A Victorian mother facing deportation will have to rely on the pity of Immigration Minister Peter Dutton if she wants to stay in Australia.
Kelly Webb, 30, migrated to Australia as a two-year-old but never became a citizen.
Now she's facing deportation to England, a world away from her five children, after serving an 18-month jail sentence for armed burglary.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was asked about Webb's case as he campaigned on the Great Ocean Road in southern Victoria on Tuesday.
She could appeal to the minister to have the ruling reconsidered, like anyone in the same situation, he said.
"There are various criteria, family ones being an obvious one, which can be taken into account," Mr Turnbull told reporters in Anglesea.
Under a 2014 law foreign nationals who have served more than 12 months in jail will have their visas cancelled and be deported from Australia.
More than 400 people have been deported under the rules, causing diplomatic tensions with New Zealand.
Mr Turnbull believed the overwhelming majority of Australians support the law.
