What is Australia's Contributory Parent (Temporary) visa subclass 173 in 2026?
Australia's Contributory Parent (Temporary) visa (subclass 173) is the temporary, two-year opening stage of the contributory parent route: it lets a parent live, work and study in Australia for up to 2 years, and it is the step you take before applying for the permanent Contributory Parent visa (subclass 143), according to the Australian Department of Home Affairs' official Contributory Parent (Temporary) visa (Subclass 173) page as of August 2026. It is not a permanent visa on its own, and holders do not receive Australian government support. What follows is general information about how this visa is designed rather than advice on any individual's circumstances, so for a specific case rely on the Department's current pages or on a qualified professional.
Is subclass 173 a permanent visa or a temporary one?
It is a temporary visa. The official page describes it as a visa that lets you live in Australia for up to 2 years, and states plainly that you can stay for 2 years.
That temporary character has a hard edge: you cannot stay longer by extending or reapplying for the subclass 173 visa. If you want to remain beyond the 2 years, the route is to apply for a different visa — in the contributory parent design, that means the permanent subclass 143.
What can you actually do on a subclass 173 visa?
The Department lists three things you can do with this visa:
- live in Australia for up to 2 years
- work and study in Australia, with the explicit note that you will not receive government support
- apply for the permanent Contributory Parent visa (subclass 143)
The work and study rights are unusually broad for a temporary visa, but the absence of government support is part of the same sentence for a reason: this visa gives you residence and activity rights, not access to Australian government payments or benefits.
When does the 2 years start, and can you travel?
The visa period starts on the date you enter Australia after the visa is granted — not on the grant date itself. You must enter Australia before the date specified in your grant letter.
The visa allows multiple entry. You can travel outside Australia and return as many times as you want within the 2 years, so short trips do not cut your stay short. There is also no physical visa label: the Department digitally links your visa to your passport.
Why is it built as a two-step route to subclass 143?
The permanent subclass 143 is applied for as a 2-step process: you first apply for the subclass 173 temporary visa, then the permanent visa. The Department's stated reason is cost — applying for subclass 173 before subclass 143 allows you to spread the cost of the visas over several years rather than paying it all at once.
The trade-off is a deadline. You must apply for the Contributory Parent visa (subclass 143) before your subclass 173 visa expires, to ensure you meet all applicable lodgement criteria. The temporary stage is a bridge, not a waiting room you can sit in indefinitely.
What does it cost?
This visa costs from AUD 33,375 for a single applicant, with additional charges for each family member who applies with you. Concessions apply in limited circumstances. You pay in 2 instalments: the first when you apply, the second when the Department asks you to. On top of the visa application charge, you might need to pay related costs for each applicant for health checks, police certificates and biometrics.
From 1 July 2026, a lower visa cost applies to eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens who lodge a valid application. Eligibility is recognised through a valid passport issued by the primary applicant's country, and family members are also eligible based on that passport. The listed countries are:
- Federated States of Micronesia
- Fiji
- Kiribati
- Nauru
- Palau
- Papua New Guinea
- Republic of the Marshall Islands
- Samoa
- Solomon Islands
- Timor-Leste
- Tonga
- Tuvalu
- Vanuatu
Who has to qualify, and who can be included?
You can include members of your family in your application when you apply, and you must include details of all your family members in the form even if they are not migrating. Family members who apply must meet health and character requirements; family members who are not coming to Australia might also need to meet them. The Department has separate guidance for applicants who have had a child after applying.
On the eligibility side, the Migration Regulations 1994 set out the criteria for Subclass 173 as compiled on the Federal Register of Legislation: the applicant must be a parent of a child who is a settled Australian citizen, a settled Australian permanent resident or a settled eligible New Zealand citizen (clause 173.211); must satisfy the balance of family test defined in regulation 1.05 (clause 173.213); must be sponsored by an eligible sponsor (clause 173.212); must satisfy the relevant public interest criteria, including health and character criteria (clause 173.224); and generally must be outside Australia when the visa is granted (clause 173.411), subject to limited exceptions such as the contributory parent newborn provisions. Another parent visa application must not still be outstanding (clause 173.229). Legislative provisions are amended over time, so the current text and the Department's official page should be checked together.
Separately, the Department's own process summary for this visa adds one condition that trips people up: you must not have already applied for or hold a Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa (subclass 870) when you apply for subclass 173.
Where can you apply from?
You, and any family members applying with you, can be in or outside Australia when you apply. There is one exception worth noting: if you apply in Australia while on a temporary visa that carries a "no further stay" condition, your application will be invalid unless you apply for a waiver of that condition.
How long will it take, and how is it assessed?
The Department states that demand for parent visas is greater than the number of places available each year, which produces long processing times. Applications are subject to capping and queueing and are processed in the order received.
Assessment happens in 2 stages:
- An initial assessment checks eligibility, after which the application is either added to the queue or refused.
- As places become available, applications are released from the queue for final assessment.
Applications can take longer if they are not completed correctly, if documents are missing or more information is needed, or if information takes a long time to verify. The Department will only process an application if the correct visa application charge has been paid, and will notify you and return the application if it has not. Until a visa is granted, you should not arrange to stay permanently in Australia.
How does subclass 173 compare with the other parent options?
The Department's own comparison on the subclass 173 page frames the options like this:
| Option | Type | What the official page says |
|---|---|---|
| Contributory Parent visa (subclass 143) | Permanent | May be processed faster, but costs more |
| Subclass 173 then subclass 143 | Temporary then permanent | 2-stage process; costs more than the Parent visa (subclass 103) and more than applying directly for subclass 143, but the cost is spread across the two visas over a longer period |
| Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa (subclass 870) | Temporary | Lets parents visit children in Australia for up to 3 or 5 years at a time, for a maximum total of 10 years |
The pattern is consistent: the two-step contributory route buys you time to pay rather than a faster or cheaper outcome overall.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is subclass 173 the same as a permanent parent visa?
No. It is a temporary visa that allows you to live in Australia for 2 years. Permanency comes through the separate Contributory Parent visa (subclass 143), which you must apply for while your subclass 173 visa is still valid, since the Department requires you to apply for subclass 143 before your subclass 173 visa expires.
Can I work in Australia on a subclass 173 visa?
Yes. The Department lists work and study in Australia among the things this visa allows. The same line notes that you will not receive government support, so work rights come without access to Australian government payments.
Do I have to apply for subclass 143 afterwards?
If you want to stay permanently, yes — the permanent visa is the second step of the same two-step process. You must apply for subclass 143 before your subclass 173 visa expires to ensure you meet all applicable lodgement criteria.
Can my spouse or other family members be included?
Yes, you can include members of your family in your application when you apply, though you must list all family members in the form even if they are not migrating. Family members who apply must meet health and character requirements, and additional charges apply for each of them.
How much does the subclass 173 visa cost?
It costs from AUD 33,375 for a single applicant, paid in 2 instalments, with the second instalment requested later by the Department. Additional charges apply per family member, and you may also pay separately for health checks, police certificates and biometrics.
Can I extend the subclass 173 visa beyond 2 years?
No. The Department states you cannot stay longer by extending or reapplying for this visa. Staying beyond the 2 years requires applying for a different visa, such as the permanent subclass 143.
Do I need to be outside Australia when the visa is granted?
The Migration Regulations 1994 generally require the applicant to be outside Australia at the time of grant (clause 173.411), with limited exceptions such as the contributory parent newborn provisions. Because these provisions change, confirm the current requirement on the Department's official page before applying.