Doctor barred from Australia 'cause of son

Bernhard Moeller came to Australia with wife Isabella and son Lukas to work at a hospital in rural Victoria, answering the Australian government's call for foreign doctors to help ease the chronic doctor shortage in rural areas.

But, after two years on a temporary visa, the Department of Immigration refused his application for permanent residency because Lukas, 13, failed health tests and was judged by officials as likely to be a permanent drain on taxpayer funding.

"It's the worst thing that happened to me, worse even than when they told me Lukas had Down syndrome," Mrs Moeller said.

"We fought for years against discrimination in Germany against Lukas."

A copy of the decision said care for Lukas was "likely to result in significant costs to the Australian community in health care and community services".

Dr Moeller, who supervises intensive care for a community of 54,000 people, said he was told he was unwelcome because he had a mildly disabled son.

Dr Moeller said Lukas would always be cared for by his family, and did not need special help at school. The family intend to appeal the decision.

Opposition disabilities spokesman Cory Bernardi said it was unacceptable that people with a disability were viewed as a burden.

Disability groups have branded the country's immigration policy, which has been in place for 20 years and can deny migrants permanent residency if they or their family fail to meet health requirements, as "archaic" and "discriminatory".

Defending the decision, Immigration Department spokesman Peter Vardos said the boy's condition could potentially be a cost burden to the community.

In a statement, he said: "A decision's been made by a medical officer of the Commonwealth and... once a decision's been made, it's legally binding on this department, and the review process will determine the outcome."

Source: The Telegraph UK