A Carer visa for a family member is open to 14 kinds of relative under regulation 1.03 of the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth), from a parent, child, brother or sister to a grandparent, aunt, uncle, niece or nephew, but not to a cousin or a friend. The relationship is measured to the Australian resident, who is usually the sponsor, and the relative must also be willing and able to give substantial and continuing care to that resident or to a member of their family unit.
| Relationship to the Australian resident | Can be the carer? | Where the law says so |
|---|---|---|
| Spouse or de facto partner | Yes | reg 1.03, "close relative" |
| Child (or step-child) | Yes | "close relative" |
| Parent (or step-parent) | Yes | "close relative"; reg 1.14A(1) |
| Brother (or step-brother) | Yes | "close relative" |
| Sister (or step-sister) | Yes | "close relative" |
| Grandparent (or step-grandparent) | Yes | "relative", para (b)(ii) |
| Grandchild (or step-grandchild) | Yes | para (b)(ii) |
| Aunt or uncle (or step-aunt, step-uncle) | Yes | para (b)(ii) |
| Niece or nephew (or step-niece, step-nephew) | Yes | para (b)(ii) |
| First or second cousin | No | Counts only for Refugee and protection visa applicants, para (a)(iii) |
| Friend, neighbour or anyone not related | No | Not a relative |
Who counts as a relative for a Carer visa?
A relative for a Carer visa is a close relative or a grandparent, grandchild, aunt, uncle, niece or nephew, including the step equivalent of each. Regulation 1.03 of the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth) sets the list out in two parts.
That gives 14 relationships:
- spouse or de facto partner
- child
- parent (or step-parent)
- brother
- sister
- step-child
- step-brother
- step-sister
- grandparent (or step-grandparent)
- grandchild (or step-grandchild)
- aunt (or step-aunt)
- uncle (or step-uncle)
- niece (or step-niece)
- nephew (or step-nephew)
Regulation 1.15AA(1)(a) requires the carer to be a relative of the resident: the Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen at the centre of the application. The person who needs care is either that resident or a member of the resident's family unit, such as their partner or dependent child. So a brother is a relative when he comes to care for his sister's disabled child, because the relationship is measured to the sister, not to the child.
A spouse or de facto partner is a relative in law. This guide does not compare the Carer visa with partner visas.
Can a parent be the carer?
A parent can be the carer, because a parent is a close relative under regulation 1.03. A mother or father can apply to care for an adult son or daughter in Australia whose medical condition meets the test.
"Carer visa for parents" also has a second meaning: an Australian parent who needs care, and a child who comes to give it. That works for the same reason, because a child is a close relative too. Under section 5CA of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth), a child includes an adopted child.
The definition does not name step-parents, but regulation 1.14A(1) says that a reference in the Regulations to a parent includes a step-parent, so a step-parent is a close relative too.
When the parent who needs care is the resident, they sponsor the application if they are 18 or over. If they cannot sign, the only other sponsor the Regulations allow is their cohabiting spouse or de facto partner (clauses 116.212 and 836.213). No provision lets a guardian or an attorney sponsor instead.
Can a brother or sister be the carer?
A brother or sister can be the carer, because siblings are close relatives under regulation 1.03, and so are step-brothers and step-sisters. A sister overseas can apply to care for a brother in Australia, and a brother can apply to care for his sister's child.
The Regulations do not define "brother" or "sister", so they do not say how half-siblings are treated.
Can a grandparent, aunt, uncle, niece or nephew be the carer?
A grandparent, aunt, uncle, niece or nephew can be the carer, because paragraph (b)(ii) of the "relative" definition adds them, with grandchildren and all their step equivalents, to the close relatives. A grandmother can apply to care for an adult grandchild in Australia, a niece can apply to care for an aunt, and a nephew can apply to care for an uncle.
These relatives are not "close relatives". That distinction matters for some other visas, but not for the Carer visa, which uses the wider "relative" definition.
Can a cousin or a friend get a Carer visa?
A cousin or a friend cannot get a Carer visa, because cousins count as relatives only for Refugee and protection visa applicants (regulation 1.03, paragraph (a)(iii)), and a friend is not a relative at all. The same applies to neighbours, godparents and in-laws, none of whom appear in the definition.
The sponsorship form says the same from the other side. Form 40 states: "A person cannot be sponsored for a Carer visa to provide general family support."
What does willing and able mean for a carer?
Willing and able means the carer is prepared, and in a position, to give the resident "substantial and continuing assistance of the kind needed" that the certificate records (regulation 1.15AA(1)(f)). The Regulations do not define "willing" or "able".
The Department of Home Affairs says, on its subclass 836 page, that a carer "should fully understand your Australian relative or their family member's medical condition and what their care needs are".
The kind and amount of help needed is not set by the carer. It is fixed by the Bupa certificate about the relative, which the Department must accept on the medical questions. How that certificate reaches its number is explained in the guide to the Carer visa impairment rating, and the carer's offer of help has to match it.
How do you show you can give substantial and continuing care?
You show you can give substantial and continuing care with five kinds of evidence that match the needs recorded in the Bupa certificate. The Regulations list no documents, so each item below comes from the application form, the Department's wording or the case law.
- Your answer to question 68 of Form 47OF. It asks what help you will give your relative, and for what period.
- Evidence that you understand the condition. This is the Department's own test: that you know the diagnosis, the daily needs and how they are met now.
- Where you will live. In Nguyen v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection [2016] FCA 688, the Tribunal looked at where the carer would live in relation to the person needing care.
- Your own health. It is tested separately by public interest criterion 4005, and it bears on whether you are "able".
- Your other commitments. These include the partner and children who apply with you, because Form 47OF lists every member of your family unit.
The relative's side of the same evidence is Bupa's Statement of Assistance, which the relative completes before the medical assessment. It records the help needed with bathing, toileting, eating and mobility in daily time bands, and a carer's offer of help should answer those same needs.
How do you prove the relationship in a Carer visa application?
You prove the relationship with official documents that trace the family line from you to the Australian resident, and the Department's sponsor instructions name birth, marriage, death and adoption certificates and officially issued family books. A sibling needs both birth certificates showing a shared parent. An aunt, niece or step-relative needs the longer chain that connects the two people through a parent or a marriage.
The documents, certified copies and translations for each relationship are set out in the guide to proving you are a relative, including the chain for relatives who are not close relatives. The relationship is the first part of the third link. The second part is showing that care is not reasonably available from any other relative or service in Australia.
Families on a low income can look for free legal help with a Carer visa before paying for advice. Anyone who wants the family tree checked against regulation 1.03 can ask a registered practitioner through the enquiry form. Every criterion, in order, is in the three-link eligibility check, and the overview of both subclasses is on the Carer Visa Australia home page.
A registered professional makes a grant more likely
A Carer visa is refused if the carer is not a relative under regulation 1.03, or cannot show that the care offered matches the certified need, and the certificate chain for an aunt, niece or step-relative is easy to get wrong. A registered migration agent or an Australian legal practitioner who maps the relationship and the care plan before lodgement makes a grant more likely, never certain.
Ask about your caseRead next
Carer visa requirements: check the three links in orderCheck each Carer visa criterion in order, from the relative's condition to the sponsor.
Proving care is not reasonably available for a Carer visaShow that no relative or service in Australia can reasonably provide the care.
Proving you are a relative for a Carer visa: birth certificates and the chainA chain of birth certificates that links you, generation by generation, to them.