Hotels as alternative places to detention
Explore Australia's use of hotels as Alternative Places of Detention (APODs) for immigration purposes, their implementation and human rights implications.
Summary
This report examines the use of hotels as Alternative Places of Detention (APODs) in Australia’s immigration detention system.
It reveals significant human rights concerns about the living conditions and impact on people detained in hotel APODs.
Regular monitoring is essential to ensure Australia's immigration detention practices comply with its international human rights obligations.
What are APODS?
Australian immigration authorities use Alternative Places of Detention (APODs) facilities to detain people outside of regular immigration detention centres. Hotels have increasingly been repurposed as detention facilities, despite previous Commission recommendations that they should only be used in exceptional circumstances and for the shortest possible time.
The Commission conducted this inspection in mid-2022 in Melbourne and Brisbane after observing that hotel APODs had become a regular feature of Australia's immigration detention system rather than an exceptional measure. At the time of inspection, some people had been detained for months or even years in hotel APODs.
Between the inspection period and the report's publication, the overall number of people detained in hotel APODs decreased. While this trend is positive, serious concerns remain about the living conditions for those still detained and any future use of hotel APODs.
What are the human rights impacts of APODs?
The use of hotels as detention facilities raises several significant human rights concerns, including in relation to the right to:
- freedom from arbitrary detention
- humane treatment in detention and freedom from torture and ill-treatment
- health, including mental health
- privacy and family life
- freedom of movement
- participate in cultural life and recreation.
These impacts are particularly severe when detention is prolonged and when facilities lack appropriate infrastructure, programs, and services for people in detention.
Key findings
In mid-2022, the Commission conducted inspections, interviews, and consultations to monitor the human rights of people detained in hotel APODs in Melbourne and Brisbane. The Commission identified serious human rights impacts on people detained in hotel APODs:
- Deteriorating mental health: People experienced progressively worsening mental health that exacerbated pre-existing trauma.
- Severe movement restrictions: Detainees were largely confined to their rooms with almost no freedom of movement, leading to social isolation and entrenched loneliness.
- Inadequate facilities: Many people had insufficient access to fresh air, exercise areas or outdoor spaces, and some reported substandard food.
- Lack of privacy: Many experienced distressing privacy violations due to intrusive monitoring or inappropriate living arrangements.
- Limited activities: Very limited access to programs or activities, fuelling boredom, frustration and apathy.
- Restricted visitation: Insufficient private spaces for visits from family, friends, or legal representatives.
- Restraint practices: The use of physical restraints (including handcuffs) during external escorts raised serious concerns.
- Healthcare obstacles: Many detainees faced difficulties accessing appropriate and timely medical care, including specialist and mental health services.
- Poor release procedures: Issues with both the management of releases from hotel APODs and inadequate post-release support.
The Commission has consistently reported that detention in hotel APODs is not appropriate for lengthy periods and should only ever be used in exceptional circumstances and for the shortest possible time.
Fast Facts
As at 31 July 2022, the average length of time that individuals had spent detained in hotel APODs was 69 days.
The longest continuous period of detention in a hotel APOD was 634 days.
Key recommendations
The Commission made 24 recommendations to the Department of Home Affairs, including:
- Use of hotel APODs only in exceptional circumstances and for shortest possible time
- Access to fresh air, shared facilities, outdoor spaces, and exercise areas
- Greater freedom of movement
- Regular access to meaningful programs and activities
- Immediate and expedited access to medical treatment and health care for Medevac cohort
- Regular review of all people in closed detention for release into alternative
- community-based arrangements
- Improved release process and adequate post-release support
- Simplified process for renewing bridging visas for Medevac cohort.
Government response: The Department of Home Affairs has agreed with 2 recommendations, disagreed with 5, and noted the remaining 17.
