A friend of a former Biloela-based Tamil family, who is now detained on Christmas Island, says the mother has been flown to Perth for medical treatment after being in pain for two weeks.
Asylum seekers Nadesalingam Murugappan, known as Nades, and Kokilapathmapriya Nadesalingam, known as Priya, and their two Australian-born daughters Kopika, 4, and Tharunicaa, 3, had been living in the central Queensland town of Biloela until immigration officials transferred them to a Melbourne detention centre in 2018.
They have since been at the centre of a high-profile legal battle to stay in Australia and remain in detention on Christmas Island after a last-minute injunction in 2019 on an attempt to deport them to Sri Lanka.
Family friend Angela Fredericks said Priya was flown to Perth over the weekend for medical treatment after experiencing severe abdominal pain and vomiting.
"What it boiled down to was an amazing doctor on Christmas Island who actually refused to discharge her back to the detention centre," Fredericks said.
"Unfortunately over the last two weeks Priya's needs have not ideally been met by the immigration health service.
"It was a doctor employed at the hospital who, after seeing her four times, was not satisfied with the care she was getting and insisted she had to get to the mainland."
Ms Fredericks said Priya underwent testing in hospital yesterday and is awaiting results today.
She said while it was good Priya was now getting appropriate medical care, it had been a traumatising experience.
"She's now on the mainland all by herself with just SERCO guards for company," Ms Fredericks said.
Ms Fredericks said she spoke with Nades yesterday who remains on Christmas Island with the two children.
"Little Tharunicaa, the three-year-old, is incredibly distressed being separated from her mum not understanding what's happening," she said.
"In the detention facility there's no means to do a skype call or video call … they can do phone calls."
Ms Fredericks said Priya was initially told she would be in Perth for 3 to 4 days but it would depend on her test results.
"She's got a whole heap of underlying medical conditions," she said.
"She is quite high risk so we're hoping that during this stay a lot of her medical needs will be addressed."
The family is awaiting another court date to determine the next step in their bid for asylum in Australia.
