming for
Living expenses	Other expenses related to your stay in Australia
Accompanying people	The expenses of anyone who comes with you, including an organ donor

Two consequences follow. First, treatment cost and living cost are separate items, and strong evidence on one does not substitute for the other. Second, a support person's own funds are relevant to that person's own application: the official page requires each support person to make a separate application (unless included in the patient's passport), and the patient's visa must be granted before the support person's visa can be granted.

What financial documents does the Department ask for?

Under "Financial documents," the official page asks for proof that you have access to enough money to pay for your treatment and to support yourself and anyone coming with you, and then names two specific items:

letters from any Australians who will be supporting you during your stay;
a letter from your treating doctor or hospital saying they are satisfied with the arrangements for payment.

If the treatment will be in a public hospital, the payment-arrangements letter carries two extra requirements: it must come from the hospital's financial officer or administration department, and it must confirm that no Australian will be disadvantaged in accessing medical services as a result of your treatment. That second element is not about your bank balance; it is the separate requirement that your treatment not disadvantage Australian citizens or permanent residents, which also appears as clause 602.214.

The medical side runs in parallel. The official page asks for a letter from the treating doctor in Australia setting out the medical condition, the treatment required, an estimate of the timeframe, and an estimate of the cost involved. That cost estimate is what anchors the funds you then have to show. Applicants applying in Australia who do not hold a substantive visa must also complete Form 1507 (Evidence of intended medical treatment, including consultation).

How are support letters and charitable funding treated?

Support letters sit in an awkward place: the official page asks for them, but it does not say what makes one persuasive. The gap is filled by the procedural guidance, which treats a written confirmation of support from relatives or friends as acceptable evidence of access to funds, and treats support from a charitable organisation as particularly strong — the guidance names bodies such as ROMAC, CAFAT and Children's First Foundation as examples.

The reason is structural rather than sentimental. A letter from an individual merely promises money; an established organisation's letter shows an institution with its own funds has already committed to a defined patient and a defined treatment. If a charity or sponsor is paying, the letter should therefore state what is being paid — treatment, travel, living costs, or all three — and for how long, because a commitment that covers only the hospital bill still leaves the other cost heads unproven.

Assume an applicant whose surgery is fully funded by a charitable organisation but who has no evidence for three months of accommodation and no return fare. On the official page's test, the treatment head is covered and the others are not, so the application is still exposed under clause 602.216.

Does a hospital payment letter replace proof of funds?

No. The two requirements come from different places. The arrangement to pay all treatment costs, and the written proof of it from a public or private hospital, belong to the "Arrange for payment of medical treatment" requirement on the official page — the equivalent of the payment-arrangements element in clause 602.212(2). Clause 602.216 asks a separate question about supporting yourself. Satisfying one leaves the other open, which is why the official page asks for the hospital or doctor letter and support letters and general funds evidence in the same document list.

When does clause 602.216 not apply?

The requirement is disapplied for one category. Where the applicant is in Australia, is 50 or older, has been refused an Australian permanent visa on health grounds only, and is unfit to depart Australia, the funds criterion does not apply. In that situation the official page also disapplies the genuine-temporary-stay intention, since temporary stay is not the outcome being sought. The payment-arrangements requirement is likewise excluded for that category.

For every other pathway — treatment, organ donation, support person, and the remaining in-Australia categories — the funds test applies.

Where does health insurance fit?

Insurance is not part of the clause 602.216 test. The official page recommends obtaining health insurance to cover unforeseen treatment and states plainly that you are personally liable for all your healthcare costs while in Australia. Some countries have a reciprocal healthcare agreement with Australia, and Services Australia publishes the details of those agreements. Reciprocal cover may reduce what you personally pay, but it does not turn the funds evidence into an optional item, and the official page does not present it as a substitute.

What does the visa itself cost?

The official page states the visa is free if you apply outside Australia. If you apply in Australia a charge applies, with concessions in limited circumstances, and the visa is free if you represent a foreign government. To work out the amount payable, the page directs applicants to the Visa Pricing Estimator, and notes that the estimator does not take into account other costs such as health checks, police certificates and biometrics.

The page also records a cost concession for eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste applicants: from 1 July 2026, a lower visa application cost applies to eligible citizens of the listed countries — including Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu, Timor-Leste, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Tuvalu, the Solomon Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands — who lodge a valid application, recognised through the passport used in the application. Government charges are not refunded if the application is refused.

Why fund-based refusals happen

The official page warns that it may decide an application without requesting further information, so evidence missing at lodgement is often evidence that is never supplied. On the funds side, the recurring failures are proving treatment payment but not living costs, submitting a support letter that does not say what it covers and for how long, and providing a public hospital payment letter that comes from a clinical department rather than the financial officer or administration, or that omits the disadvantage confirmation.

If you appoint someone to give you immigration assistance, they must be a registered migration agent, a legal practitioner, or an exempt person; appointing someone to help is not, by itself, evidence about your funds.

This article is general information about how the criteria and document list are framed; it is not advice on any individual case, and requirements of this kind should be checked against the latest official publication for your circumstances.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a minimum bank balance for subclass 602?

Neither the Home Affairs official page nor clause 602.216 sets out a minimum dollar amount. The test is expressed as access to adequate means to cover travel, treatment, living expenses and the expenses of accompanying people, so the amount that is adequate depends on the treatment plan and the length of stay.

Do I need funds evidence if my treatment is already paid for?

Yes. Payment arrangements for treatment and the adequate-means requirement are separate criteria, and the official page asks for hospital or doctor payment letters alongside general funds evidence. Living costs, travel and any accompanying person's expenses still have to be covered.

What must a public hospital payment letter say?

It must come from the hospital's financial officer or administration department, confirm the treatment is approved and that arrangements to pay all costs are in place, and confirm that no Australian will be disadvantaged in accessing medical services as a result of your treatment.

Are bank statements alone enough?

Bank statements show access to funds but not adequacy, because adequacy is measured against the treating doctor's estimate of cost and timeframe. The official page asks for the treating doctor's letter with both estimates, which is what gives the statements a benchmark to be read against.

Can a friend or relative in Australia support me instead?

Yes, and the official page specifically asks for letters from any Australians who will be supporting you during your stay. The letter is more useful when it states which costs it covers and over what period, rather than offering general support.

Does the funds requirement apply to everyone?

No. It does not apply to applicants in Australia who are 50 or older, have been refused a permanent visa on health grounds only, and are unfit to depart Australia. It applies to the treatment, organ donation and support-person pathways and the other in-Australia categories.

Will I get the application charge back if I am refused?

No. The official page states the application charge is not refunded if the application is refused, and it advises using the Visa Pricing Estimator to work out the cost before applying.