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Asylum Seekers and Refugees
7 December 2023Opinion pieceHasty detainee laws raise human rights concerns
Read an opinion piece from Australia's Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay raising concerns about the passage of new laws responding to the fallout from the recent NZYQ High Court decision. -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
13 October 2020Opinion piece
Who are we leaving behind?
In presenting last week’s Federal Budget, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said, “we will get through this together.” Togetherness is an important value in Australia. It speaks to the basic liberal democratic principle that no-one in our community should be left behind. While much of last week’s Budget analysis focused on the details of tax breaks and tax cuts, at a basic level the Budget is also a… -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
20 June 2023Media Release
Inspection report: Serious human rights concerns in hotel detention
Explore an inspection report by the Commission that found serious human rights concerns persist in the use of hotels as alternative places of detention. -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
5 May 2021Media Release
Media Statement: Federal Court improves pathways to protection for more than a thousand asylum seekers taken to Ashmore reef
More than 1,000 asylum seekers have a greater ability to apply for protection in Australia following a landmark judgment by the Federal Court on Tuesday. “When a person seeks asylum in Australia, it’s vital that their application be processed quickly, fairly and transparently. This judgment will remove administrative barriers for a vulnerable group of people who have been waiting too long to… -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
7 October 2022Media Release
Joint Statement on the use of hotel APODs
This Statement provides guidance on the short-term use of hotel APODs, including access to open‑air exercise, access to meaningful programs and activities, and the need to ensure medical and welfare services are of the same standard as those provided in other immigration detention facilities. -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
26 July 2019Media Release
Transferring asylum seeker families to Nauru – human rights report
The practice of sending to Nauru families with young children who arrived in Australia seeking asylum is the subject of an inquiry report by the Australian Human Rights Commission tabled in Parliament today. [1] Mr Richard Lancaster SC, as delegate of the President, found that the regional processing centre on Nauru was not an appropriate place to send families with young children… -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
23 October 2019Publication
Use of force in immigration detention
The issue of the use of force in immigration detention has been raised in a range of complaints against the Department of Home Affairs received by the Commission. This report deals thematically with 14 complaints. -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
2 July 2020Opinion piece
Blanket bans would be unacceptable
During lockdown, many of us – myself included – have become even more reliant on our mobile phones. They have kept us in contact with parents, children and grandchildren, our colleagues and friends during this difficult time. When my two-year old first saw his grandmother on a smartphone, he squealed with delight. It wasn’t quite the same as being together — he pawed at the screen to try to… -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
2 December 2020Publication
Inspections of Australia's immigration detention facilities 2019 Report
Human Rights Commissioner’s foreword For several decades, the Australian Human Rights Commission has expressed deep and longstanding concern about the human rights of people held in Australia’s immigration detention facilities. As a result of our most recent inspection process, that concern has deepened. Some of the issues of greatest concern to the Commission are as follows. A number of… -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
16 June 2020Submission
Migration Amendment (Prohibiting Items in Immigration Detention Facilities) Bill 2020
The concerns outlined in this submission draw on the Commission’s work inspecting Australia’s immigration detention facilities. The Commission has conducted such inspections since the mid-1990s. -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
19 September 2017Speech
Making detention safe and humane: can we grasp a once-in-a-generation opportunity?
Making detention safe and humane: can we grasp a once-in-a-generation opportunity? Austin Asche Oration Australian Academy of Law and Charles Darwin University Nitmiluk Lounge, Level 4, Parliament House, Darwin 5pm, 19 September 2017 CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY Introduction Acknowledgements Traditional Aboriginal owners, the Larrakia people Austin Asche AC QC (former NT Administrator and Chief… -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
14 August 2014Speech
Sister Clare Condon - Sanctioned Violence: What does it do to our society and relationships?
I acknowledge the Gadagal People of the Aora nation on whose land we meet. I pay my respects to the elders past and present. I come here today as an ordinary citizen. I am not an academic, nor a lawyer. I am simply a concerned citizen. There are many nuances to the meaning of the word violence. It is about violating another; abusing and damaging; often about the abuse of power. It is… -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
14 December 2012Publication
DIAC Response to the Australian Human Rights Commission report on the use of community arrangements for asylum seekers, refugees and stateless persons who have arrived to Australia by boat
The Department of Immigration and Citizenship welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) report on the use of community arrangements for asylum seekers, refugees and stateless persons who have arrived to Australia by boat. -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
22 October 2013Publication
Asylum seekers, refugees and human rights - Snapshot Report
The purpose of this report is to provide an overview – or ‘snapshot’ – of the key human rights issues that arise from Australia’s approach to asylum seekers and refugees who arrive by boat. -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
8 January 2014Publication
A last resort? National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention
This is an important report. It deals with our treatment of children in the most recent wave of boat people seeking refuge and a better life on our shores. It does so in the knowledge that there is a tension created by the community expectation that the Government will defend Australia's security while simultaneously upholding individual rights - the notion of the 'fairgo' for all. The report… -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
10 July 2013Webpage
Speeches, events and media about immigration detention, asylum seekers and refugees
Discover a history of speeches, events and media about immigration detention, asylum seekers and refugees at the Human Rights Commission. -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
8 November 2013Project
Transfer of asylum seekers to third countries
Learn how the Australian government introduced third-country processing for asylum seekers who came to Australia by boat without a valid visa in 2012. -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
23 January 2013Publication
Immigration detention on Christmas Island - Observations from visit to Immigration detention facilities on Christmas Island
Immigration detention on Christmas Island Observations from visit to Immigration detention facilities on Christmas Island -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
16 June 2015Publication
Children in immigration detention: statements by the United Nations
Learn how the United Nations states that children do not belong in immigration detention and that under international law, states should not detain them. -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
14 August 2015Publication
Use of force in immigration detention facilities
The Migration Amendment (Maintaining the Good Order of Immigration Detention Facilities) Bill 2015 (the Bill) would give increased power to ‘authorised officers’ to use force against people (including asylum seekers) in immigration detention facilities. It appears that the majority (if not all) of the authorised officers will be employees of Serco Australia Pty Ltd (Serco), the private company…