For several years, University of Canberra tutor Dr Yuli Rindyawati struggled to get her family the right to live in Australia.
She believed her family, especially her youngest son Dimas who was diagnosed with autism at the age of five, would have a much better life in Australia as there are better opportunities for children with special needs here than her home country, Indonesia.
"Facilities and opportunities for schooling and work for autistic people in Indonesia are rather difficult. This is what I had to fight for," Dr Rindyawati told SBS Indonesian.
However, the Department of Home Affairs refused the family's application for permanent residency in November 2017, citing her son Dimas' mental health condition.
Dimas had learnt to ride a bike when he was attending Malkara (Special) School. Source: Supplied
"It was stated that his autism would have a significant cost impact on the Australian community, especially in the fields of health and public services," she says.
Her bid to have the refusal overturned in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal also failed in May last year, prompting the University of Canberra staff to launch an online petition, calling on the Immigration Minister to let the family stay in Australia.
The minister finally agreed to intervene in the case and granted the family permanent residency in December 2019 .
Dr Rindyawati says the minister's decision has changed the family's lives, particularly Dimas'.
"Although [Dimas], maybe, doesn't understand what happened... but he now has a totally different expression; he's not sad like he used to be," she says. "His teacher also said that."
Though the family had hired a private therapist before, the cost made it difficult to afford more services for Dimas. But since the family's permanent residency, he has been able to access mental health services, including music therapy, that she says are making a lot of difference.
Swimming is now one of Dimas' hobbies. Source: Supplied
"It turns out there are many support services that we can access free of charge, especially in Canberra, including therapies and group activities, such as music to improve concentration," she says.
"With various activities that he does which allow him to meet many different people, I see that he has been able to improve and it is not impossible that he will be able to work in the future," says Dr Rindyawati. "He was uncontrollable before but now he knows some routines and does them without me telling him. As a parent, I am very happy to see him like that."
Having lived in Canberra for over ten years now, the family plans to open an Indonesian cafe and their goal is not just to employ Dimas but also others with disabilities so that they can live an independent life.
Dr Rindyawati says she had started scouting around for a place to start the business right after getting the permanent residency. But the bushfires put a spanner in their plans.
Now they are waiting for the coronavirus pandemic restrictions to be over to start putting their plans into action.
"I'm very grateful to everyone who supported us. Because if weren't allowed to live here, my son wasn't going to have a life that he can here," she says.
