Is the Parent Visa 103 Application Fee Refunded If Refused in 2026?

Plain-language guide · general information, not immigration advice

No. The Australian Department of Home Affairs states on its official Parent visa (Subclass 103) page that it will not refund the application fee if it refuses the application (page as at July 2026). The fee covers the assessment of what you lodged, not the outcome of that assessment, so an application that ends in refusal still costs what it cost to lodge. This matters more here than for faster visas, because subclass 103 sits in a long queue and a refusal can arrive years after the money was paid. Everything below is general information about how the published rules work, not advice on any individual case — rely on the current official pages and, where needed, a qualified professional for your own circumstances.

Why is the fee not refunded, and what does a refusal decision say?

The same official page sets out what happens at the visa outcome stage. A decision is given in writing, and when the Department refuses it tells you why the visa was refused and whether you have a right to a review of the decision. You should keep a copy of that decision, because the stated reason is what determines whether you have any review path at all or whether the problem is one you would have to fix before lodging again.

The non-refund rule sits alongside a second payment point. The second instalment must be paid before the visa is granted, the Department sends an invoice when it is due, and if you do not pay that invoice the application will be refused. So there are two distinct ways money and refusal interact: the first instalment is gone once a refusal is made, and the second instalment is the payment whose non-payment causes a refusal at the very end of a long wait.

Which mistakes in your own application can lead to a refusal?

Several refusal triggers are not about who your children are or where they live — they are administrative failures that occur after lodgement or in the way the form and documents were put together.

Not paying the second instalment invoice

This is the clearest self-inflicted refusal on the page. The invoice arrives when the application is close to a decision, and refusing or missing it ends the application. Because the queue is long and people move house, change email addresses and switch banks over the years, the practical risk is not refusing to pay — it is never seeing the invoice. The page asks you to keep your phone number, email, address and passport details current, and warns that the Department may contact you directly even if you have nominated your sponsor's email address or appointed an authorised recipient.

Not being able to prove identity

Identity is not a technicality. The official page says that if you cannot prove your identity, the Department will refuse the visa application, and it might not grant you another visa for 10 years, nor grant a visa to family members listed on your application for 10 years. The documents required are the photo and personal details pages of your current passport showing issue and expiry dates, a national identity card if you have one, and proof of any change of name.

Gaps in sponsor, balance of family and Assurance of Support evidence

An eligible sponsor must sponsor you unless you apply as a retiree, the sponsor completes Form 40 Sponsorship for migration to Australia, and the sponsorship itself must be approved. You must also meet the balance of family test unless you apply as a retiree — at least half of your children and step-children are eligible children, or more eligible children live in Australia than in any other single country — and show evidence of how you are related to each child, each child's Australian citizenship or country of permanent residence, and evidence for any child who should not be counted, such as a death certificate. When the Department asks for it, you must also provide an Assurance of Support accepted by Services Australia, unless you apply as a retiree; it does not have to come from the sponsor or a family member, and an individual, several people or an organisation can provide it.

Health, character and inaccurate information

You and any family members applying with you must meet the health and character requirements, and the Department may also ask non-migrating family members to meet them. Police certificates should not be arranged until you are asked. Separately, the official page warns that there are consequences for not giving accurate or complete information; the Migration Regulations 1994 criteria for this subclass include PIC 4020, which covers bogus documents and false or misleading information, and a breach can lead to refusal and a bar on further applications — check the Migration Regulations 1994 and the Department's published guidance for the current wording and bar period.

Applying when you are not allowed to, or leaving the record wrong

You cannot apply for subclass 103 if you have already applied for or hold a Sponsored Parent (Temporary) (subclass 870) visa. If you have applied for a different Parent visa and no decision has been made on it, you must withdraw that application as part of your new one. Unpaid debts to the Australian Government, a history of a cancelled visa or refused application, and the best interests of any applicant under 18 are also part of the assessment. Once lodged, if you make a mistake on the application you are expected to tell the Department as soon as you can using Form 1023 Notification of incorrect answers.

Two further timing traps are worth noting. If a dependent child is likely to turn 23 while the application is being processed, you will need evidence that they are dependent on you because of disability — the Department points to the Parent visa queue release dates page for processing-time context. And you must be outside Australia when the decision is made, unless you applied as a retiree.

Can you avoid the loss by withdrawing or switching to a contributory parent visa?

Withdrawing is not a refund route, but it is a decision you control. The official page says you should tell the Department if you want to withdraw, and it describes other parent visas that may be processed more quickly: the Contributory Parent visa (subclass 143), and the two-step route of the Contributory Parent (Temporary) visa (subclass 173) followed by subclass 143. Both cost more than subclass 103, and the two-step route costs more than applying directly for subclass 143 but spreads the cost over a longer period.

The useful protection the page does describe is on timing, not money: if you switch to a contributory parent visa, the Department will take the date you originally applied for the subclass 103 visa into account for the new application, and switching will not disadvantage you. It also notes that not every applicant needs to change, and if one applicant on a subclass 103 application changes course it does not affect the other application. The page does not describe the subclass 103 fee being refunded or carried over in these situations.

What should you do between lodging and the decision?

Once the application is in, the risk of an avoidable refusal is mostly about staying reachable and responding on time.

Keep your contact details current, and protect your email and ImmiAccount credentials — do not share them.
Applications lodged on or after 22 April 2026 must be lodged online through ImmiAccount; if a technical issue genuinely blocks you, the Department describes an ImmiAccount Technical Support Form, and paper lodgement is only considered if technical support cannot resolve it.
Give the documents actually requested: four recent passport-size (45mm x 35mm) photographs less than six months old, identity and relationship evidence for anyone included, and later health examinations, biometrics and any further information asked for.
Upload later documents through ImmiAccount if you applied online or imported a paper application; paper applicants can import applications lodged after November 2018 using the application ID, date of birth and identity document number.
Do not arrange to move to Australia permanently until you are told in writing that the visa has been granted.

Consider a hypothetical applicant whose child sponsors them and manages all correspondence. If the family moves and nobody updates the email address on file, the second instalment invoice can go unseen, and the official outcome is refusal with no refund of what was already paid — a purely administrative loss after years of waiting.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the subclass 103 application fee refunded if my application is refused?

No. The Department of Home Affairs states on the Parent visa (Subclass 103) official page that it will not refund the application fee if it refuses the application. The page also says it will tell you in writing why the visa was refused and whether you have a right to a review of the decision.

Do I get anything back if I do not pay the second instalment?

The official page treats the second instalment as a condition of grant: you must pay it before the visa is granted, an invoice is sent when it is due, and not paying the invoice means the application will be refused. That is a refusal caused at the final step, and it sits on top of the first instalment already paid.

Can a mistake on my application form itself cause a refusal?

Yes, in effect. The Department warns that there are consequences for not providing accurate or complete information, and the subclass criteria in the Migration Regulations 1994 include PIC 4020 on bogus documents and false or misleading information. The page's remedy is to tell the Department as soon as you can using Form 1023 Notification of incorrect answers.

What happens if I cannot prove my identity?

The official page says the Department will refuse the application, and it might not grant you another visa for 10 years, nor a visa to family members listed on your application for 10 years. The starting documents are your current passport's photo, personal details and issue and expiry pages, plus any change-of-name evidence.

Is there any advantage in withdrawing and applying for a contributory parent visa instead?

The advantage described is speed and queue position, not money. The Contributory Parent visa (subclass 143) and the subclass 173 then 143 route may be processed faster but cost more, and switching will not disadvantage you because the date you originally applied for subclass 103 is taken into account.

Do I need to be outside Australia when the decision is made?

Yes, unless you applied as a retiree. The official page states you must be outside Australia when the Department makes its decision on a subclass 103 application, while retiree applicants may be in or outside Australia at decision time.

Who can lawfully help me prepare a subclass 103 application?

Only some people can give immigration assistance: a registered migration agent, a legal practitioner, or an exempt person. Anyone can be appointed to receive documents on your behalf, using Form 956A, while immigration assistance is appointed using Form 956.