Indonesian family seeks reunion with son denied Australian residency due to disability

Jonathan takes daily walks along the narrow alley where he lives, watching the cars whiz by, a reward after completing his daily schoolwork. Meanwhile, thousands of kilometers away in Melbourne, his parents are praying for a miracle to happen.

Lily Loeminanto and Martin Cahyono have submitted a request for ministerial intervention after exhausting all legal avenues to obtain permanent residency for their family of four, including 14-year-old Jonathan, who has cerebral palsy. "We were told in mid-October 2024 to complete medical check-ups and obtain police clearances in Indonesia and Australia so that the Assistant Minister could review our case, but we haven't heard anything since," Ms. Loeminanto said.

The Indonesian family is pleading with Immigration Minister Andrew Giles to grant their eldest son a health waiver so he can reunite with them in Australia after more than a decade of separation. Ms. Loeminanto first arrived in Australia in 2009 to study accounting and formed a relationship with Mr. Cahyono, who was working in Melbourne. The following year, their son Jonathan was born with an abnormality in his corpus callosum, a bundle of nerve fibers connecting the brain's left and right hemispheres.

Since 2012, Jonathan has lived in Indonesia after his father took him back due to "family issues." Mr. Cahyono returned to Melbourne a few years later to find work and prepare financially to bring Jonathan back to Australia. To establish a new life in Australia, the family applied for permanent residency, but the application was rejected in 2021 on the grounds that the long-term cost of Jonathan's care would create an "undue financial burden" on the Australian community. An appeals tribunal upheld this decision in 2023, estimating that Jonathan's treatment by medical and social workers would cost public funds AUD$2.51 million over 10 years. Having lived in Australia for over 15 years, they now face the risk of deportation.

Perth-based immigration lawyer Jan Gothard explains that the core of the problem lies in the *Migration Act* exempting the *Disability Discrimination Act*. Dr. Gothard, who is also a co-founder of the "Welcoming Disability" campaign, said, "It is perfectly legal for the Department of Home Affairs to discriminate against people with disabilities." Dina Afrianty, chair of the Australia-Indonesia Disability Research and Advocacy Network, said that people from developing countries move to Australia because they believe it is a country that respects individuals and human rights. She said, "People with disabilities have never been a priority in Indonesia, so the road to equality is still long and winding."

Ms. Loeminanto said Jonathan's case is unique because, although he was born in Australia, he has not spent most of his life in the country. Therefore, he does not qualify for the automatic health waiver for children with disabilities that came into effect last October, which requires them to be born in Australia and have lived in Australia for at least half of their lives. This means Jonathan is subject to the "significant cost threshold," a cap on the expected medical and educational expenses of potential migrants. The government calculated that his anticipated care costs were far above the significant cost threshold of AUD$51,000 over 10 years, set before mid-2024.

"It's a heartbreaking provision because (the government) discriminates against people based on disability," said Ms. Loeminanto, 43, who works as a contract administrator at a local construction company. "It's all about money, not about human rights." Dr. Gothard said that while the significant cost threshold is intended to protect the healthcare system, it has become a discriminatory tool that enshrines the assumption that people with disabilities are an "economic burden on the community" into Australian law. "When we say to people with disabilities outside of Australia, 'We really don't want you here,' we send a message to people with disabilities in Australia that if we had a choice, we would rather our community didn't have people with disabilities," she said.

La Trobe University legal researcher Piers Gooding said the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has long recommended that the Australian government remove the *Migration Act's* legal exemption for certain provisions of the *Disability Discrimination Act*, but this call has not been heeded. Past cases of families with children with disabilities include 7-year-old Kayban Jamshaad from Western Australia, who has hemophilia and brain damage, and 11-year-old Aayan Anil, who has Down syndrome. Kayban was allowed to stay after the health waiver was introduced, while Aayan was granted residency after ministerial intervention. However, unlike Jonathan, they had both spent their entire lives in Australia. The "Welcoming Disability" organization wants the government to provide health waivers for all children born in Australia. "It's not to say that their family automatically gets a visa," Dr. Gothard said, referring to requirements such as skills, employment, and community ties. "They still have to meet all the other very strict criteria." A Department of Home Affairs spokesperson said they do not comment on individual cases but noted that the significant cost threshold had been raised to AUD$86,000 over 10 years after a policy review initiated by former Immigration Minister Andrew Giles.

Back in Indonesia, car-obsessed Jonathan lives in Surabaya, a 45-minute flight from Bali, with his 83-year-old grandmother, Estefani Kalalo, and full-time undocumented caregiver, Ayun Tarunawati. Ms. Tarunawati said she has been with Jonathan, sharing a bedroom with him and Ms. Kalalo. She said his parents provide detailed care instructions, including his diet, to ensure he stays healthy and continues to become more independent. During the day, Ms. Tarunawati oversees his meals and daily exercises, designed to strengthen his leg muscles and straighten his knees. "He's smart. You only need to teach him once or twice, and he can imitate," Ms. Tarunawati said.

But Mr. Cahyono said no one can love a child more than their own parents. "If (Jonathan) was with us, he could be in a better state," he said. An online petition launched by the family to garner public support for Jonathan's case has collected over 7,400 signatures. It notes their strong ties to the community, including involvement in the local church and regular blood donations while in Melbourne. "We humbly request your support in urging the Minister to reconsider our case and allow us to stay in Australia," the petition reads. "We live in constant fear and uncertainty, not knowing what the future holds for our family."