The office of Immigration Minister David Coleman has refused to answer questions about whether a migration health requirement needs to be reviewed generally after a Canberra family has been threatened with deportation to Indonesia because their son has autism.
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The plight of the Canberra family follows a similar case in which a Queanbeyan family had to fight to not be deported to Bhutan because their son is deaf.
The case of 14-year-old Dimas Triwibowo, a student at The Woden School, who has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, is just the latest in a string of families fighting to stay in Australia but being denied because they have a child who has failed the migration health requirement.
Their only hope is intervention by the Immigration Minister.
Dimas' family has been in Canberra for 10 years as his mother, Yuli Rindyawati, pursued a doctor of philosophy in economics at the University of Canberra.
Dr Rindyawati is now a tutor at UC and the university has issued a statement in her support,.
"Yuli has been a valuable and reliable tutor around seven years in both economics and entrepreneurship. Her work is appreciated by both her colleagues and her students," the statement reads.
A change.org petition asking for Minister Coleman to let the family stay in Australia has also been signed by more than 10,000 people.
The petition was started by Cameron Gordon, Dr Rindyawati's primary doctoral supervisor when he was associate professor of economics at the University of Canberra.
"Yuli was one of my most responsible and capable doctoral students and already had deep ties to the local community. They have since built their life in Australia for more than ten years," he writes in the petition.
It follows the successful community campaign to keep Queanbeyan's Wangchuk family from being deported to Bhutan because their younger son, Kinley, is deaf.
Mr Coleman, in May, in the midst of the federal election campaign, granted the Wangchuk family permanent residency.
Other cases are still pending, including that of an Irish family from country Victoria whose application for permanent residency is also under review because their three-year-old son has cystic fibrosis.
Dimas and his family had their application for permanent residency rejected by the Immigration Department and the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
Dimas' brother Ferdy, 17, attends Lake Tuggeranong College. His sister Adela Ramadhina, 21, is studying for a bachelor of IT at UC and is working part-time.
His father Heri Prayitno has been a cleaner at the QT Hotel for 10 years. His mother works a second job at the Asian Provisions shop in Phillip.
"We feel very close to the community here, not just the Indonesian community," Dr Rindyawati said.
Part of the reason visa applicants may fail the health requirement is that they have a condition that may "result in significant healthcare and community service costs" or "place a demand on healthcare or community services that are in short supply".
Dr Rindyawati said her son's autism had improved markedly in recent years, not least because she was employing a private therapist to help him become job-ready, with an offer for him to work as a shop assistant at Asian Provisions.
"There is really nothing for him in Indonesia and we feel he will go backwards there," she said,
Dr Rindyawati and her husband were taxpayers and fully expected Dimas to be one as well one day, and their other children.
The family's dream is to one day open an Indonesian restaurant in Canberra. And Dimas would be part of that.
"Dimas never presents any tantrum or aggression towards his family, his peers and others. He also not on any medications," his sister Adela said.
"Dimas has an immense passion for food and cooking, often helping our family to cook and preparing ingredients."
But Adela fears for her brother should they have to return to Indonesia.
"By deporting back, my brother will face an immense amount of rejection by society, denial of opportunity including employment, segregated, deserted and isolated because of his autism condition," she said.
"Our family have been shamed for having a family member with a disability, even worse autism, by Indonesian communities. There is no place for him back in Indonesia."
"We kindly request Honorable David Coleman, the Minister of Immigration to let Dimas and our family to stay in Australia. Let us show that people with disabilities can become a valuable and contributor of the country regardless of their condition."
The minister's office has refused to discuss whether the migration laws need to be reviewed, in the wake of the recent cases.
When contacted about Dimas' case, a spokesperson for the Department of Home Affairs said it did not comment on individual cases.
"Most visas require applicants to meet the migration health requirement set out in Australian migration law. The health requirement is not condition-specific and the assessment is undertaken individually for each applicant based on their condition and level of severity," a statement from the department read.
"For certain visas, primary criteria for the grant of the visa requires that all members of a family unit satisfy certain requirements including health. If one of the members of a family unit does not satisfy these requirements, then the primary applicant will not meet the criteria for the grant of the visa.
"The Minister only intervenes in a relatively small number of cases which present unique and exceptional circumstances, and where he considers it is in the public interest to do so. What is or is not in the public interest is entirely a matter for the Minister considering each case on its own merits.
"Individuals may remain in Australia while their case is being considered."