One of Australia's leading technology entrepreneurs has called on political leaders to condemn Donald Trump's US visa changes, arguing many workers in the tech sector could be affected by travel restrictions that showed "a blatant disregard for human dignity".
Sydney-based Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes, whose $6 billion company has three offices in the United States, on Monday joined a chorus of criticism from tech companies in Australia and the Silicon Valley.
Mr Cannon-Brookes said much of the tech workforce was made up of migrants and in Sydney there wasn't a single startup that didn't have people travelling to and from the US.
"This is very anti to a lot of things the tech industry broadly stands for, believes in and needs to prosper," Mr Cannon-Brookes told AAP.
"We have employees from more than 50 different countries now and the effect on our company is not insignificant."
The issuing of US visas to nationals from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen has been temporarily suspended under the changes Mr Trump introduced over the weekend.
Industry group TechSydney says Australian employees are concerned and confused by the decision - particularly dual-nationals working in and visiting the US.
"There were yesterday at least four or five people with businesses in the US who travel regularly there, that just were not sure about the status of themselves and family members," TechSydney chief executive Dean McEvoy told AAP.
HotelsCombined chief executive Hichame Assi, a dual British-Syrian national who moved to Australia in 2008, said he couldn't travel to the US for the next 90 days even though he had a valid visa.
"These developments in the US are not only disruptive to our business and our people, they're very troubling and are creating more tensions at a time when empathy is required," Mr Assi said in a statement.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Monday said the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade had not heard from any Australians who were having difficulty travelling.
When asked for his opinion on the US visa changes, Mr Turnbull said it wasn't his job to run a commentary on the domestic policies of other countries.
Australian officials are now seeking to strike a deal with the US to secure preferential treatment for these dual nationals.
