Our family is made up of Dad, Aneesh, a Telecommunications Technician, Mum, Krishna, a Cyber Security expert and our two children Aaryan (10) and Aaryasree (8). We arrived in Australia six years ago, and have been living in Perth ever since. 

In two weeks, we will be deported from Australia because Aaryan has a mild intellectual disability and down syndrome.  Our family is devastated. We have built a life here, made friends and established ourselves as part of the community. 

Despite the two of us working in critical industries in Australia that are facing a skill shortage, immigration has denied us Permanent Residency Visas. This has been entirely attributed to Aaryan's condition. The Australian Government deems Aaryan a “Burden” to the taxpayer, which is sickening and ableist.

Even though Aaryam currently accesses no services, and is unlikely ever to do so, he's been assessed as 'high cost' which seems unfair. By working in critical industries and paying significant amounts of tax, any taxpayer-funded services that Aaryan may require would be well and truly covered by our contributions.

We are now facing the prospect of leaving our home country and returning to India, which would have a detrimental effect on our children's development. We have no family or support network in India, and we fear for Aaryan’s future. The quality of medical care Aaryan will receive, the stigma he will face, and the opportunities he will miss out on worry us.

We have submitted a Ministerial Intervention request to Hon Andrew Giles, who is the only person who can change our situation. Please sign our petition to demonstrate to Minister Giles that it is in the public interest for our family to stay in Australia. Help us provide Aaryan with the best possible future. It is not fair that our family is being punished simply because of Aaryan’s condition.