The Department of Home Affairs has confirmed that it is updating procedural instructions for onshore contributory aged parent visas (Subclass 864 & 884) and onshore aged parent visas (Subclass 804). The changes clarify that secondary applicants must also be aged at the time of application to take the place of primary applicant.
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On 1 July 2024, migration agents were notified that previous procedural instructions for Subclass 864, 884 and 804 visas had incorrectly interpreted Schedule 2 requirements. The Department confirmed that a secondary applicant must be ‘aged’ at the time of application to satisfy Schedule 2 criteria in order to replace the primary applicant.
At that time, processing of affected applications was paused while long-term solutions were considered.
The Department has now advised that:
- Amendments to migration legislation remain a matter for Government.
- Procedural instructions are being updated to provide guidance for finalising applications under current law.
- For secondary applicants who have since reached pension age and need to replace the primary applicant to become primary applicant, they can:
Withdraw and lodge a new application that meets current criteria, without losing their queue place. Under the exception provisions, for small number of applications affected due to this, the Department is prepared to backdate the queue date on a case-by-case basis.