My name is Sara Scarola. I am 20 years old, and I am writing to you today to fight for the future of my family. In September, our family faces a critical immigration tribunal hearing ART that will decide whether we are allowed to stay in Australia, the country we call home, or if we will be forced to leave everything we have built over the last 11 years.

In September 2015, my parents, Cosimo and Grazia, made the brave decision to move our family from Italy to Victoria. They wanted to give my younger sister Melissa and me a safe future, a strong education, and job prosperity that simply do not exist in Italy. Just a month later, my older brother Stefano (31) joined us in Victoria so our family could finally be reunited under one roof. Today, due to complex visa differences, deportation would not only force us out of our home but would cruelly separate us from Stefano once again.

Australia is the only home my 14-year-old sister, Melissa, truly knows. She arrived here at just 4 years old, does not speak Italian, and goes to school in Victoria where she was part of the student leadership team and the school play. Forcing her to leave would shatter her education, separate her from her closest friends, and compel her to repeat years of schooling in a foreign language.

I am currently nearly two years into a 3-year, fully funded merit-based scholarship for a Bachelor of Business at Monash University. My dream is to become a Human Resources manager to support employees, especially immigrants facing language or personal barriers. I work part-time at a local small business in Doncaster East, have a loving partner, and was honoured to receive a leadership award sponsored by the Rotary Club at my high school graduation. If we are forced to leave, I will be forced to abandon my degree halfway through with nothing to fall back on, as I cannot afford university in Italy.

Our parents have given everything to this country. Our dad, Cosimo (61), grew up in a single mother household in Italy and has used his 40+ years of specialised manufacturing experience to work for an Australian small business for nearly a decade, proudly training new local staff. Our mother, Grazia (60), studied relentlessly under a student visa from 2015 to 2020 to earn diplomas in English and Commercial Cookery. Tragically, after years of hard work, she developed a rare neurological disorder. She had to stop working in January 2026 and is currently rebuilding her speech with only our family's care, as we are not permitted to access government welfare.

If we are forced back to Italy, we face absolute devastation. My father will face severe ageism and a total lack of employment opportunities, meaning he cannot support us or stay home to care for my mother. Having lived abroad, my parents have no functional right to an immediate pension there, nor can they access the specialised, stable medical environment my mother desperately needs.

We are a hardworking, loving, law abiding family that has contributed every single day to the fabric of Victoria. We are asking for your signature to show the Administrative Review Tribunal and the Minister for Immigration that we belong here.

Please sign our petition, share our story, and help keep the Scarola family safe, together, and home in Australia.