Filipino veterinarian Geofrey Custodio moved to rural Queensland in 2014 to work on a breeding program at a piggery. For the past five years, he and his wife Geraldine together with their four children have built a life in Bell, a small town of 500 people on Queensland’s Darling Downs.
Not only are they a model migrant family in terms of their education and contribution to the local community; they consider themselves a poster family for the federal government’s campaign for migrants to settle and invest in regional areas.
Bell is part of the large Maranoa electorate held by the Federal Minister for Agriculture David Littleproud who has repeatedly highlighted “the massive skill shortage, particularly in rural and regional areas”.
Veterinarian Geofrey Custodio gives a talk about the piggery breeding program that he works on. Source: Geraldine Custodio
However, the family has been refused permanent residency because 11-year old Gain, who has autism, “does not satisfy the health requirements” of the federal government’s immigration policy.
Treatment costs and immigration conditions
Geraldine says that “the costing provided [by the Medical Officer of the Commonwealth] was quite big. They estimated that the Australian government would spend roughly $5 million on Gain’s treatment. The benchmark is only at $40,000, that’s why our [permanent residency] application got denied.”
The Department of Home Affairs states that in determining whether an applicant meets their health requirements, a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth (MOC) considers whether the applicant “has a health condition that will be a significant cost to the Australian community in terms of the health care or community services required to manage your condition".
Gain, who has autism, “does not satisfy the health requirements” of the Federal Government’s immigration policy. Source: Geraldine Custodio
According to the Department, the following are the most common conditions that have been identified to affect the health component of a permanent visa application:
- intellectual impairment
- HIV infection
- functional impairment
- renal disease or failure
- cancer
The MOC estimates the cost to the Australian community of a permanent or ongoing condition over the applicant’s remaining life expectancy. A visa will not be granted if the “condition is likely to be a significant cost”.
“We were advised to apply for a health waiver, but they did not approve that either,” Geraldine says.
Geraldine explains that the family shoulders most of Gain’s therapy costs and that they do not rely on government services for their son’s treatment. However, she credits the Bell State School for the improvement of Gain’s condition over the years. Geraldine and her husband say they are quite fortunate that the school has the capacity and expertise to accommodate students with special needs.
Filling the skills gap
Geofrey’s role in the local piggery is crucial to its local operations. He is mainly responsible for extending the life and ensuring the quality of the boar semen samples that the company ships to farms in Western Australia, New South Wales, Victoria and Singapore. He now trains other farm workers in processing these samples.
Geraldine, on the other hand, works as a teacher aid at the Bell State School and also manages the family’s own takeaway café in the town’s caravan park. She says the Bell community is what motivated her to invest in a small business and contribute to the local economy.
“If one does not invest in a small community, how can a small community exist? We may not earn a lot from the business, but if this is what I can do to give back to this little community that accepted us, I will keep doing it.”
Geraldine works as a teacher aid at the Bell State School and also manages the family’s own takeaway café in the town’s caravan park. Source: Geraldine Custodio
A warm community welcome
“Before we moved to Australia, we were warned that there is wide discrimination in the country. But surprisingly, everything went very well. Bell is such a lovely town. My children were given a warm welcome from the very first day of school. Everybody looks out for each other,” Geraldine shares.
All four of Geofrey and Geraldine’s children attend the local state school. 
A petition, coincidentally launched on World Autism Awareness Day, was created on Change.Org to support the family’s appeal to stay in Australia permanently.
Geofrey with his sons at Bell State School. Source: Geraldine Custodio
Joanne Rodney, an English teacher and a colleague of Geraldine at Bell State School says that she has known the Custodio family since they first arrived in Bell. She says that the family has always been known to volunteer and to help out in community events.
“As a teacher, I have also been able to utilise their different skills for Book Week and Harmony Day, and to present on science topics and lots of things.”
Ms Rodney says that she was prompted to create the petition out of the “sense of injustice” that she felt.
“All, at some stage, come to Australia from another place," she said.
"To think that they have come here and worked so hard to become a valuable part of the community and then by some rubric, one of them has been assessed as not meeting standards or up to criteria.”
Civics and Citizenship is another class that Ms Rodney teaches at the Bell State School where she imparts the importance of democracy and having a voice to stand up for the rights of others. As part of their class, she once asked her students to complete submission for the local Council’s Australia Awards to recognise the valuable contribution of some members of the Bell community.
“In 2017, one of the first names that came up was Geraldine Custodio. She’s not a citizen, but through my students’ effort, she was nominated for the Cultural Awards at our region. [They] have come here on a 457 visa, but they are very much Australian citizens with the way they act.”
Through the petition, Joanne is hopeful that the Custodio’s case will be judged on its merits.
Disability support and the federal election
On Friday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced his $527 million budget for a disability royal commission and additional support to Australians with a disability. This came a day after Opposition Leader Bill Shorten delivered a speech in federal parliament on the Labor Party’s plan to get the National Disability Insurance Scheme “back on track”.
Geraldine and Geofrey want nothing more than to support their sons and provide the treatment that Gain needs.
They are appealing to the Department of Home Affairs and the prime minister to reconsider the outcome of their residency visa application.
“I saw [Scott Morrison] as he said, ‘If they want to give Australia a go, we’ll give them a go’. Please give us a go. We will try our best not to be dependent on the government. Just give us a chance to call Australia our home. Not just for us, but for our children who would like to be nation builders of Australia as well.”
"Just give us a chance to call Australia our home. Not just for us, but for our children who would like to be nation builders of Australia as well.” Source: Geraldine Custodio
