An Irish family who has been living in Australia for a decade is facing deportation because their son is considered a burden on the health system.
The couple's three-year-old son Darragh has cystic fibrosis.
Christine and Anthony Hyde are appealing to Australia's Immigration Minister David Coleman, after being denied permanent residency.
They say they applied for residency in 2015, and their son was born a few weeks later.
After his birth, their application was denied because Darragh was assessed to have a condition which makes him "a burden" to the Australian community.
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They have been living in the Victorian town of Seymour for 10 years. They say their son will have a full life, and should not be considered a burden.
"We have positive letters from his doctors and specialists stating that he should live a full life and that his disease progression will be much slower than average," Christine said.
"Darragh has the support of his family, our large support network in Seymour and the wider Australian community.
"Australia is the only home our son knows."
The Australian Home Affairs Department told AAP it doesn't comment on individual cases, but if one member of a family doesn't satisfy visa requirement, all members will be turned down.
"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 spokesperson said.
"It is an objective assessment to determine whether the care of the individual during their stay in Australia would likely result in significant costs to the Australian community, or prejudice the access of Australian citizens and permanent residents to services in short supply," they said.
The Hyde family has organised a petition to help them in their struggle for residency.
It has surpassed 10,000 signatures so far.
Newshub.
