Becoming Australian: A family change from ‘the bad to very good’

Sang Van Le and his family will become citizens on Sunday along with more than 27,000 other new ­Australians.

Thu Anh Tran Le, Khoa Tran Le, Trinh Mong Thi and Sang Van Le at the Twelve Apostles on the Great Ocean Road. Picture: Supplied

Sang Van Le and his family have achieved the Australian dream just six years after migrating to the lucky country.

He and wife Trinh Mong Thi, son Khoa Tran Le and daughter Thu Anh Tran Le will become ­citizens on Sunday along with more than 27,000 other new ­Australians.

The family bought a home in the suburb of Hillside in Melbourne’s outer northwest just 18 months after they migrated to Australia from Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam.

“We had to pick between two lives in two places,” said Mr Van Le. “I know that the values apply here and can you imagine what it was like when we came here?

“We change from the bad to the very good.”

Both parents are chefs and they met when they worked at the same restaurant in Vietnam.

Mr Van Le said although he spent the same amount of time in the kitchen in Australia as he did in Vietnam, his hard work was only now paying off.

“In Vietnam, I worked very hard, but what people get paid, it's not deserved for the labour. Here, as long as you work hard … I work six days a week for 10-12 hours a day but I get paid what’s deserved for my labour.”

Daughter Thu Anh, who will celebrate her 20th birthday on Australia Day, is studying law at the University of Melbourne after achieving an ATAR of 96.75.

She was 14 when the family moved to Melbourne and her ­father is as proud as punch of his daughter’s achievements.

“She gets lots of scholarships,” Mr Van Le said. “It’s amazing.”

His son, Khoa, is planning to undertake a masters after completing a bachelor of psychology degree.

“My kids go to school for free,” Mr Van Le said. “In Vietnam, even if your kid is a very good student, there’s no opportunity to develop their ability — here you’ve got the opportunity to let the kids develop their ­ability.”

Mr Van Le said his birth country of Vietnam was very beautiful but he and his family had embraced Australia as their new home.

“We’re lucky … My family and I are very lucky to become Aus­tralian people,” he said.