Australians who live overseas are now unable to leave the country if they return for a visit.

The Australian Government has expanded the border ban, in an arguably unconstitutional move, unfairly affecting Australians from multicultural backgrounds or that choose to live abroad. The change has not been formally announced by the government.

Currently, if an Australian citizen is ordinarily resident in another country, they are automatically allowed to leave. On 1 August, the health minister, Greg Hunt, quietly amended the legislative instrument that created the overseas travel ban to remove this exemption – and further tighten rules on Australian citizens or permanent residents. 

The change in law requires that an individual will have to demonstrate to the Australian Border Force Commissioner a “compelling reason for needing to leave Australian territory”.

The federal government argues the move has closed a loophole, and say Australians seeking to leave the county to return to their homes overseas have had the time to do it. Their ignorance to the fact many of us simply want to hug our loved ones again and visit is shocking. As Australians, we have the right to return to our home country.

The government may have quietly changed the rule, but we refuse to be quiet about it.

Draconian, brutal, barbaric. We've suffered enough - let us go home to see our loved ones.