Assurance of Support
An Assurance of Support (AoS) is a legal document or commitment between a person who provides the support and the government to help new migrants (the visa applicant) to get a visa to live in Australia. It’s a kind of promise to pay the government back for any income support (for example any social security payment) the government may pay to the migrants.
The person who gives assurance of support is called the assurer; and the visa applicant who receives the support is the assuree.
Assurance of Support is managed and processed by Australian Government body Services Australia ↗
An AoS period can be 12 months, 24 months or up to 10 years, depending on the type of visa sub-class.
What visas require an Assurance of Support?
The assurance of support is required only for certain types of family visas. The Department of Home Affairs (the Department) will usually determine who need an assurance of support when processing the visa application. An AoS for some visas types must be in place before the visa application can be approved.
The Assurance of Support is mandatory for the following visa types:
- an aged dependent relative visa
- a contributory parents or contributory aged parent visa
- a parent or aged parent visa
- a remaining relative visa
Who can be an Assurer?
The person who provides the Assurance of Support can be your child (the sponsor) or anybody else who is an Australian citizen or PR of 18 years of age who passes the income test for the current and previous financial year.
How much you earn to be eligible to be an assurer?
The income an assurer needs to pass the test depends on the following factors:
- How many people are in your family;
- If you will have 1 or 2 adult assurees;
- If you’ll be the only assurer or giving a joint assurance; and
- How many dependent children you have;
The following table gives you a general idea of how much an assurer earns in order to provide the assurance of support as from 1 April 2018.
| Assurer/assuree circumstances | Annual income required |
| One person gives an AoS for 2 adults | A$86,606.52 |
| One person (who has a partner) gives an AoS for 2 adults | A$115,475.36 |
| 3 people give an AoS for 2 adults | A$144,344.20 |
| 2 people (who each have a partner) give an AoS for 2 adults | A$173,213.04 |
| Person (who has a partner and 2 children) gives an AoS jointly with another person (who has a partner) for a migration family of 2 parents and 2 children | A$184,760.58 |
How to obtain an Assurance of Support?
When the Department of Home Affairs begins to process the visa, they will notify the visa applicant whether they will need an AoS or not and they will guide you through how to obtain the AoS.
The easiest way to apply for the assurance of support is through the Australian Government Centrelink online systems.
What happens if the Assurance of Support is approved ?
Once the application for AoS is approved, Centrelink will notify you of the approval of the application and advise you to put a bank guarantee through the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA). This is like a bond to be held by the government.
For an individual assurer, the bond amounts are:
- for contributory parent visas (10-year AoS): $10,000 for the primary visa applicant and $4,000 for any adult secondary visa applicant
- for other visas such as non-contributory parent visas (2-year AoS): $5,000 for the primary visa applicant and $2,000 for any adult secondary visa applicant.
- for other visas such as non-contributory parent visas (2-year AoS): $10,000 (to cover a maximum of 2 adult assurees).
Once your deposit is put into the specially opened bank account, you will need to send the bank confirmation to the Department. Then the Department will grant the visa.
Assurance of Support is a long and complex process. Check with Korrylink for a obligation-free consultant.