A Tamil asylum seeker family detained on Christmas Island have won a legal battle in the Federal Court, and will not face imminent deportation to Sri Lanka, the Daily Mail reported.<\/p>\n
In a landmark decision, the court ruled their two-year-old daughter had not been treated fairly \u2013 with the family\u2019s future depending on the little girl\u2019s visa status.<\/p>\n
A series of court orders have barred the Australian government from deporting parents Nadesalingam Murugappan, known as Nades, and Kokilapathmapriya Nadesalingam, known as Priya.<\/p>\n
They came to Australia by boat in 2012 and 2013 respectively, alleging they were escaping the Sri Lankan civil war.<\/p>\n
Their two daughters, Kopika, 4, and Tharunicaa, 2, were born in Australia.<\/p>\n
The family were moved to Christmas Island in August, with the couple saying they feared persecution back in Sri Lanka, having fled during the civil war.<\/p>\n
On Friday, Federal Court Justice Mark Moshinsky found in favour of the family, with the matter resting on whether Tharunicaa has the right to apply for a protection visa.<\/p>\n
He ruled Immigration Minister David Coleman had lifted the bar to consider a visa application for Tharunicaa in May last year.<\/p>\n
This does not mean the government is required to issue the toddler with a visa, but marks an important point in their legal battle.<\/p>\n
A court injunction last year prevented their deportation to Sri Lanka until legal proceedings were finalised.<\/p>\n
The family want to return to the Queensland town of Biloela, and have been waiting on Justice Moshinsky\u2019s decision since a two-day hearing in February.<\/p>\n
Toddler Tharunicaa is considered an \u2018unauthorised maritime arrival\u2019 by authorities, despite being born in Australia.<\/p>\n
Normally, holding this status means a person does not have the right to apply for a visa.<\/p>\n
The rest of her family has not been found to be legally due Australia\u2019s protection, and have exhausted any appeals process \u2013 meaning the family\u2019s fate rests with their two-year-old daughter.<\/p>\n
Having been moved to Christmas Island last year, the mother said her family had been separated from their home.<\/p>\n
\u2018My children have been separated from their world,\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n
The court found that Mr Coleman had ordered a full departmental briefing on handling the family\u2019s case, including the option that he exercise a power to allow them to apply for protection visas<\/p>\n
That prompted an assessment in August, during which Justice Moshinsky said Tharunicaa was \u2018not afforded procedural fairness\u2019.<\/p>\n
Lawyers now have seven days to tell the Federal Court what should happen next.<\/p>\n
The family\u2019s lawyers put forward two arguments in a two-day hearing in Melbourne in February.<\/p>\n
Angel Aleksov said both Mr Coleman and Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton had taken procedural steps that required them to make a decision on granting a visa to Tharunicaa.<\/p>\n
Stephen Lloyd SC, representing the ministers, had claimed if Mr Coleman requested information on the family, he was saying \u2018tell me what I could do\u2019, rather than taking a formal procedural step.<\/p>\n
The family will remain in detention while the process continues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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