• come to Australia to provide care and support for a student visa holder who is under 18 years of age (or over 18 in exceptional circumstances)
• care for more than one student
• study an English Language Intensive Course for Overseas Students (ELICOS) for less than 20 hours per week, or any other study or training for no more than 3 months

You cannot work.

You can stay in Australia until a date specified on your visa grant letter. In deciding this date, we usually consider the length of the student visa holder’s stay or when that student turns 18.

You can stay in Australia by applying for a further Student Guardian visa.

If any member of your family unit has not turned 6 years old, you cannot be granted the visa unless:

• there are compelling and compassionate reasons or
• granting the visa would significantly benefit the relationship between the Australian Government and the government of another country

The child must meet the same health requirements as you and have health insurance for the duration of their stay in Australia. You can’t include children under 6 years old after you have submitted your application. Children 6 years old or older can come with you but they must apply for their own student visa.

The visa costs from AUD620 for the main applicant. There is also a charge for each family member who applies for the visa with you. You might also have to pay other costs for health checks, police certificates and biometrics. To work out what your visa will cost use the Visa Pricing Estimator. The estimator does not take into account the other costs.

You can be in or outside Australia when you apply for the visa and when we decide on your application.

Your application may take longer to process if:

• you do not fill it in correctly
• you do not include all the documents we need or we need more information from you
• it takes us time to verify your information

We cannot process your application if you do not pay the correct visa application charge. We will notify you if this is the case and if necessary return your application.

You and your family members must meet all visa conditions and obey Australian laws. See which conditions will and might be attached to this visa.

You can travel outside Australia and return as many times as you want while the visa is valid. But you can’t leave Australia without the student visa holder unless you have made alternative welfare arrangements. The time you spend outside Australia does not extend the visa.

You will need to be able to financially support yourself while in Australia. You will need to be able to financially support accompanying family members.

We will digitally link your visa to your passport. You will not get a label in your passport.

You can be in or outside Australia when you apply for the visa. You can apply in Australia if you hold a substantive visa except for one of these:

• Domestic Worker (Temporary) Diplomatic and Consular visa (subclass 426)
• Temporary Work (International Relations) visa (subclass 403) in the Domestic Worker (Diplomatic or consular) stream
• Diplomatic (Temporary) visa (subclass 995) – primary visa holder only. A family member of a Diplomatic (Temporary) visa (subclass 995) can apply for a Student visa in Australia
• Transit visa (subclass 771)
• Visitor visa (subclass 600) in the Sponsored Family stream or in the Approved Destination Status stream

You cannot work.

You must be:

• the parent of the student visa holder, or
• a person who has custody of the student, or
• a relative of the student, aged 21 years or older, nominated in writing by a parent or person who has custody of the student

You will provide care and support for:

• a student visa holder who is under 18 years of age or
• a student visa holder who is 18 years of age or older and needs care and support due to exceptional circumstances

For this visa, a relative is the student’s:

• parent or step-parent
• grandparent or step-grandparent
• sibling or stepsibling
• aunt, uncle, step-aunt or step-uncle
• niece, nephew or step-niece or step-nephew
• partner
• child or stepchild

You must be able to provide accommodation, general welfare and support to the student.

You must show us evidence that you have enough money to pay for your stay in Australia for meeting the costs and expenses of yourself, your accompanying family members and in most cases, the student visa holder. To see what you will need to provide go to Gather Documents in the ‘Step by Step’ tab.

If any member of your family unit has not turned 6, you cannot be granted the visa unless:

• there are compelling and compassionate reasons or
• granting the visa would significantly benefit the relationship between the Australian Government and the government of another country, you are 21 and if the student visa holder has not turned 18, the nomination is supported by a parent or someone with custody of the student .

You must make adequate arrangements for the accommodation, support and welfare of any member of your family who:

• is not coming with you to Australia
• is under 18 years of age
• does not have a Student visa

We consider you have made adequate welfare arrangements for your children aged 6 to 18 years if they will be living with:

• another parent or custodian
• a relative who is at least 21 years old

You are personally liable for all your healthcare costs while you are in Australia. Medical insurance helps limit your financial liability. You must maintain adequate health cover for the whole of your stay if you are granted this visa. Your insurance should cover you for medically necessary treatment, including transport. See a guide to what we consider adequate health insurance. Learn more about health insurance for overseas visitors. Reciprocal healthcare agreements Some countries have a reciprocal healthcare agreement with Australia. Find out more from Services Australia about reciprocal healthcare agreements.

You must only intend to:

• stay temporarily in Australia
• do the things you are allowed to do on this visa

You must have substantially complied with the conditions of the last substantive or subsequent bridging visa that you held. When we assess whether you plan to stay in Australia temporarily we will consider:

• your personal circumstances in your home country
• your potential circumstances in Australia
• your immigration history
• anything else that relates to your plan to remain in Australia temporarily.

You and any family members who apply for the visa with you must meet our health requirement

If you are a relative ot he student visa holder, you must meet our character requirement.

You must:

• have read, or had explained to you, the Life in Australia booklet and
• sign an Australian Values Statement that confirms you will respect the Australian way of life and obey Australian laws

If you or any family members owe the Australian Government money, you or they must have paid it back or arranged to pay it back.

You might not be granted this visa if you have had a visa cancelled or refused while you were in Australia. Check if visa cancellation affects your eligibility.

We might not grant this visa if it is not in the best interests of an applicant under 18.

Coming to Australia

Before you leave

Check your travel documents

You must have:

• a valid visa to enter Australia
• a valid passport or other travel document

At the border

Completing an Incoming Passenger Card

All people arriving Australia must complete the Incoming Passenger Card. You will get the card on board.

In Australia

What you can do when you have this visa

• come to Australia to provide care and support for a student visa holder who is under the age of 18 years of age (or over 18 in exceptional circumstances)
• care for more than one student
• study an English Language Intensive Course for Overseas Students (ELICOS) for less than 20 hours per week, or any other study or training for no more than 3 months

You cannot work.

What you must do on this visa

You, and your family members, must comply with all visa conditions and Australian laws. Check your conditions in your grant letter or in VEVO.

Tell us if things change

Things you need to let us know about include

• changes to your phone number, email, address or passport
• changes to your relationship status
• changes to your work
• the birth of a child

How long you can stay

This is a temporary visa. You can stay in Australia until the date provided in your visa grant letter.

To see when you must leave, use VEVO.

Staying longer

You can stay in Australia longer by applying for a further Student Guardian visa.

Travelling on your visa

You can travel outside Australia and return as many times as you want while the visa is valid.

But you can’t leave Australia without the student visa holder unless you have made alternative welfare arrangements. The time you spend outside Australia does not extend the visa.

Proving you have a visa

To prove you have a visa and show your conditions to someone, use VEVO.

Working on this visa

To see your conditions for work, use VEVO.

Leaving Australia

Before you leave

Check your travel documents

You must have a valid passport or other travel document to leave Australia.

At the border

Leaving the airport faster (all visas)

We have an automated process that uses facial recognition technology and your ePassport. You might be able to leave the airport faster if you use SmartGate.

After you leave

To prove you have been to Australia

To prove you have been to Australia, request your international movement records by completing Form 1359 – Request for international movement records (280KB PDF).

Working on this visa

To see your conditions for work, use VEVO.