Rural doctor denied permanent residency ..... because his son has Down syndrome!

Down Syndrome NSW regularly receives enquiries about immigration issues, where families applying to immigrate are refused because a family member has Down syndrome. While we understand the concern about costs to the Australian community, the Department of Immigration's rulings and reasoning are often difficult to fathom.

The cost estimates given to families bear little relation to the actual "cost to the community" of Australian citizens who have Down syndrome - most Australian families could only dream of such levels of financial support. Some families have been treated shamefully by our immigration system, which is apparently exempt from the discrimination laws that protect Australian citizens.

Even when a child with Down syndrome has been born in Australia, and his parents meet immigration criteria, there have been cases where the application has been denied because the child has Down syndrome. Some cases have been successful on appeal.

Now a rural Victorian physician's family, recruited from Germany, is caught in this bureaucratic trap. Click here for The Australian's report, including interviews with the Moeller family, Catherine McAlpine, CEO of Down Syndrome Victoria, the Department of Immigration and Dr Bernhard Moeller's employer.

Catherine McAlpine: It is outrageous that in the same year the Australian Government ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, it is effectively stripping this young man of his human rights.

Discrimination and humanity aside, don't we have a well recognised crisis in recruiting and keeping medical professionals in rural communities, and are we not spending very large amounts of money to solve it?

Click here for further information about the experiences of families who have a member with Down syndrome applying to immigrate to Australia.