Refugee activists say they are "horrified and appalled" by the case of a Chinese man who has sought protection in Australia after escaping torture in his homeland.

The group Balmain for Refugees says the man, who wishes to be known as Mr Chen, was persecuted for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline which has been outlawed in China since 1999.

Mr Chen's case was backed by the United Nations, but the Australian Government has not roundly accepted the findings.

Mr Chen, who has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, fled China in 2004 and came to Australia for protection, leaving his wife and two sons.

He says he was detained and beaten for his beliefs.

"I was beaten while they handcuffed me by the bars," he told the ABC.

"When I was detained ... I was beaten by the police with electric sticks and fists and I was also burnt by cigarettes."

In one case, Mr Chen says he was detained for 16 days.

He claims he was tortured every day and told to renounce his beliefs and give up the names of those who practiced Falun Gong with him.

He says his home was ransacked, his belongings taken and he was beaten heavily.

"After I was released it took me about one month to recover. My whole body was really beaten up," he said.

China has long been determined to stamp out the Falun Gong movement, condemning it as a disruptive force advocating superstition and spreading falsehoods.

Its strong following, independence from the state, and incitement of so-called disturbances were seen as a threat to the communist party.

Falun Gong practitioners have been detained and tortured and some, like Mr Chen, have sought protection overseas.

"They want me to renounce my beliefs of Falun Gong. They also want me to tell them who practice Falun Gong with me and how many people practice Falun Gong with me, but I don't want to tell them," he said.

'Mishandled' case

Supporters say a negligent migration agent mishandled Mr Chen's case. He was ordered to a hearing, but the migration agent never told him to attend.

Veronica Spasaro from Balmain for Refugees says the 51-year-old has been at a disadvantage for eight years.

"By the time he had exhausted all procedures in the domestic processes. He has never been interviewed in person about his claim or his evidence," she said.

This led to fears of deportation.

"We'd exhausted every avenue. We were convinced there was a grave injustice about to be made if Mr Chen was deported back to China," Ms Spasaro said.

Mr Chen's case was taken to the United Nations' Committee Against Torture in New York, which ruled last November that deportation would "breach article three of the UN convention against torture" and that Australia's immigration processes were "procedurally flawed."

The Australian Government response was to "not necessarily accept the conclusion" of the UN committee.

Ms Spasaro spearheaded the UN effort on Mr Chen's behalf.

"When we read that response we were really appalled and horrified," she said.

Mr Chen's supporters say he suffers from trauma not only from torture and persecution in China, but from the eight-year process of trying to stay in Australia.

It appears he now has to restart the process for protection.

The Australian Permanent Mission to the UN wrote that the Government was considering whether Mr Chen could "make a further application for a protection visa."

Ms Spasaro says the response is open ended.

"If, of course, the last opportunity has taken eight years to play out, the next opportunity could also take eight years potentially," she said.

"Obviously, we would not go into bat this far for somebody we were not quite convinced had suffered torture in the past and would be at risk of torture in the future of returned."

A spokeswoman for Immigration Minister Brendan O'Connor says Mr Chen's claims and the findings of the United Nations Committee Against Torture will be given due consideration.

Concerns for family

Mr Chen just wants to get on with his life, which he says he will not have if he is returned to China.

"A lot of Falun Gong practitioners are tortured to death so this may happen to me as well," he said.

He is also very concerned about his family back home.

He says he has been informed on by fellow detainees in the Villawood Detention Centre in Sydney.

"Some [of the people] deported back to China already, they told the police I was still practicing Falun Gong," he said.

"The police threatened my family that I should go back to China soon, quickly. And last year in November my wife was detained for about four to five days."

Mr Chen says he has a grandson he has never seen.

"I have no choice. I am afraid of going back to China," he said.