Stewart Perrie
The Biloela family has finally been permitted to return to their Queensland home after 1,544 days.
The Australian government has confirmed the move that has been a long time in the making.
Priya and Nades Murugappan fled their native Sri Lanka during the country's civil war and boarded separate people smuggling boats in 2012 and 2013 to make a new life in Australia.
After being granted temporary bridging visas, they met and married in 2014. They moved to regional Biloela in Queensland and became a part of the community.
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Four years later, Australian Border Force personnel took Priya, Nades and their young, Australian-born children from their home and moved them to the Melbourne Immigration Transit Accommodation facility in Broadmeadows.
They were then transferred to Christmas Island, where they were left for years. The government tried on many occasions to deport them, however they were continually saved by last minute appeals.
They recently moved to Perth after the youngest member of the family developed an acute illness.
But now they've received the news they've been desperately waiting for.
Anthony Albanese told 6PR Radio in Perth this week: “I went to Biloela, I met with the community there. This is a community that want this family home.
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“We are a strong enough society to say that we should not treat people badly in order to send a message to others.
"And it’s beyond my comprehension how this has gone on for so long at enormous cost.”
The family will now be granted bridging visas, which will allow them to stay in Biloela.
They will still have to resolve their immigration status, however they will be able to do it from the comfort of the community where they were firmly established.
Interim Home Affairs Minister Jim Chalmers said: “This decision will allow them to get ‘home to Bilo’, a big-hearted and welcoming Queensland town that has embraced this beautiful family."
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This is a massive win and comes after years of hard campaigning.