Bali Nine member Matthew Norman is spotted for the first time after starting his new life in Australia – as surprise woman on his arm could answer huge question about his return

Bali Nine drug smuggler Matthew Norman has been spotted in Australia with his Indonesian wife Anita for the first time since being released from prison.

Norman and Anita appeared in good spirits as they attended church with friends in Torquay, Victoria, on Sunday morning.

The Bali Nine member wore a loose black shirt with gray trousers, while his partner opted for a vibrant look with a yellow top and summer skirt.

Questions had been raised over whether Norman would be forced to live apart from his wife and stepdaughter, 15, after his release from an Indonesian prison cell.

Anita and her daughter can travel to Australia through normal visa application procedures, but it remains unclear whether they will be allowed to reside permanently in the country.

Norman arrived in Melbourne just before Christmas and is believed to be living in a waterfront mansion in Torquay, a popular tourist town known for its surfing beaches.

The two-story, $4 million home has four bedrooms and is just steps from Cozy Corner, a beach popular with families for its gentle waves.

The property is owned by Christian couple Ann and Alan Wilkins, who offered it to Norman after developing a close relationship while he was in prison.

Norman was sentenced to death in 2006 after he was caught trying to smuggle more than 8kg of heroin from Bali. In 2008, the sentence was reduced to life in prison.

He married his Indonesian girlfriend Anita – whom he met during his captivity – in Kerobokan prison in 2014. She traveled to Australia with her 15-year-old daughter Stella.

Norman, only 18 years old at the time of his arrest, is the youngest member of the Bali Nine, three of whom are dead: two executed and one dying of cancer.

He left school at 16 because he wanted to work and earn money rather than complete his HSC, later saying that he had been ‘reckless and callous, wanting to cut corners in life’.

Norman was just a naive teenager when he was first incarcerated in Kerobokan Prison and discovered that his incarceration had serious consequences for his family back home.

One of his sisters became anorexic, another was harassed because of her brother’s crime, and his parents received hate mail.

He was one of only two of the original Bali Nine to remain in Kerobokan until his release, where he designed t-shirts, bags and posters and applied for a reduced sentence.

He admitted that every day was “just a struggle to keep doing good things” amid the “chaos” of prison.

Norman, along with Scott Rush, Michael Czugaj, Martin Stephens and Si Yi Chen, were all released from prison in Indonesia last month after being jailed nearly two decades ago.

They were transferred to Australia after the federal government struck a deal with Indonesia after weeks of negotiations during a top-secret mission.

The development came after Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese requested the transfer during a meeting with new Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto at the APEC summit in November.

Mr Subianto agreed to release the prisoners on humanitarian grounds.

Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen, another of the Bali Nine drug mules who had jointly attempted to smuggle 8.7kg of heroin, died behind bars in 2018 from stomach cancer.

Chan and Sukumaran were executed in 2015, while Renae Lawrence was released after thirteen years.

On December 30, Rush learned his fate in connection with a series of crimes committed twenty years ago.

Supported by his parents Lee and Christine, Rush appeared in the Brisbane Magistrates Court last Monday to face historic charges that occurred before his 2005 arrest at Bali airport.

The now 39-year-old pleaded guilty to charges of fraud, receiving tainted property and trespassing, all committed when he was 19. the Courier mail reported.

Rush pleaded guilty to seven thefts from Brisbane homes, where he stole cash, a hearing aid, a Nintendo GameBoy, Nokia mobile phones and jewelery in March 2005.

He also pleaded guilty to unlawful use of a Toyota sedan that month, to twice defrauding Cash Converters in late 2004, to receiving stolen property and failing to appear in court in April 2005.

The court heard Rush committed most of the crimes while he had been given suspended sentences ranging from one month to two months in prison in January 2005.

He was a drug addict at the time, which months later led to him being arrested in Bali and spending almost 20 years in prison, the court heard.

His attorney Terry Fisher asked the court if Rush could be convicted but not sentenced, noting the 20 years he had already spent in prison.

Police prosecutor Matthew Bach agreed with the submission and magistrate Patricia Kirkman-Scroope convicted Rush of 13 offenses but did not punish him further.