What will community detention be like for the Biloela Tamil family in Perth?
After almost two years living in detention on Christmas Island, all four members of the Murugappan family are finally back on the Australian mainland. The family has been placed into what the federal government calls "community detention" in Perth, as their youngest daughter Tharnicaa recovers from a serious blood infection in hospital. The Tamil family's life in Perth will be a far cry from the island detention they became accustomed to, but their freedoms pale in comparison to what they enjoyed back in Biloela, the small inland Queensland community they called home before they were taken into detention in 2018. A plane carrying Nades and Kopika Murugappan landed in Perth on Tuesday night. Essentially, it's the detainment of a person or group of people waiting to be granted protection visas to live in Australia. But instead of living offshore or in a purpose-built facility, they live in a house, unit or apartment in the community like anyone else. However, their freedoms are highly restricted. The family will be living in an undisclosed location in Perth's suburbs. ( ABC News: Gian De Poloni  The Perth-based Centre for Asylum Seekers, Refugees and Detainees supports about 120 people living in Western Australia. General manager Joanna Josephs said she was aware of nine other people living in community detention in Western Australia. "People are allocated a property to live in. They have no choice about where that is," she said. "They're usually a small unit or an apartment. "They have no visa. The adults can't work or study and they have a very small financial stipend that they have to survive on. Joanna Josephs leads the Perth-based Centre for Asylum Seekers, Refugees and Detainees. ( ABC News: Gian De Poloni  "It's about $36 a day, of which money for rent and utilities is deducted from." The program is administered by the Department of Home Affairs, with services contracted out to local providers. The short answer is yes. But don't expect to get too far. "They're free to come and go. But they're not free to travel interstate for example, or go on a trip or move somewhere that they might prefer," Ms Josephs said. "They have to ask for permission if they're going to spend a night anywhere else, for example, or if they want to have people stay there. Supporters of the Murugappan family want them to be allowed to return to Biloela. ( ABC News: Elias Clure  "They have a caseworker allocated that they're expected to meet with as well. "They're allocated that property, and they have to live there. "They don't really have the opportunity to live normal lives in Australia and have any sense of independence." Ms Josephs said the program was historically used when asylum seekers were medically evacuated from Manus Island or Nauru. She said it was unusual that the family would be kept in detention and be granted bridging visas while their legal situation is progressed. "In most usual circumstances, when people are going through the process of having their protection visas assessed, they would live in the community on bridging visas. "Now there are instances where people have been detained, but not of children usually. "This is a highly unusual circumstance." Mental health concerns  Aran Mylvaganam from the Tamil Refugee Council has been translating the information provided by the government to the Murugappans. It's still unclear how often the family have to report to their case officer, but Mr Mylvaganam said it could be once a week, once a fortnight or more regularly. He said while parents Nades and Priya were relieved they were no longer on Christmas Island, they wanted to be able to work. The family would like to return to Biloela. ( Supplied: Angela Fredericks  "I've come across many families who live under community detention, and it has a significant impact on people's mental health," he said. "They can't do anything basically with their lives. They have to just sit around and do nothing  and that's concerning. "When Nades and Priya were in Biloela, Nades was working at a meat factory. Priya was volunteering and they're not going to do this in Perth. "It's going to cost the community so much money as well, unnecessarily, when this family could be in Biloela looking after themselves." Their future is unclear. Ms Joseph fears their stay in Perth could be a lengthy one. Kopika (right) and Nades Murugappan arrive at Perth Children's Hospital after being flown from Christmas Island. ( ABC News  "I think a troubling statistic is that about 25 per cent of people in community detention have been there for more than five years," she said. "So there is a risk that this is going to be a protracted situation."