Balance of Family Test Australia: How It Works and Edge Cases

The Balance of Family test is the first eligibility filter for every parent visa applicant whose subclass requires it. It sounds straightforward — does the parent have more children in Australia than anywhere else? — but the details are where families run into trouble. Disagreements about who counts as a "child," how to handle step-children from previous relationships, and what to do when children have moved countries since the application was lodged are among the most common issues that derail parent visa applications.

This post walks through how the test actually works, the categories of children that count, and the edge cases that trip people up.

What the Test Requires

To pass the Balance of Family (BoF) test, a parent must meet one of two conditions:

1. At least half of their eligible children are usually resident in Australia, or
2. More of their eligible children reside in Australia than in any other single country.

The second condition is the important one for families with children spread across multiple countries. A parent with five children — two in Australia, one in India, one in the UK, one in Singapore — passes the test under condition 2 because two children are in Australia and no single other country has more than one. The test does not require a majority; it requires that Australia holds the plurality.

The test applies to the permanent and staged parent subclasses: 143, 103, 864, 804, 173, and 884. It does not apply to the temporary Subclass 870.

Who Counts as an "Eligible Child"

The definition of eligible child is broader than most families initially assume. The following are included:

• Biological children of the applicant parent
• Biological children of the applicant's current partner (step-children)
• Children adopted by the applicant parent
• Children adopted by the applicant's current partner

The following are explicitly excluded from the calculation:

• Deceased children
• Children removed from the parent's custody by court order or adoption by a third party
• Children who are registered as UNHCR refugees living in a camp

Step-children from former relationships — that is, children of an ex-partner — are only included if the child is under 18 years old and the applicant parent has legal custody or an active parenting order. If the ex-partner's child is an adult, or if the applicant has no custody arrangement, that step-child is excluded.

This distinction creates complications for parents with complex family histories. A parent who has biological children, adult step-children from their current marriage, and adult step-children from a previous relationship may find their "eligible child" pool is smaller than they expected.

"Usually Resident" — What It Means

The test counts children who are "usually resident" in Australia — meaning they ordinarily live there. Two important clarifications:

Australian citizens and permanent residents living in Australia are straightforwardly counted. So are certain protected New Zealand Special Category Visa holders who are usually resident in Australia.

Children on ordinary temporary visas in Australia are treated as residents of their home country, not Australia. If a child is in Australia on a 482 work visa, a student visa, or another temporary visa that does not make them an eligible protected New Zealand SCV holder, they do not count toward the Australian tally for the Balance of Family test. They are treated as living in the country where they would ordinarily reside permanently.

This catches families off guard when a child has been living in Australia for years on a series of ordinary temporary visas. Confirm whether the child is a citizen, permanent resident, or eligible protected New Zealand SCV holder before deciding that they do not count.

Worked Examples

The third example in that table is a specific trap: three children with one in Australia, one on an ordinary temporary visa in Australia whose home country is India, and one in India. Many families assume two of three are "in Australia." But the ordinary temporary visa holder is counted in the home country, making it 1 in Australia versus 2 in India — and the test requires that Australia hold either the majority or the plurality.

What Happens If the Family Doesn't Pass

If the parent cannot pass the Balance of Family test, they are ineligible for the permanent and staged contributory parent visas that require it. The temporary Subclass 870 does not carry a Balance of Family requirement, but it also carries no pathway to permanent residency.

For some families, the question is whether a child who is currently on an ordinary temporary visa in Australia is planning to obtain permanent residency. A later change in that child's status may affect the evidence the Department considers, but do not assume that it cures an earlier Balance of Family problem; confirm the applicable criteria before relying on a future change.

Documenting the Test

When a parent visa application reaches the assessment stage, the case officer will request evidence for the Balance of Family test. This typically includes:

• Birth certificates establishing the parent-child relationship for each eligible child
• Evidence of each child's residency status (passport, visa grant letters, citizenship certificates)
• For step-children: marriage certificates or statutory declarations establishing the relationship
• For step-children under 18 in custody: court orders or parenting agreements

The documentation burden increases with family complexity. A parent with children in multiple countries, including some step-children and some from previous relationships, will need a carefully organized document set to demonstrate compliance.

Joint Application Families

When both parents are applying together, the test is applied to each parent separately. Both parents must pass the Balance of Family test. In most cases, because the eligible child pool is shared (they are married), this doesn't create a problem. But in blended families where the two parents have children from previous relationships who are in different countries, it's possible for one parent to pass and the other to fail — which would result in the entire application being refused.

This is one of the more consequential edge cases in the parent visa system. The Australia Parent Visa Guide includes a step-by-step BoF calculator and worked examples for blended family structures.

See more Australia guides →