Over 15 families deported annually because a member has a disability

An investigation has found over 15 migrant families living in Australia face deportation each year, because a family member has a disability which does not align with immigration requirements.

The requirement hit the headlines earlier this year after the Wangchuck family were told they would have to leave Australia because of their son's disability. Source: Facebook

Disability advocacy groups are accusing the government of breaching human rights and are taking the matter to the United Nations.

Migration laws in Australia are also exempt from the 1992 Disability Discrimination Act, which bans the discrimination of anyone on the grounds of disability.

In 2010 a parliamentary inquiry deemed the immigration health requirements discriminatory and in need of urgent reform, yet little has been done to change the laws.