A hardworking family of asylum seekers who run a successful business could be left penniless and homeless after they were stripped of their right to work in Australia.
For the last 11 years, the Kashani family have called Australia home after fleeing persecution in their native Iran.
They have since settled in Melbourne’s north where they opened a popular busy kebab shop several years ago, which now employs a dozen staff.
Eldest daughter Atena, 20, won a scholarship to study law at university before government bureaucrats shattered those dreams late last year.
She was forced to abandoned her studies after the family were told she did not have study rights under their bridging visas.
Now the Department of Home Affairs has told the Kashanis the family will also be stripped of their working rights.
The move has been branded ‘gutless’ by A Current Affair host Ally Langdon in a savage blast at Labor’s immigration minister Andrew Giles.
The Kashani family (pictured) moved to Australia 11 years and are still waiting to be granted permanent residency
The family are unable to claim Centrelink benefits as they haven’t been granted permanent residency
‘We wouldn’t have any source of income, we wouldn’t be able to pay rent,’ Atena told the program.
‘We wouldn’t be able to afford groceries, we wouldn’t be able to do anything.
‘To be hinted that we’re being punished for speaking out, it just shows how cruel and inhumane these rules are that no one is being held accountable for anything.’
Atena’s mother Fatemeh, who also works at Bunnings is distraught at the prospect the family could eventually be deported.
She recently wound up in hospital due to the anxiety the saga has caused.
‘We are not human to this county,’ Fatemeh said.
‘I feel helpless. I need a normal life.’
Her daughter added: ‘You would think after 11 years, we would be able to call Australia home.’
The department has since given the family a six month reprieve to continue working.
Atena had to give up her university studies because the family did not have study rights under their bridging visas.
The family have met Labor immigration minister Andrew Giles who has the power to grant the family permanent residency and previously vowed to help the Kashanis.
Long before Labor were elected into government in 2022, Mr Giles proudly posed for photos with Atena holding a swag of taekwondo medals a few years ago.
‘He said to us ‘Take a photo with me, Australia is proud of you – we need you,’ Fatemeh recalled.
Atena recalled Mr Giles vowing to come to her taekwondo fights and promising that a Labor government would do everything to support the family if elected.
The family also volunteered for the Labor during the 2022 election campaign, who they claim also promised to help the family if the party got into power.
‘They gave us these big red shirts to wear, they told us that if you helped Labor that something would happen,’ Atena recalled
The family will be forced to close their kebab shop if they’re stripped of their working rights
The family’s plight sparked an angry outburst from ACA host Ally Langdon at the end of the segment.
‘Aren’t these the type of hardworking people we want in our country?’ she said. ‘What’s happening to this family is a disgrace.
‘They feel they were strung along, used and forgotten once Labor won the election.
‘We want to know if there’s a brave MP who who stand up for this family because the immigration minister is gutless!.’
The Department of Home Affairs refused to comment on individual cases due to privacy issues, said a spokesman.
Atena (left) and her mum Fatemeh (right) claim the Labor politicians vowed to help the family if they were elected to power at the 2022 election
‘Departmental staff aim to ensure that visa application are finalised as quickly as possible, and support individuals through the process with various assistance services,’ the spokesman told Daily Mail Australia.
‘Everyone’s situation is different, and the Department of Home Affairs strongly recommends people consider their own circumstances when applying for the visa that best suits them.
‘There is a wide range of visa options across Australia’s migration and visa programs that provide avenues for people to apply for family, skilled, humanitarian and temporary stay in Australia.’
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Mr Giles for comment.
Immigration minister Andrew Giles (pictured) has previously met the family and has the power to resolve the saga
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