Biloela Asylum-Seeker Family Wins Court Case Over Procedural Fairness

A Tamil asylum-seeker family uprooted from their Biloela home in Central Queensland almost four years ago have won in Federal Circuit Court.

The Court ruling has deemed the Immigration Minister Alex Hawke's call to deny three of the family members from reapplying for bridging visas as procedurally unfair.

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According to their lawyer Carina Ford, this means that any attempt to revoke the Murugappan family's bridging visas will need to be reconsidered.

It follows a letter written to the family last June by the Department of Home Affairs preventing parents Priya and Nades and six-year-old Kopika from reapplying for bridging visas.

Then in an about turn Mr Hawke one week later, granted 12-month bridging visas to the parents and their eldest daughter, but not to four-year-old Tharnicaa.

The bridging visas are due to expire in September.

Ms Ford told SBS it's now up to the government to make the next move.

"They can choose to appeal, or they can choose to leave it as it is, which means then it's open to the family to renew a bridging visa later down the track," she said.

"It's also open for the government to consider whether it's in the interest of both parties to just continue the ongoing saga of this case."

- Carina Ford

Meanwhile as Tharnicaa was not issued a bridging visa, the family remain in "community detention" in Western Australia.

With an uncertain future, Ms Ford believes there will be no immediate action until after the upcoming federal election.

Friend of the family, Angela Fredericks told the ABC they are "hopeful that if Labor wins, they will return the family to Biloela,"

"We had in-depth conversations with [Senator] Kristina Keneally, we've also spoken to [Opposition leader] Anthony Albanese," she said.

"So we are confident that they have listened to our community, they know that this family are an asset to Biloela and to rural Australia, so we do believe they would return the family."

- Angela Fredericks

In a statement, Senator Keneally confirmed that a Labor government would  "bring the family home to Bilo" if elected.

"However, this need not wait for an election — Immigration Minister Alex Hawke can bring this sorry saga to an end today and allow the family to come home to Biloela," she said.

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