By Casey Neill
A Noble Park father facing deportation has made his last roll of the dice following a failed appeal to the Immigration and Border Protection Minister.
Eranda Ranasinghe, 39, has lodged a complaint with the Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman claiming Minister Peter Dutton’s decision to send him back to Sri Lanka following 11 years in Australia was unfair.
He arrived in Australia as a student on 1 January 2007, completed a hospitality course and worked as a manager at Braeside McDonald’s for three years.
But Eranda has failed the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test 22 times.
He needs to score six in each component of the test but has fallen 0.5 points short in the reading section.
“I attended the classes to improve my knowledge,” he said.
Eranda said a teacher picked up something wasn’t right and neuropsychologist Doctor Georgia Lowndes “issued a report explaining that I am having a disorder for reading in IELTS test”.
But his attempts to obtain an exemption have failed, including a direct appeal to Mr Dutton in person.
In September, he learnt that his latest application had been rejected.
Eranda said the Springvale, Noble Park and Keysborough communities had shown support following coverage of his plight in the Star Journal last month.
He said people had offered to write to Mr Dutton and suggested a petition or protest.
He’s still hopeful he’ll be allowed to stay in Australia.
“I don’t think we would be able to start a life back there (in Sri Lanka),” he said.
Eranda’s wife is receiving treatment for mental illness. She was recently admitted to hospital for the third time in 18 months.
They have a 15-month-old son, Makeyl.
He’s struggling to pay rent, unable to work since March last year because his wife and son both need full-time care.
A spokesperson for the Department of Immigration and Border Protection said the department and assistant minister had comprehensively assessed Eranda’s case.
“A person who has been refused a visa and has unsuccessfully sought merits review is able to write to the Assistant Minister and request intervention,” they said.
“However the Assistant Minister cannot be compelled to exercise his powers and he is not required to explain his decisions on any case.”
The spokesperson said the Assistant Minister only intervened in a relatively small number of cases which presented unique and exceptional circumstances.
