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Asylum Seekers and Refugees
12 December 2024Opinion pieceWomen in immigration detention are trapped in a system designed for men. Many have not hugged a family member in years
In an opinion piece published in The Guardian, Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay Commissioner Finlay describes the harrowing experiences faced by many women in immigration detention and calls for urgent reform to address these human rights failures. It follows the release of the AHRC report into the issue. -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
9 December 2024Media Release
Women in immigration detention at serious risk of harassment and violence
The Australian Human Rights Commission has called for significant reform to the country’s immigration detention system, after a new report into the treatment of women in detention found their rights, safety and wellbeing are being widely overlooked. These failures, it found, are compounding the risk to women of harassment, violence, and ill health. -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
19 September 2018Webpage
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
Learn how everyone has the right to seek asylum and be free from persecution, regardless of how or in what country they arrive in Australia. -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
19 April 2024Publication
Yongah Hill Immigration Detention Inspection Report
In 2023, the Commission monitored the human rights of people detained at the Yongah Hill Immigration Detention Centre. The Commission’s inspection report provides 33 recommendations, noting key observations and concerns. -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
14 September 2016Publication
Pathways to Protection: A human rights-based response to the flight of asylum seekers by sea
President’s introduction Australia’s policy of sending asylum seekers and refugees to Nauru and Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island for processing of their claims has been one of the most contentious aspects of Australia’s migration policies. Introduced in 2012, third country processing has been a key plank of successive Australian governments to deter asylum seekers from travelling to Australia by… -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
10 April 2013Publication
Human rights issues raised by the transfer of asylum seekers to third countries
NOTE: This paper was updated in 2013- click here for the updated version. Contents Introduction Summary Background What are Australia’s international obligations to asylum seekers who are subject to transfer to third countries? What are the Commission’s key concerns about the third-country processing arrangements? Introduction In September 2012, the Australian Government commenced… -
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
17 July 2015Publication
Summary factsheet - The Forgotten Children: National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention 2014
The Forgotten Children: National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention 2014 Summary factsheet July 2015 What was the Inquiry about? On 3 February 2014 the President of the Commission announced a national inquiry into children in immigration detention. The purpose of the Inquiry was to investigate the ways in which life in immigration detention affects the health, well-being and -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
24 November 2014Publication
National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention (2014)
Australia currently holds about 800 children in mandatory closed immigration detention for indefinite periods, with no pathway to protection or settlement. This includes 186 children detained on Nauru. Children and their families have been held on the mainland and on Christmas Island for, on average, one year and two months. Over 167 babies have been born in detention within the last 24 months… -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
2 February 2014Publication
National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention 2014: Discussion Paper
Why are we holding this inquiry? The purpose of this inquiry is to investigate the ways in which life in immigration detention affects the health, well-being and development of children. The inquiry will assess the impact on children by seeking the views of people who were previously detained as children in closed immigration detention and by assessing the current circumstances and responses… -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
14 December 2012Book page
Summary of Observations following the Inspection of Mainland Immigration Detention Facilities 2007
This report is a brief summary of the observations made by the Human Rights Commissioner and staff of the Australian Human Rights Commission (the Commission). These summary notes and recommendations are based on what we personally observed and heard from staff and detainees during our immigration detention facility inspections. -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
9 July 2013Webpage
Children in immigration detention page
back to immigration detention, asylum seekers and refugees Under Australia’s system of mandatory immigration detention, all non-citizens who are in Australia without a valid visa must be detained. This includes children. The vast majority of children who are in immigration detention are children who arrived in Australia by boat, seeking asylum. Some of them came with family members, but some…