Where to start. I came back to Australia for a 3 week holiday over a year ago and have been trapped here ever since. My father was hospitalized and died several weeks later . We were not allowed to see him in hospital due to Government. Then only 5 people could go to funeral. We were not allowed to grieve together. I have been on unpaid leave for over a year. The gov. will let me leave to go back overseas but not my wife and kids. I am expected to abandon them here. They will cancel her residency if she leaves Australia with me. I have lost over $300,000 in lost wages.Have no income. I can not access money i have overseas. I am not eligable for any gov. assistance. No medicare , no job seeker nothing. Unless i can prove i have income in Australia. I haven't lived here for over 15years. Centerlink has no interest in helping me. I am in the to hard basket for them. I suffer from severe neuralgia and can not get medication or see a doctor. I am about to lose my house can not pay bills and have almost no money left. In January i managed to get a flight back to China without the family so i could at least go back to work. The Gov. Locked down brisbane and sydney at last minute so unable to get the 2 covid tests within time for the flight so not allowed on plane. Lose ov $10,000 in airfares. Back to being stuck here person non grada. The gov. has destroyed me. i can not feed my family or pay bills. I have applied for so many jobs is crazy but never get a reply. I have been told i am to overqualified and need to retrain. Can't even get job packing shelves. i normally run multi billion dollar jobs. I have been stripped of my right to work ,travel and any purpose in life by the gov.. I have never felt so angry in my life and am having constant thoughts of suicide. I can not eat or sleep because of my neuralgia and stress. All i do all day is aimlessly walk. I need someone to look after my family. We are not all in this together.

Hey meee,

Welcome to our online forums peer support community and thank you for reaching out to us so bravely this morning. It is not easy to take this step but we are so glad that you did. We can really hear how difficult your circumstances have been with not being able to fly out and then losing your father and that you are unable to support your family. This all sounds incredibly challenging and we can understand where your anger and frustration is coming from. Please know that you are in a safe, supportive place here where you can talk about what you are going through and our wonderful community members will hopefully chime in with their insight and support. We are also checking in with you privately to offer additoinal support.

Trying to process these heavy, distressing feelings on your own can be very difficult. We stronlgy urge you to reach out to a mental health support service, such as our support service 24/7 on 1300 22 4636 or our firends at Lifeline on 13 11 14. Talking to a friendly, caring counselor can help alleviate the distress and overwhelm.

Please do keep checking in here and let us know how you're doing, whenever you feel up to it.

Hey meee,

Thanks for being brave and reaching out. Your situation sounds so dire and I'm so sorry for everything that has happened — especially the loss of your father. I feel unsure how to help other than to just reach out with words and let you know that I'm sorry for what you're going through. I really hope you're able to find some support for you and your family — you deserve it.

Sending kindness x

hi meee, I too welcome you to the forum.

It is bad timing and so uhfair you have suffered so much because your father died here. You wnat work but the civid rules prevent you.

i can hear the pain and frustration in your words.

You are in an incredibly stressful situation.

Sophie has given you helpful advice that I hope you can use.

I hope you can get some work soon when someone realises all the skills you have.

sending hopeful thoughts