Sonia Coimbra and Pedro Mello say they had to leave their country when Jair Bolsonaro was elected as president of Brazil in 2018.
Ms Coimbra's daughter Thais Orban has autism and the family believed Brazil would become a harder place for her to live under Bolsonaro.
"We could see that during his government he [could] just put some laws against disabled people," Mr Mello, Thais' stepfather, said.
His family moved from Rio de Janeiro to Sydney as Ms Coimbra, who worked in special needs education in Brazil, held citizenship in Australia.
Ms Coimbra said it would become more difficult for her daughter and women to live.
"With him [Bolsonaro] in there's no future for a lot of people we know," Ms Coimbra said.
During Bolsonaro's time in power, food and fuel prices surged, thousands protested against the country's COVID-19 policies, while during his career is known for attacks on women, gays and black people.
On Sunday they will have the chance to vote against Bolsonaro in the country's presidential election.
Fellow expat Larissa Lima said she too hoped to see the end of Bolsonaro's presidency.
Ms Lima also comes from Rio and has worked in Sydney for more than a decade.
While the legal secretary had not lived in Brazil for some years, she said she felt deeply connected to the weekend's election.
"We are like far from Brazil. But emotionally, we are not. Our history, our parents, our families, are there," Ms Lima said.
"This week is very emotional because we have the chance to change it," Ms Lima said.
As a bisexual woman, she said she felt Bolsonaro had made her home country a less safe place.
"Seeing Bolsonaro being elected was very hurtful," Ms Lima said.
"He's a very macho, homophobic person."
Bolsonaro has made many inflammatory remarks against gay people over his political career.
He once said in an interview he would rather have a dead son than a gay son.
Polarisation on the rise
The right-wing president may not have enacted specific policies against the disabled or the LGBT community, but he has espoused a totalitarian view of Brazilian society, according to Brazilian-born international politics lecturer Deborah Barros Leal Farias.
"He's been very adamant ... that the majorities should be ruling, and the minorities should obey," Dr Farias said.
Bolsonaro is being challenged by former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who comes from the left-leaning Workers Party.
Recent polls suggest Lula is ahead and may win the presidency in the first of two rounds of voting.
Dr Farais said Brazil had become increasingly polarised during Bolsonaro's term in office.
"Both candidates, they draw a lot of love and a lot of hate from different sides of the political spectrum," Dr Farias said.
"Bolsonaro, in fact, is quite proud when people call him Trump of the tropics."
Dr Farias said Lula supporters often felt they were afraid of wearing his red colours while in public for fear of violence from Bolsonaro supporters.
"Not all Bolsonaro supporters are violent, but most political violence is done by Bolsonaro supporters," she said.
In one example of escalating political violence in the country, a Bolsonaro supporter stabbed a Lula supporter to death during an argument over the two candidates.
While some Brazilians abroad were showing their support for Lula this year, Dr Farias said at the last presidential election more expats in Australia voted for Bolsonaro.
Dr Farias said that could be because more people left Brazil in the past decade for Australia while Lula's Workers Party was in government.
A chance to heal
Ms Coimbra hoped the election result would reduce the polarisation in her home country.
"I hope the elections bring a government that gives dignity to the people, that respects differences, that puts food on the table and that values education and our culture," Ms Coimbra said.
"We need a democratic government again, not one that preaches violence and the return of a military dictatorship," she said.
She and Mr Mello were worried about the lingering effects Bolsonaro's time in office would have.
"Lula couldn't fix in four years what [Bolsonaro] did," Mr Mello said.
