A Tamil family facing deportation will remain in detention as the courts consider their appeal to stay in Australia.
Nadesalingam and Priya came to Australia separately by boat in 2012 and 2013 in the wake of Sri Lanka's civil war and settled in the small town of Biloela on a temporary bridging visa, which ran out in March.
They have since been held in a Melbourne detention centre with their two young daughters after being removed in an early morning raid, with townspeople bringing their case to national attention.
On Monday, their lawyers argued in the Federal Court in Melbourne that Immigration Assessment Authority did not follow due process in its review of their case.
The body did not provide full recordings of the couple's interviews to the representative of former home affairs minister Peter Dutton, the lawyers say.
However, the judge presiding over the matter reserved his decision and the matter will return to court at a later date.
"They've been detained for such a long time, they're very anxious and their mental health is not what it should be either," lawyer Kajaliny Ranjith said.
"They haven't lost hope yet, they're still faithful that they will go back home."
A spokesperson for the Department of Home Affairs told SBS News "as this matter is currently before the Federal Court, it would be inappropriate to comment".
The Tamil Refugee Council has been working closely with the family and said they were struggling because of the lack of certainty and the possibility of being sent back to a country where they'd likely face persecution.
"They have both suffered persecution and would not have put their children through this unless the alternative was so bad," the council's Avi Silver told SBS News.
"You can hear the desperation in Priya's voice."
She said the couple was desperate to remain in Australia, terrified of their fate if they were forced to return to Sri Lanka.
In June, the family avoided deportation after Federal Court Justice Bernard Murphy granted an urgent injunction prohibiting immigration authorities from deporting Priya and her three-year-old Australian-born daughter.
Advocates for the family said they were suffering in detention - with both daughters struggling to sleep or eat due to the stress of the situation.
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