Orphan Relative (Subclass 117): Who Qualifies as an Australian Relative Sponsor in 2026?
A subclass 117 sponsorship can only come from a narrow group: a settled Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen who is at least 18 years old, and who is the child’s sibling or step-sibling, grandparent or step-grandparent, aunt or uncle (including step-aunt or step-uncle). Sponsorship must be approved before the visa itself can be granted. That is the position on the Australian Department of Home Affairs’ Orphan Relative visa (subclass 117) official page, as of August 2026, read together with the sponsorship and decision criteria in the Migration Regulations 1994.
For globally mobile families, this is the point where the subclass 117 stream is most often misunderstood: it is a family migration visa built around a specific relative relationship, not around whoever in Australia happens to be willing to help. The rules below describe how the legislation is written for general information; they are not a substitute for advice on a particular family’s circumstances, and the official wording in force at the time of application governs.
Which relatives can sponsor a subclass 117 child?
The Department lists the eligible relationships as a closed set:
- sibling or step-sibling
- grandparent or step-grandparent
- aunt or uncle
- step-aunt or step-uncle
A cousin, great-aunt, family friend, guardian or older first cousin once removed does not fall inside that set, no matter how close the care relationship is. Neither does a parent: the whole visa rests on the child having no parent who can care for them, so the sponsor is by definition someone other than a parent. Step-relationships are treated in their own right, and the relationship has to be documented — the Department’s document guidance points to birth, marriage, adoption and officially issued family status certificates or family books.
Do Australian citizenship, permanent residency and eligible New Zealand citizenship give different sponsorship rights?
All three statuses can support a sponsorship, and the Regulations group them under the single idea of the “Australian relative.” The practical difference is not in what the sponsor may promise, but in what must be evidenced and maintained.
| Sponsor status | Can sponsor? | What else applies |
|---|---|---|
| Australian citizen | Yes | Must be settled and at least 18; status is generally the simplest to evidence |
| Australian permanent resident | Yes | Must be settled; holding a permanent visa is not by itself the end of the question |
| Eligible New Zealand citizen | Yes | Must fall within the “eligible New Zealand citizen” definition in the Regulations (regulation 1.03), so a New Zealand passport alone does not settle it |
“Settled” is the thread running through all three rows. The official page uses the term without giving a fixed period; procedural guidance summarising the Regulations commonly treats settled as, in practice, around two years of lawful residence in Australia, and sponsors typically assemble evidence of employment, tax records and housing and community ties. Because the Department’s own wording governs, confirm the current formulation on the official page before relying on any single evidence list.
Can the Australian relative’s spouse or partner sign the sponsorship instead?
Yes, in a defined situation. Regulation 117.212 allows the sponsorship to come from the Australian relative’s spouse or de facto partner, provided that person is at least 18, is a settled Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen, and is living with the Australian relative.
The distinction matters for planning: the qualifying blood or step relationship still runs to the Australian relative, while the person signing the sponsorship and carrying the undertaking can be that relative’s partner. A partner who has separated from the Australian relative, or who is not themselves settled in one of the three statuses, does not fit the criterion.
When is the sponsorship decided, and what can stop it?
Sponsorship is its own decision, and it must be approved before the visa can be granted. Two aspects most often determine the outcome.
The first is child protection. If the sponsor, or their spouse or de facto partner, has a pending registrable offence charge, the Department states it will refuse both the sponsorship and the visa application. If there is a conviction for a registrable offence, sponsorship can be approved only in very limited circumstances; regulation 1.20KB constrains the decision-maker’s discretion here. The Department maintains separate guidance on its measures for the protection of children, and that assessment sits alongside the relationship and settlement questions rather than after them.
The second is capacity. Departmental procedural guidance describes the sponsorship undertaking as covering accommodation and financial support for two years after the child’s first entry, with closer examination where one sponsor is supporting several applicants at once. An Assurance of Support is not an automatic requirement, but under regulation 117.224 the decision-maker can require one, and it then has to be accepted by the Secretary of the Department of Social Services.
What does the sponsor actually sign?
The sponsorship is made on Form 40CH (Sponsorship for a child to migrate to Australia), which is lodged together with the child’s own Form 47CH. Both are paper forms sent to the Child and Other Family Processing Centre in Perth; applications cannot be lodged in person, and the application charge must be paid before posting, with no refund if the application is refused.
Behind the form sit the substantive promises: accommodation and financial support for the child’s early period in Australia, and cooperation with the child protection assessment. Because the undertaking is personal to the sponsor, a change in the sponsor’s circumstances — separation, relocation, a new charge — is a matter that has to be brought to the Department’s attention rather than managed quietly.
How does sponsorship fit into the wider family migration picture?
Subclass 117 is a permanent, family-stream visa decided offshore: the child must be outside Australia both when the application is made and when it is decided. Age is fixed at the application date — under 18 — and the Regulations allow the application to continue if the child turns 18 during processing while otherwise still meeting the orphan relative definition.
The child-side conditions are as restrictive as the sponsor-side ones. Both parents must be deceased, permanently incapable of caring for the child, or unable to be found; parents who are capable of caring but unwilling will not support a grant. Consent to migrate, health, character (for applicants aged 16 and over), any debts to the Australian Government and the best interests of the child all sit on the same checklist. When granted, the visa allows the child to stay indefinitely, work and study, enrol in Medicare, access the Adult Migrant English Program if eligible, sponsor relatives later and eventually apply for citizenship; the grant notice sets the date by which the child must first enter Australia.
For families mapping several moves at once, the useful way to read sponsorship is as the fixed point in the sequence: without an eligible, settled relative in one of the three statuses, the rest of the subclass 117 criteria cannot get off the ground.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a cousin or family friend sponsor a subclass 117 application?
No. The eligible sponsors are limited to a sibling or step-sibling, grandparent or step-grandparent, aunt, uncle, step-aunt or step-uncle who is a settled Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen. Other relatives and long-standing carers fall outside the visa’s criteria regardless of how strong the care relationship is.
Does the sponsor have to be an Australian citizen?
No. Australian permanent residents and eligible New Zealand citizens can also sponsor, provided they are settled and at least 18. For New Zealand citizens, the qualifying category is the specific “eligible New Zealand citizen” definition in the Migration Regulations, so citizenship by itself is not the whole test.
Can the sponsor’s spouse or de facto partner sponsor instead?
Yes, if that person is at least 18, settled, holds one of the three qualifying statuses, and is living with the Australian relative. The child’s qualifying relationship still runs to the Australian relative, not to the sponsoring partner.
What happens if the sponsor has a criminal charge or conviction?
A pending registrable offence charge leads to refusal of both the sponsorship and the visa application. A registrable offence conviction allows approval only in very limited circumstances, because regulation 1.20KB restricts the decision-maker’s discretion.
Is the sponsorship approved automatically once the relationship is proven?
No. Sponsorship is a separate decision that must be approved before the visa can be granted, and it also covers settlement, the child protection assessment and the sponsor’s capacity to deliver the accommodation and financial support undertaking.
Does the sponsor have to fund the child indefinitely?
The undertaking described in departmental procedural guidance covers accommodation and financial support for two years after the child’s first entry, not indefinitely. An Assurance of Support is discretionary rather than automatic, but can be required and must then be accepted by the Department of Social Services.