A Tamil refugee family who made a home for themselves in the small Queensland town of Biloela have lost their appeal to stay in Australia.
The Federal Court on Friday dismissed Nadesalingam, Priya and their two daughters' bid to remain in the country.
But Justice John Middleton ordered they not be deported back to Sri Lanka until after 4pm on February 1, given the time of year and so they had an opportunity to consider their options.
Australian Border Force officials removed the family from their home in March, one day after Priya's bridging visa expired.
They have been detained in a Melbourne immigration centre for the past nine months.
The family were issued with a deportation notice in June after the federal government ruled they couldn't stay.
But their removal from Australia was put on hold after they made an 11th-hour appeal to the Federal Court in August.
Friend Brad Coath, who was in court when Friday's decision was handed down, said the family would be devastated.
"Nadas and Priya are keeping an incredibly brave face but it's tough as you can imagine," he said.
Mr Coath said their Australian-born daughters, aged one and three, were particularly doing it tough, having developed nutritional deficiencies and developmental issues as a result of being in detention.
Friend and Biloela resident Angela Fredericks described the family's ordeal as "pure psychological torture".
"Each time they're getting more and more exhausted, it's just the psychological drain of not knowing and the constant fear (of returning to Sri Lanka)," she said.
Ms Fredericks said she was disappointed with the court ruling but grateful the family wouldn't be deported until February.
She told AAP it gave them time to consider their options, including if they wanted to take the case to the High Court.
"It gives us time to keep the pressure on Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton to step in," she said.
More than 140,000 people have signed a petition urging Mr Dutton to return the family to Biloela.
Ms Fredericks said the small town community would now put more pressure on the government to intervene.
"We will be back fighting with phone calls daily, sending letters and emails, basically inundating them," she said.
Nadesalingam and Priya came to Australia separately by boat in 2012 and 2013 following Sri Lanka's civil war.
They settled in Biloela, where they became ingrained in the local community.
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