Autistic boy, mum beg to stay in Aust

BRISBANE, April 27 AAP - An autistic boy and his nurse mother are lodging a last-minute appeal to stop their deportation to the Philippines.

The 10-year-old and his mother, who have been living in Townsville, claim the Department of Immigration rejected their visa applications solely because he has autism.

The mother's current visa runs out on Monday and they're facing imminent deportation.

The pair will present a petition with 120,000 signatures to Immigration Minister Peter Dutton's electorate office in Brisbane calling for him to override the department's decision.

His mother is a nurse in Townsville and says she pays tax, has private health insurance and receives no state or federal funding to treat her son.

The pair legally entered the country eight years ago.