In short

An Assurance of Support is a legally binding commitment to repay income support paid to the person you sponsor, running one, two, four or ten years depending on the visa. The income test requires income above a threshold rather than wealth, so asset-rich retirees often fail it. The bond is security, not a cap — you are liable for the entire amount.

Somewhere in most family migration plans there is a moment where someone has to sign the money part. If your parents are coming out on a family visa, or your child's partner is, the question eventually lands on whoever looks most financially settled — and in a lot of families, that is the retired one.

What you are being asked to sign is called an Assurance of Support. It is not a character reference and it is not a formality. It is a legally binding commitment to repay Commonwealth income support paid to the person you are assuring, and depending on the visa it can run for one, two, four or ten years (Services Australia, https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/how-assurance-support-works?context=22051, as at August 2026).

This article is about what it costs the assurer. It is general information, not personal financial advice, and it is definitely not migration advice — the visa side belongs with a registered migration agent.

What you are actually signing

You are the assurer. The visa applicant is the assuree. For the length of the assurance period, if the assuree claims certain income support payments, Services Australia raises a debt against you and you repay it.

To be an assurer you need to be 18 or over and an Australian resident as defined in section 7 of the Social Security Act (DSS Social Security Guide 9.4.3.10, https://guides.dss.gov.au/social-security-guide/9/4/3/10). For visas where an Assurance of Support is mandatory, you also have to lodge security: a bank guarantee backed by a term deposit, which Services Australia requires to be held with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. That is not a product recommendation and it is not a choice you get to shop around — it is the arrangement Services Australia mandates, and the bank requires a term deposit to the value of the security before it will issue the guarantee (https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/bank-guarantee-and-term-deposit-for-assurance-support?context=22051). The guarantee and the deposit have to be in your own name. The DSS Guide covers the securities framework at 9.4.4 (https://guides.dss.gov.au/social-security-guide/9/4/4).

At the end of the assurance period, if the assuree has not received recoverable payments, the funds are released to the account holder.

One thing to be clear about before anything else: you cannot cancel an Assurance of Support once the Department of Home Affairs grants the visa (Services Australia). Whatever you sign, you are signing for the full term. The three things worth understanding before you get there are all in the detail.

The income test may say no — even if you can obviously afford it

This is the part that catches retirees, and it catches them in a way that feels absurd until you see how the test is built.

The Assurance of Support income test does not ask whether you have the money. It requires you to have income above a minimum threshold, and that threshold is the sum of two things: the annual maximum basic JobSeeker Payment rate for every adult involved in the assurance — meaning assurers and assurees, not just you — plus the annual base rate of Family Tax Benefit Part A and the FTB Part A supplement for any children under 18 that you have (DSS Social Security Guide 9.4.3.10).

Two things follow from that, and neither is obvious.

The first is that the bar moves depending on how many people you are sponsoring. Assuring for one parent and assuring for two are different tests, because each assuree adds their own JobSeeker-equivalent amount to the threshold.

The second is that the test measures income, not wealth. A self-funded retiree with a large superannuation balance and a modest account-based pension drawdown can show relatively little assessable income — and fail a test that a salaried thirty-year-old on an average wage passes without thinking about it. Having plenty of money is not the same as having income, and this test only looks at the second one.

There is a third wrinkle that is specific to people who have recently stopped working. The income has to be sustained: demonstrated for the current financial year and for either the previous financial year or the one before that. Retirement is precisely the event that breaks that pattern — you may have a strong prior year and a thin current year, or the reverse, with no way to present it as continuous.

On evidence, you will need proof of income for the current financial year, and tax returns are not accepted for this purpose; for the earlier year you will need an ATO notice of assessment (Services Australia, https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/who-can-be-assurer-for-assurance-support?context=22051). Worth knowing before you start gathering paperwork.

The practical conclusion a lot of families reach here is that the retired grandparent is not the right assurer at all, and an adult child in the workforce is. That is worth working out before the visa application goes in rather than after it is refused. If you are weighing up who in the family should carry a financial commitment, our article on helping children with a home deposit — gift, loan or guarantee — covers the same decision in a different setting.

The money is locked, and for a long time

If a bank guarantee is required, the term deposit backing it sits there for the whole assurance period. Services Australia is explicit that the bank guarantee cannot be released until the end of the Assurance of Support period. On a ten-year assurance, that is ten years.

For a retiree that is a different proposition than it is for someone at 40. This is the stage of life when liquidity starts to matter more than it ever has — aged care costs, a medical event, a roof, a car. Capital that is immobilised for a decade is capital that cannot do any of that.

It is worth being clear-eyed that a term deposit in this role is not an investment decision. It is security you have posted. Our article on term deposits and fixed interest for retirees covers what they do when you are choosing one; this is not that.

There is one question here we are deliberately not going to answer for you, because we could not find an authoritative source for it and guessing would be worse than useless: whether that locked deposit counts as an assessable asset for your own Age Pension. It is held in your name, which suggests one answer. It is encumbered by the guarantee and you cannot touch it, which suggests another. Ask Services Australia directly about your specific situation before you assume either way — and if you are on a part pension, ask before you lodge, not after.

The bond is security, not a ceiling

This is the single most important thing in this article.

People look at the bond amount and read it as "the most this can cost me." It is not. The term deposit is security against your obligation — it is not a cap on it.

If the assuree receives recoverable income support during the assurance period, you are liable for the entire amount paid (Services Australia). If recovering the whole term deposit does not cover the debt, Services Australia will use its debt recovery powers under the Social Security Act 1991 to recover the balance from you. That is the same machinery used for any other Centrelink debt, which our article on Centrelink debts and overpayments describes.

If that structure feels familiar, it should — it is the same misreading that catches people who go guarantor on a child's mortgage, where the guarantee is also routinely assumed to be capped at something it is not. Our article on going guarantor for adult children walks through that version.

Worked examples

Two families facing the same question. Illustrative only, and not personal or migration advice. No dollar figures appear here deliberately: the income threshold is built from indexed JobSeeker and Family Tax Benefit rates and bond amounts vary by visa subclass, so the only reliable numbers are the ones Services Australia gives you for your own combination of assurers and assurees.

Consider Helen, 69, widowed and self-funded, who owns her home and holds a substantial superannuation balance from which she draws a modest account-based pension. Her son asks her to assure for both of his wife's parents. Two features of the test work against her at once. Because the threshold adds a JobSeeker-equivalent amount for every adult on the assurance, assuring two people sets a materially higher bar than assuring one (DSS 9.4.3.10). And because the test measures assessable income rather than wealth, her drawdown may fall short of a threshold that her son's salary clears comfortably. On these facts, checking the threshold with Services Australia before the visa application is lodged is generally rational — the alternative is discovering the problem after a refusal, when the family has already committed to a plan.

Now consider Greg, 66, a part-pensioner asked to assure for one parent on a visa carrying a ten-year assurance and a mandatory bond. Even if he clears the income test, three things bind. The guarantee cannot be released until the end of the period, so the capital is immobilised until he is 76. He cannot cancel the assurance once the visa is granted. And if his parent draws recoverable payments, his liability is the full amount, not the bond. There is also a question he should put to Services Australia rather than assume: whether the locked deposit is assessable under his own Age Pension assets test, which matters a great deal on a part pension. On these facts, asking whether his daughter is the more viable assurer is generally rational — not as a failure of family duty, but because the test and the lock-up both fall more lightly on someone still working.

Before you sign

Check the income test first, not last. It is the thing most likely to stop you, and finding out early costs nothing; Services Australia can tell you what the current threshold is for your specific combination of assurers and assurees.

Then work out who the right assurer actually is. If it is not you, that is not a family failure, it is arithmetic — joint assurances are possible, and an adult child in the workforce will often clear the income test more easily than a retiree with ten times the net worth. Model the ten-year version rather than the one-year version: ask what the assurance period is for that specific visa subclass, then ask yourself what you would do if you needed that capital in year six. Understand that there is no ceiling, and be honest with yourself about the realistic likelihood of the assuree needing income support, because that is the actual risk you are taking on.

And do not sign under pressure. This is a legal commitment that can run for a decade, cannot be cancelled once the visa is granted, and carries no cap on your liability — exactly the kind of document older people get pushed into signing to keep the peace in a family. Take the time you need, ask your own questions, and get your own advice. If any part of that feels difficult to do, our article on financial abuse and older clients is worth reading, and a free financial counsellor through the National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007 will talk it through with you confidentially and has nothing to sell.

Finally, get advice from both sides: a registered migration agent for the visa, and your own financial adviser for what the commitment does to your position. They are different questions and one professional will not cover both.

The one-line version

An Assurance of Support asks a retiree for the two things retirement is worst at supplying: demonstrable ongoing income, and capital you are willing to lock away for up to a decade. Check the income test before the application goes in, and never assume the bond is the worst case.

Sources

Key takeaways

  • The income test measures income, not wealth — a self-funded retiree drawing down capital can fail a test that a salaried thirty-year-old passes comfortably.
  • The threshold scales with headcount: it is built from the JobSeeker rate for every adult on the assurance, assurers and assurees alike, so sponsoring two parents raises the bar.
  • Income must be sustained across financial years, which is exactly the pattern retirement breaks — and tax returns are not accepted as proof of current-year income.
  • The term deposit backing the bank guarantee is locked for the whole assurance period, potentially ten years, at the stage of life when liquidity matters most.
  • The bond is security, not a ceiling — if the assuree claims recoverable payments you owe the entire amount, and any shortfall is recovered as a social security debt.

Frequently asked questions

Can I be an assurer if I am retired?

Possibly, but the income test is the hurdle. It requires income above a minimum threshold rather than assets, so a retiree with substantial superannuation but a modest drawdown may not qualify even though they could clearly afford the commitment. The income also has to be sustained across financial years. Check with Services Australia before the visa application is lodged.

How is the Assurance of Support income threshold worked out?

It is the sum of the annual maximum basic JobSeeker Payment rate for every adult involved in the assurance — assurers and assurees — plus the annual base rate of Family Tax Benefit Part A and its supplement for any children under 18 you have. Because each assuree adds to it, sponsoring two people sets a higher bar than sponsoring one.

Is the bond the most I can lose?

No. The term deposit backing the bank guarantee is security against your obligation, not a cap on it. If the person you assure receives recoverable income support during the assurance period, you are liable for the entire amount paid, and any shortfall beyond the deposit is recovered from you as a social security debt.

How long is my money locked up?

For the length of the assurance period, which is one, two, four or ten years depending on the visa subclass. At the end of the period, if no recoverable payments were made, Centrelink advises the bank that the guarantee is no longer required and the funds are released to you.

Does the locked term deposit count in my own Age Pension assets test?

This article does not answer that, because no authoritative source was found for it. The deposit is held in your name but is encumbered by the guarantee and inaccessible, and those two facts point in different directions. Put the question to Services Australia about your own circumstances before you lodge, particularly if you are on a part pension.

A note on advice. This article is general information only and doesn't account for your personal circumstances. Everyone's situation is different — before acting, it's worth talking it through with a licensed adviser who knows your full picture.