A decision is likely to be made as early as today to re-unite the Tamil asylum seeker family from Biloela who’ve been held in immigration detention for three years.
Four-year-old Tharnicaa Murugappan is being treated in Perth Children's Hospital for a serious blood infection. She and her mother Priya were flown from the Christmas Island detention centre to the hospital last week.
They are separated from her sister and father, who remain in immigration detention.
SBS News understands Immigration Minister Alex Hawke is preparing to make an announcement about their future later today, and is likely to release them from detention so they can all be together in Perth during Tharnicaa’s treatment.
Travel plans could be arranged within a matter of days to allow that to happen. But it is unclear what longer-term arrangements might be made with regards to the family's release from detention.
Immense pressure is mounting on the federal government to resolve the situation. Backbenchers have been vocally calling for the family's release from detention, and the West Australian Department of Health has requested that Tharnicaa's father, Nades, and five-year-old sister Kopika be brought to Perth.
The Department of Home Affairs is yet to confirm whether Nades and Kopika will be transferred from the remote island.
A friend of the Murugappan family in Biloela, Simone Cameron, said on Twitter Nades had been told by the Australian Border Force he would "get some news" tomorrow.
"Priya and Nades have never given up," said the tweet. "We hope that tomorrow the minister does what he's always had the power to do and bring the family home to Biloela, where they belong."
The family's lawyer Carina Ford said she was awaiting news.
"We welcome the news in the media that a resolution of their detention may be imminent. We await the outcome," Ms Ford told SBS News.
Acting Prime Minister Michael McCormack on Thursday said work to have them transferred to Tharnicaa's hospital bedside was underway.
"I understand, they are being reunited in Perth as we speak," Mr McCormack told journalists on Monday, after the West Australian Department of Health requested that Tharnicaa's father, Nades, and five-year-old sister Kopika be brought to Perth.
"Of course, we've also got COVID considerations and like, so these are difficult circumstances ... but as I understand, there was work being done towards that."
Asked about the family's future during his G7 trip, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the government's number one priority was providing medical care to Tharnicaa.
"Other options that both are consistent with the government's policy when it comes to these matters as well as the need to provide the appropriate humanitarian and health support, are being worked through right now," he said.
The courts are still dealing with Tharnicaa's claim to remain in Australia.
The Department of Home Affairs has previously found the case of the other family members do not meet Australia’s protection obligations.
Mr Hawke is reviewing the case of the family and is considering whether to use his discretion to grant the family a visa under Section 195A of the Migration Act, lift the bar for the family to reapply for a protection visa.
Tharnicaa marked her fourth birthday in hospital on Saturday. She has never celebrated a birthday outside of immigration detention.
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