Afghan refugee Abbas Haidari spends his days working in sweltering conditions at the auto parts business he owns in Darwin's northern suburbs.
The 26-year-old is a long way from Afghanistan — the country he fled more than a decade ago as a teenager.
"I came here by myself. I left my father, my mother, two sisters and one brother," he said.
"I worked really hard and now I have my own business."
Mr Haidari arrived in Australia by boat in 2013 and was granted a temporary protection visa (TPV).
He would like to expand his business — to find a better workshop, and potentially hire more staff — but as a TPV holder he is unable to access a loan.
The stresses of running a small business are dwarfed, however, by the ongoing uncertainty about his visa status and his worries for his family.
Since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan last year, Mr Haidari said he had feared being sent back and his life being in danger.
He is concerned for his family's safety, as members of the ethnic Hazara minority targeted by the Taliban.
Under the TPV scheme, he is not eligible for permanent protection in Australia and he is also barred from sponsoring his family.
"They (my family) are calling me every day [saying], 'Please do something for us,'" he said.
"I can't do anything for my family.
Mr Haidari said the situation had taken a toll on his mental health.
"I have no sleep. I have a lot of stress about [my] family," he said.
"The situation [in Afghanistan] is not getting better because now that the Taliban took over, we can never go back."
There are more than 4,000 Afghan refugees and asylum seekers who hold a temporary protection visa in Australia, according to the Refugee Council of Australia.
With the return of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, refugee advocates are urging the federal government to grant them permanent protection.
John Minns, an ANU emeritus professor in politics and international relations and a member of the Refugee Action Campaign, described the federal government's policy as "inhumane".
"The constant insecurity of having to worry about what your future will be, about having to reapply … for temporary visas, with no security and no permanency … it's irrational," Professor Minns said.
"The question I've got for the Australian government is, what's the point?
Last month, the Federal Immigration Minister Alex Hawke announced the government would allocate 15,000 visas over four years for Afghan nationals.
It includes 10,000 places within Australia's humanitarian program and 5,000 visas within the family stream.
But the government is standing firm in its position on temporary protection visas.
"The Australian Government's policy is steadfast — people who travel illegally to Australia by boat will not permanently settle in Australia," a Department of Home Affairs spokesperson said in a statement.
"These policies have successfully stemmed the flow of illegal maritime ventures to Australia, disrupted people smuggling activities in the region and prevented loss of life at sea."
Professor Minns said refugees who arrived by boat were being "punished" because of their mode of entry into the country.
"The government says that this [policy] is deterrence for others who might follow. But we can't punish people for what others might do," Professor Minns said.
He described the government's announcement of 15,000 places for Afghan nationals as a "political trick", saying the visas were not in addition to Australia's existing annual quota of 13,750.
"What we should do is do what we've done in the past when we accepted refugees from Syria," he said.
"At the height of the Syrian civil war, they were accepted without qualifications and on top of the quota."
The ABC understands the federal government will monitor grants within the current program and will consider an increase to the annual humanitarian quota of 13,750 if required.
Shadow Home Affairs Minister Kristina Keneally said the government had a "responsibility" to help Afghans on TPVs.
"The idea that there's something temporary about this situation is wrong, particularly for people at greater risk like the Hazara community," Ms Keneally said in a statement.
She said if Labor came into government at the next federal election, the party would abolish TPVs and safe haven enterprise visas and transition refugees to permanent visas.
An uncertain future
Earlier this month, Afghan refugees and asylum seekers rallied outside Parliament House in Canberra, calling for a pathway to permanent residency and an end to temporary visas.
Afghan refugee and TPV holder Zaki Haidari, who arrived in Australia by boat in 2012 and resides in Sydney, was among thousands of demonstrators in attendance at the rally.
He said he remained hopeful the government would hear his pleas and grant him permanent protection.
"I don't have a place that I can call my permanent home," he said.
"I hope that one day I can call Australia my permanent home."
