Family allowed into Australia to care for slain woman’s children after commissioner’s intervention

Family members of slain Melbourne woman Lavanya Chappa, whose husband has been charged with her murder in their home, will be allowed to travel to Australia to support Chappa’s children after their second visa application was successful. Chappa, 39, was found stabbed to death in the Vermont home about 10pm on Tuesday, and her younger sister Vijaya and Vijaya’s husband applied for visas the next day to travel to Australia to support Chappa’s 13-year-old daughter and seven-year-old son. Sydney solicitor Sri Thukral, a family friend, said national Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commissioner Micaela Cronin had intervened to help get a new visa application granted overnight.

Thukral had been asked by Chappa’s parents in southern India to help the couple obtain travel permission and was assured by Department of Home Affairs officers on Wednesday that this would happen. But when the couple completed their application, it was rejected immediately, and Thukral was told that given this, she no longer had authority to speak with Home Affairs about it. The children have no other relatives in Australia and were placed in protective care.

Thukral travelled to Melbourne to attend a hearing on their arrangements but was not allowed to speak with or visit them despite their grandparents’ wishes. She said on Saturday that the family had been asked by police to come to Melbourne to identify Chappa, who she described as a doting mother and former software engineer with a love of reading and travel. Chappa had been married to her husband, Srinivas Achanta, for 20 years.

The family moved to Australia in 2025 after five years living in Singapore. Thukral said it was distressing that the children had witnessed the events leading to their mother’s death and had not had family members available quickly to comfort them. “I was told that they [representatives of the Victorian Department of Families, Fairness and Housing] are organising a trauma specialist to consult with the children next week,” she said.

“I am surprised it wasn’t done in the first instance when the police went to speak with the children.” Thukral said the relatives’ visas were granted after Cronin’s intervention on Friday night, and they were due to arrive in Melbourne on Sunday. They will formally identify Chappa on Monday and plan to return her body and her children to India.

“Last night, Micaela Cronin managed to fast-track the visa process,” Thukral said. “She messaged me saying that the visas are sorted and confirmed that it is done.” Cronin confirmed on Saturday that when the family’s situation was brought to her attention, she contacted the office of Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke.

She said another of Chappa’s relatives had submitted a visa application, which was considered in a different light. A spokesman for the Department of Home Affairs said the department could not comment on individual cases for privacy reasons. “All non-citizens who wish to enter or remain in Australia must satisfy the requirements of the Migration Act 1958 (the Act) and Migration Regulations 1994, including identity, health, security and character requirements,” the statement said.

Launching a crowdfunding campaign to raise money to help Chappa’s family arrange a funeral, travel and support the children, her cousin Govind Gudihava wrote that Chappa was “a loving mother, a cherished daughter, a devoted family member, a valued colleague, and a dear friend to so many”. “She worked as a Software Quality Analyst at Civica Asia Pacific, where she was respected for her professionalism, dedication, and kind-hearted nature. She will be remembered for her warmth, compassion, and the positive impact she had on everyone fortunate enough to know her.”

The alleged murderer appeared in the dock at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court just after 10.30am on Friday. Magistrate Frances Medina did not read out custody management issues submitted in writing by Achanta’s lawyer, Alex Wolf.

She remanded Achanta in custody to appear again for a committal mention on November 7. Thukral will return to Melbourne to support the children’s aunt and uncle when they arrive, and to assist with an application for custody of the children, which is intended to be lodged this week. Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights.

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