Tamil family will remain on Christmas Island until two-year-old's court battle

A Tamil family will remain in legal limbo on Christmas Island for the foreseeable future, with their deportation case now hinging on an upcoming court battle.

Shortly before an order preventing their forcible removal to Sri Lanka expired, Federal Court judge Mordy Bromberg announced on Thursday afternoon the family had a legal case that needed to be decided at trial.

The family, whose case rests on their two-year-old daughter and her right to apply for a protection visa, now cannot be deported by the Australian government until the matter is decided through the court system.

A date has not yet been set for their case to be heard.

Last month a Melbourne judge granted a last-minute injunction to stop the Tamil family being deported from Australia.

The family's plane left Melbourne Airport on a non-commercial flight on August 29 and arrived in Darwin shortly after 2am.

Upon the family’s arrival in the Northern Territory, they were reportedly transferred to overnight accommodation.

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