{"id":923461,"date":"2026-10-10T21:14:25","date_gmt":"2026-10-10T21:14:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/923461\/"},"modified":"2026-10-10T21:14:25","modified_gmt":"2026-10-10T21:14:25","slug":"bizarre-reason-qld-couple-could-be-deported","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/923461\/","title":{"rendered":"Bizarre reason Qld couple could be deported"},"content":{"rendered":"

A couple whose decade-long stay in Australia could be set to end due to a bizarre paperwork mix-up say they are praying for a miracle as their deadline looms.<\/p>\n

Rory and Michelle Hewitt arrived from South Africa in 2015 and have spent the past 12 years living, working and contributing to the country they now call home.<\/p>\n

But an unfortunate bungle has left their right to live and work in Australia in jeopardy, with a mix-up at the Home Affairs office meaning technically for nine days in 2023, Mrs Hewitt was in the country unlawfully.<\/p>\n

\"Rory<\/p>\n

Rory and Michelle Hewitt, who live on the Gold Coast, are facing deportation after a paperwork mix-up. Picture: Rory Hewitt<\/p>\n

Their two sons, Matthew and Caleb, children when the family moved, have grown up in Australia, met partners and are permanent residents.<\/p>\n

But despite the rest of their family being able to stay, Mr and Ms Hewitt are set to be booted from the country this month \u2013 unless a solution can be found.<\/p>\n

Since learning of the mix-up, the 52-year-olds have been forced to give up their jobs and live off their savings \u2013 and the generosity of their local community \u2013 as they await answers.<\/p>\n

But with the October 22 deadline looming, they could be forced to return to South Africa before the month is out.<\/p>\n

“We’re praying for a miracle,” Mrs Hewitt told NewsWire.<\/p>\n

Since discovering their situation, the family has been inundated with support from the Gold Coast community, particularly their local church group.<\/p>\n

They have seen a petition started in their favour and a GoFundMe page set up to help them plug holes left by their forced work exits.<\/p>\n

Politicians have reached out to try to offer their backing, while friends have also tried to help in any way they can.<\/p>\n

\"Rory<\/p>\n

Rory and Michelle Hewitt, who live on the Gold Coast, are facing deportation after a paperwork mix-up. Picture: Rory Hewitt<\/p>\n

But they are now facing a nervous fortnight waiting to see if the Home Affairs office can answer their prayers and allow them to remain in Australia and return to work.<\/p>\n

“We are trying our best to remain positive through everything, but this enforced retirement life really isn’t for me,” Mr Hewitt said.<\/p>\n

“It has been a real challenge trying to stay sane and active.”<\/p>\n

Ms Hewitt said being able to spend more time with their new granddaughter had been a “blessing” but the uncertainty continued to take its toll.<\/p>\n

The mix-up centres around an error when Ms Hewitt was being transferred between visas in 2023, which has prevented their expiring papers from being renewed.<\/p>\n

\"Rory<\/p>\n

Rory and Michelle Hewitt, who live on the Gold Coast, are facing deportation after a paperwork mix-up. Picture: Rory Hewitt<\/p>\n

Their last hope is that Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke is able to intervene and grant the couple the right to stay.<\/p>\n

Should this not happen, the couple would be forced to return to South Africa for the first time in a decade.<\/p>\n

“There is no real place for me in South Africa, but the door back to Australia would be slammed shut,” Mr Hewitt added.<\/p>\n

“We know South Africa cannot be home to us.<\/p>\n

“We would just have to go back and then investigate whether there are any options for us elsewhere.”<\/p>\n

Ms Hewitt added: “We can only do so much ourselves, we’re just hoping the man upstairs can do the rest.”<\/p>\n

Mr Burke has been approached for comment. A spokesman for the Home Affairs Office said the department could not comment on individual cases “for privacy reasons”.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A couple whose decade-long stay in Australia could be set to end due to a bizarre paperwork mix-up…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":923462,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[64,63,99],"class_list":["post-923461","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/923461","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=923461"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/923461\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/923462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=923461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=923461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=923461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}