I first came in contact with Angelo* and his family in 2015. Angelo suffers from numerous medical conditions, including HIV, diabetes, depression, anxiety, insomnia and has limited mobility. Angelo’s wife works full time as an administration officer to support the family financially, and she was struggling to care for Angelo as well as hold down a job that was the family’s only source of income. Their adult daughter, Angelina lives nearby, and has just started her career as a nurse. I could see the distress and pain written all over the faces of the family as they explained their problem.

Angelo and his family are all Australian citizens. Angelo has a brother, Felipe, who is a citizen of Uruguay and who was willing and able to care for Angelo, and so the family applied for a Carer Visa which would allow Felipe to come to Australia and care for Angelo.

The Department of Immigration refused the visa application, asserting that Angelo could be cared for by his immediate family members, being his wife, Mary and  daughter, Angelina in combination with support from Australian health and welfare services. HALC assisted the family with an appeal to the Tribunal.

The Tribunal agreed that the level of severity of Angelo’s medical conditions, combined with Mary’s work commitments, and the fact that Angelina was 23 with a life of her own, meant that it was reasonable that Felipe, who was a qualified carer, should be granted a carer visa. The Tribunal also noted that whilst there were community welfare agencies in Australia who could provide some services to Angelo, these services were unable to reasonably deliver the intensive level of care he required.

The relief that the family felt following this decision was overwhelming; with Angelo and his wife both breaking down in tears when they heard that their successful appeal meant that Felipe would be able to provide the much needed assistance to the family.

*Names changes to respect client confidentiality

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‘Leave No One Behind’ Campaign

My name is Michael, and during my time as a volunteer paralegal with HALC, I had the privilege of working with Nadir*, an Iranian man with HIV, who was juggling both an application for a protection visa, and an unwanted insurance matter.

Nadir told me that although he was involved in a fatal traffic accident many years ago, the police had cleared him of any culpability. However, despite this finding of complete innocence, the claimants instigated new proceedings in late 2015, which included an interview with a private investigative company. Nadir told me that he was extremely distressed by the interview due to his sadness in being forced to recall the events, the memories that this evoked due to the trauma authorities in Iran had subjected him to and his worry about how this might affect his visa application.

He had told me that living in Iran he was frequently denied access to treatment for HIV and was forced to buy the treatment on the black market, he was also subject to severe stigma and discrimination due to his HIV status. By the time Nadir arrived on Christmas Island by boat his CD4 count was so bad that he was near death.

Once the interview was finished, Nadir thanked me, the interpreter and the interviewer around 20 times each. He also insisted on showing me photos of his work as a panel beater, and explained why he believed it was the best job in the world, which instantly brought a broad smile to his face.

Although Nadir is waiting on an outcome for both matters, I know that he is receiving the best possible legal advice and support. HALC makes a real difference to people’s lives, ensuring that people like Nadir can stay in Australia and attain proper medication for their HIV condition. My time at HALC was an amazing experience that I will never forget, and that is why I encourage everyone to please donate to make sure that we LEAVE NO-ONE BEHIND!!!

* names of clients have been changed to respect and protect their confidentiality.

Help us to continue to help vulnerable clients, donate to our annual funding campaign below:

‘Leave No One Behind’ Campaign

During my time volunteering as a Paralegal at HALC, one of the many cases I worked on was a Medical Treatment Visa for Maisie*, a HIV positive woman from the Philippines.

Maisie’s partner, Matthew, an Australian citizen, contacted HALC, concerned about Maisie giving birth in the Philippines in a few months time. He knew that medical facilities and services in the Philippines are nowhere near Australia’s standard. He was worried for Maisie and his unborn baby’s health as Maisie did not have access to an HIV doctor or HIV treatment, which I came to learn is crucial during pregnancy to reduce the risk of mother-to-baby HIV transmission.

So that Maisie could come to Australia to give birth, we needed to act quickly, given that Maisie was fast approaching her due date, and would soon be unable to fly due to airline restrictions on pregnant women flying during their third trimester.

I was involved in completing a Medical Treatment Visa so that Maisie could come to Australia to give birth. This involved drafting supporting submissions and liaising with the specialist doctors who would be responsible for Maisie’s and her baby’s care and treatment in Australia (prior to, during and post birth).

Maisie’s Medical Treatment Visa was granted in time for her to fly and she gave birth in Australia in late 2014 to Melissa, a healthy, HIV negative baby girl. Without the assistance of HALC, Maisie’s and Matthew’s baby would have been born in the Philippines without specialist HIV care, and as Masie didn’t have access to HIV medication there is a 30% chance their Australian baby would have been born with HIV. Without financial contributions from people like you and me HALC will not have the capacity to continue providing assistance to people like Maisie, Mathew and baby Melissa.

Help us to continue to help vulnerable clients, donate to our annual funding campaign below:

‘Leave No One Behind’ Campaign