“I came here on my mum’s Australian passport. She’s a born Australian, my grandparents were. It wasn’t something that was thought about,” said Michelle, who speaks in a very broad Queensland-country accent.

It was only when the Department of Immigration and Border Protection informed Michelle she was going to be deported to the UK the penny dropped, after all this time, that she’s not Australian.



The 54-year-old woman’s troubles began in March, when she was convicted of possessing and supplying marijuana.

It was by no means Michelle’s first offence. She says she has a problem with drug abuse, and has been to prison twice, including for drug trafficking in 1997. The bulk of offences filling out her three-page criminal history are fines for drug possession.

But Michelle's history is more complex than a few drug convictions.

Her parents split up when she was four. Guided by government policy at the time, she was institutionalised. What happened during the seven years Michelle was in state care isn't entirely clear - she says her memories have been suppressed.

But what is clear is that the cycle of state care, substance abuse and incarceration is not unique to Michelle.



“I think being institutionalised from four years old has made me a substance abuser. Being in and out of jail all that time doesn't mean anything to me because I've been there since I was four,” she said.

