Exile mess 'ignored' by Australian immigration

An immigration official who ordered the deportation of a Philippine-born Australian citizen after mistaking her for an illegal immigrant in 2001 realised his mistake but did nothing to repatriate her, her lawyer said.

Vivian Alvarez, was deported to Manila after being wrongly identified as an illegal immigrant following a serious car crash which left her unable to remember her identity.

Immigration official Barbara Sue-Tin knew of her mistake for two years but did nothing, Alvarez's lawyer George Newhouse said.

- AGENCIES