Help us bring Maxwell to live in Australia!
Donation protected
Max’s Story
For those of you who don’t already know, my husband Clem and his siblings Lucas and Charlotte have a Papua New Guinean half brother (via their Dad), named Maxwell Malina. As you can see from the pics and video below, he’s a cheeky little 8 year old with a sunny disposition and a toothy smile.
 Since losing their father Alan in 2016 and tragically also Max’s mother in 2017, Max has been living in his native PNG, with his maternal grandfather or “bubu”, Vincent.
For the last two years, Vincent has been doing his best to care for Max, in addition to his own young children. But with no steady income and living without a vehicle, electricity or running water, times have been tough to say the least.
After learning of the struggle to make ends meet and after some family discussion, it was decided that Clem and Charlotte would go to visit Max and Vincent, to see if the family could help in some way, which they did in March.
After meeting Max and his bubu, it quickly became evident that the best way that we could help, would be to bring Max to Australia, to live and attend school long term.
Our Plan
After talking with Max, his grandfather and many extended family/community members, it was decided that as soon as the paperwork is organised, Max will come to live in Australia with Clem and I, as his primary guardians.
We are in the process of gathering Max’s documents (birth certificate, passport, etc) in preparation for his entry in to Australia on a visitor visa. After that, he will apply for Australian Citizenship, which he is entitled to due to his Australian father.
Clem and I will take a month off work to help him settle in and get used to his new country and surroundings, after which he will enrol in school.
Our Goals
Below are a list of our funding goals, in order of priority.
Goal #1 - Public school fees ($3,000)
Because Max will need to attend school while his citizenship application is processed, he will be classed as an Overseas Student, which means he won’t be eligible for Government funding and will need to pay full tuition fees (roughly $250 p/week) in order to attend the local public primary school. Depending on how long his citizenship application takes to be granted (processing times vary from 2-4 months), this could add up to as much as $3000.
Goal #2 - Cost of Migration Agent + Government fees ($1,500)
Due to the critical nature of Max’s citizenship application and the potential for disaster if it is rejected or delayed for a long period of time, we have decided to engage the services of a professional migration agent (lawyers), to help us navigate this process. Max has gone through a lot of changes in the last couple of years, so the thought of having to send him back to PNG due to a rejected visa, especially after he has settled in to a new country, home and school is obviously a situation we want to avoid!
Goal #3 - The trip to collect Max (approx $2000)
Once his documents are all in order, Clem will travel to PNG again to collect Max and bring him to Aus. This involves 2 flights - Aus > PNG and Port Moresby > Rabaul (Max’s closest airport) and layovers at each stop.
Goal #4 - Life-changing support for Vincent (Max’s bubu) and the rest of his family, in PNG (any surplus funds)
In a perfect world, Max’s citizenship application will be smooth and fast! If this is the case and we have money left over from Goal #1, or if we raise more than our goal, we want any surplus funds to go to Vincent (Max’s grandfather) and the rest of his extended family, who have cared for him for the past 2 years.
It’s very important to us that while Max is able to enjoy the advantages that living in Australia will bring, that he also maintains a connection with his PNG family and knows that they have not been forgotten. We plan on making regular trips to visit PNG and as such, it’s important to us that we’re also able to help the rest of the family as much as possible.
When Clem and Charlotte visited in March and realised that Vincent’s house was wired for electricity but not hooked up to the grid, they and their brother Lucas split the cost of getting the house connected, which was completed within a week of their return! Vincent, who was very grateful, said that the next priorities for them would be;
- A water tank and guttering so that they can have running water.
- A cement slab for the ground floor of their stilt house.
- General finishing and repairs to the house, both interior and exterior.
In short, any small contribution our family and friends would like to make, whether it be via this Go Fund Me, a share on social media, or simple in-person moral support will make the world of difference to us and Max and is much appreciated.
We can’t wait for Max to get here and start this exciting new chapter of his and our life!






For those of you who don’t already know, my husband Clem and his siblings Lucas and Charlotte have a Papua New Guinean half brother (via their Dad), named Maxwell Malina. As you can see from the pics and video below, he’s a cheeky little 8 year old with a sunny disposition and a toothy smile.
 Since losing their father Alan in 2016 and tragically also Max’s mother in 2017, Max has been living in his native PNG, with his maternal grandfather or “bubu”, Vincent.
For the last two years, Vincent has been doing his best to care for Max, in addition to his own young children. But with no steady income and living without a vehicle, electricity or running water, times have been tough to say the least.
After learning of the struggle to make ends meet and after some family discussion, it was decided that Clem and Charlotte would go to visit Max and Vincent, to see if the family could help in some way, which they did in March.
After meeting Max and his bubu, it quickly became evident that the best way that we could help, would be to bring Max to Australia, to live and attend school long term.
Our Plan
After talking with Max, his grandfather and many extended family/community members, it was decided that as soon as the paperwork is organised, Max will come to live in Australia with Clem and I, as his primary guardians.
We are in the process of gathering Max’s documents (birth certificate, passport, etc) in preparation for his entry in to Australia on a visitor visa. After that, he will apply for Australian Citizenship, which he is entitled to due to his Australian father.
Clem and I will take a month off work to help him settle in and get used to his new country and surroundings, after which he will enrol in school.
Our Goals
Below are a list of our funding goals, in order of priority.
Goal #1 - Public school fees ($3,000)
Because Max will need to attend school while his citizenship application is processed, he will be classed as an Overseas Student, which means he won’t be eligible for Government funding and will need to pay full tuition fees (roughly $250 p/week) in order to attend the local public primary school. Depending on how long his citizenship application takes to be granted (processing times vary from 2-4 months), this could add up to as much as $3000.
Goal #2 - Cost of Migration Agent + Government fees ($1,500)
Due to the critical nature of Max’s citizenship application and the potential for disaster if it is rejected or delayed for a long period of time, we have decided to engage the services of a professional migration agent (lawyers), to help us navigate this process. Max has gone through a lot of changes in the last couple of years, so the thought of having to send him back to PNG due to a rejected visa, especially after he has settled in to a new country, home and school is obviously a situation we want to avoid!
Goal #3 - The trip to collect Max (approx $2000)
Once his documents are all in order, Clem will travel to PNG again to collect Max and bring him to Aus. This involves 2 flights - Aus > PNG and Port Moresby > Rabaul (Max’s closest airport) and layovers at each stop.
Goal #4 - Life-changing support for Vincent (Max’s bubu) and the rest of his family, in PNG (any surplus funds)
In a perfect world, Max’s citizenship application will be smooth and fast! If this is the case and we have money left over from Goal #1, or if we raise more than our goal, we want any surplus funds to go to Vincent (Max’s grandfather) and the rest of his extended family, who have cared for him for the past 2 years.
It’s very important to us that while Max is able to enjoy the advantages that living in Australia will bring, that he also maintains a connection with his PNG family and knows that they have not been forgotten. We plan on making regular trips to visit PNG and as such, it’s important to us that we’re also able to help the rest of the family as much as possible.
When Clem and Charlotte visited in March and realised that Vincent’s house was wired for electricity but not hooked up to the grid, they and their brother Lucas split the cost of getting the house connected, which was completed within a week of their return! Vincent, who was very grateful, said that the next priorities for them would be;
- A water tank and guttering so that they can have running water.
- A cement slab for the ground floor of their stilt house.
- General finishing and repairs to the house, both interior and exterior.
In short, any small contribution our family and friends would like to make, whether it be via this Go Fund Me, a share on social media, or simple in-person moral support will make the world of difference to us and Max and is much appreciated.
We can’t wait for Max to get here and start this exciting new chapter of his and our life!





Organizer
Lana McLean
Organizer
Thornbury VIC
