Skip to section navigationSkip to content Commonwealth of Australia Coat of Arms Parliament of Australia - Joint CommitteePhoto of a Committes Meeting
HomeSenateHouse of RepresentativesLive BroadcastingThis Week in Parliament FindFrequently asked questionsContact

<< Return to previous page | Joint Standing Committee on Migration

Footnotes


Chapter 1 Introduction

[1]       Senator the Hon C Evans, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, ‘New directions in detention’, speech delivered at Australian National University, 29 July 2008.

[2]       Senator the Hon C Evans, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senate Hansard, Supplementary Budget Estimates, Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee, 21 October 2008, p 109.

[3]       Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Fact Sheet 68 - Abolition of Temporary Protection visas (TPVs) and Temporary Humanitarian visa (THVs), and the Resolution of Status (subclass 851) visa (2009).

[4]       The report is available at http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/mig/detention/report.htm. A dissenting report was tabled by three members of the Committee and is available in the same place.

[5]       Joint Standing Committee on Migration, Immigration detention in Australia: A new beginning – Criteria for release from immigration detention (2008).

[6]       A full list of the Committee’s recommendations from its first report of the inquiry into immigration detention in Australia can be found at Appendix C.

[7]       Senator the Hon C Evans, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, ‘Detention debt regime to be scrapped’, media release, 18 March 2009; Sen the Hon J Ludwig, Migration Amendment (Abolishing Detention Debt) Bill 2009, second reading speech, Senate Hansard, 18 March 2009, pp 1-4.

[8]       Refer to Appendix E for a timeline on immigration detention policy from 1989-2009.

[9]       An immigration transit accommodation facility is also under construction in Adelaide.

[10]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, ‘Unauthorised arrivals by land and sea’, fact sheets 74 & 74a, viewed on 1 November 2008 at web.archive.org/web/ 20030621215427/http://www.immi. gov.au /facts/ 74unauthorised.htm web.archive.org /web/20030621215037/ www.immi.gov.au/facts/74a_ boatarrivals.htm.

[11]     Senator the Hon C Evans, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, ‘Unauthorised boat arrivals arrive on Christmas Island’, media release, 2 October 2008.

[12]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Immigration detention statistics summary as at 20 March 2009, viewed on 31 March 2009 at http://www.immi.gov.au/managing-australias-borders/detention/_pdf/immigration-detention-statistics-20090320.pdf.

[13]     Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, A last resort? National inquiry into children in immigration detention (2004); Chilout, submission 40, p 3; Cole E, Bail for immigration detainees, A few families too many —The detention of asylum seeking families in the UK (2003) pp 34-35; Circle of friends 42, submission 32, p 6.

[14]     Attorney-General’s Department, submission 61, p 2; Nasu H, Rice S & Zagor M, submission 76, p 3; Refugee and Immigration Legal Centre, submission 130, p 7.

[15]     United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Guidelines on applicable criteria and standards relating to the detention of asylum seekers (1999), p 1.

[16]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129, pp 18-26.

[17]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, supplementary submission 129f, p 9.

[18]     Senator the Hon C Evans, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, ‘New directions in detention’, speech delivered at Australian National University, Canberra, 29 July 2008, p 4.

[19]     Senator the Hon C Evans, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, ‘New directions in detention’, speech delivered at Australian National University, Canberra, 29 July 2008, p 5.

[20]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129, p 36.

[21]     Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, submission 133, p 1.

[22]     Refugee and Immigration Legal Centre, submission 137, p 23.

[23]     Coleman C, Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, Transcript of evidence, 11 September 2008, p 26.

[24]     The terms asylum seeker and protection visa applicant are used interchangeably in this report.

[25]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, supplementary submission 129d, p 1, provides the number of minors relative to total annual detention populations from 1989-90 to 2007-08. In 2007-08, children comprised 239 or approximately 5 per cent of the 4623 people taken into immigration detention. The number of protection visa finalisations for the same year was 347. Of protection visa applicants as a whole, the majority are not in detention. As at 10 October 2008, there were 6090 protection visa applicants living in the community on bridging visas, including those seeking merits review, judicial review or ministerial intervention related to an adverse decision on a protection visa application. Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129n, p 9.


Chapter 2 Overview of alternatives to immigration detention centres

[1]       The Migration Act 1958 sets out a universal visa regime that requires all persons who are not Australian citizens to hold a visa in order to enter and remain in Australia. Section 189(1) of the Act provides that if an officer knows or reasonably suspects that a person in the migration zone is an unlawful non-citizen – that is, a person who is not Australian and has no valid visa – the officer must detain the person.

[2]       Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129h, p 4. The low figure for immigration transit accommodation reflects in part that this type of accommodation was only available from November 2007.

[3]       Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129, p 25.

[4]       Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Immigration detention statistics summary as at 13 March 2009, viewed on 6 April 2009 at http://www.immi.gov.au/managing-australias-borders/detention/_pdf/immigration-detention-statistics-20090320.pdf.

[5]       Guymer Bailey Architects, Design brief for Brisbane Immigration Transit Accommodation viewed on 17 February 2009 at http://www.guymerbailey.com.au/projects/3F_bris_immig.php?id1=03_prisons_justice

[6]       Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Briefing papers to Committee for Melbourne detention facilities site inspection, 10 September 2008.

[7]       Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Briefing papers to Committee for Melbourne detention facilities site inspection on 10 September 2008.

[8]       Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129, p 30.

[9]       Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129, p 30.

[10]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129, p 30.

[11]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129, p 20.

[12]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129, p 21.

[13]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129l, p 3.

[14]     Commonwealth Ombudsman, submission 126, p 27.

[15]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129, p 20; Castan Centre for Human Rights Law, submission 97, p 32.

[16]     Castan Centre for Human Rights Law, submission 97, p 32; Walker V, submission 5, p 2.

[17]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129, p 20; Castan Centre for Human Rights Law, submission 97, p 32.

[18]     Senator the Hon C Evans, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, ‘New directions in detention’, speech delivered at Australian National University, Canberra, 29 July 2008, p 5; Senator the Hon C Evans, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senate Hansard, Supplementary Budget Estimates, Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee, 21 October 2008, p 113; Metcalfe A, Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Transcript of evidence, 18 March 2009, p 10; Power P, Refugee Council of Australia, Transcript of evidence, 4 February 2009, p 6; Steen F, Romero Centre, Transcript of evidence, 23 January 2009, p 13.

[19]     A bridging visa may cease when a substantive visa is granted; or, for example, 28 days after withdrawal of a visa application, notification of a visa decision or notification of a merits review or judicial appeal outcome.

[20]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Population flows: Immigration aspects, 2007-08 edition (2009), p 62.

[21]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129f, p 8.

[22]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129f, p 9.

[23]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Annual report 2007-08 (2008), p 8; acknowledged as an improvement in Commonwealth Ombudsman, submission 126, p 4.

[24]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129d, p 9.

[25]     DIAC ascribes this to a three percent increase in removals between 2005-06 and 2006-07 (maintained in 2007-08); a two percent increase in the number of substantive visas granted between 2005-06 and 2007-08; and an overall reduction in the number of people being detained rather than being issued with a bridging visa at the time of their location by the department. The Committee also heard evidence that bridging visa mechanisms for the release of vulnerable people from immigration detention were not functioning effectively. At 30 June 2008 there were only two individuals holding a bridging visa E (051), a visa intended for unauthorised arrivals with special needs. Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129o, p 1; & submission 129f, pp 5, 8. See also table 2.3.

[26]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, viewed on 21 January 2009 at http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/bridging.htm

[27]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Population flows: Immigration aspects, 2007-08 edition (2009), p 62.

[28]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129f, p 31; submission 129d, p 9.

[29]     Kamand S et al, The immigration kit (2008), 8th ed, Federation Press, p 174. Under Migration Regulation 2.21, the order of classes from most beneficial to least beneficial is listed as B, A, C, D, R, E, and F.

[30]     Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, ‘Bridging visas and bridging visa Es’, People and place (2006), vol. 14, no. 2, p 40.

[31]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Population flows: Immigration aspects, 2007-08 edition (2009), p 65.

[32]     In its first report, tabled 1 December 2008, the Committee recommended that the Commonwealth cease the practice of charging immigration detainees for their time in detention. In response the Migration Amendment (Abolishing Detention Debt) Bill 2009 was introduced to the Senate on 18 March 2009.

[33]     Medicare Australia, correspondence, 20 February 2009; Kamand S et al, The immigration kit (2008), 8th ed, The Federation Press, p 197; Phelan L, Mercy Refugee Service, Transcript of evidence, 7 May 2008, p 20.

[34]     Kamand S et al, The immigration kit (2008), 8th ed, The Federation Press, p 177.

[35]     Kamand S et al, The immigration kit (2008), 8th ed, The Federation Press, p 177.

[36]     The exception is when, in the case of a ministerial intervention, the Minister is ‘personally considering exercising his powers’. When the request is being actively considered rather than awaiting consideration work rights may be granted where a person can demonstrate a compelling need to work. Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129f, p 30; Parliamentary Library, Millbank A, ‘Asylum seekers on bridging visa E’ (2007), research brief no. 13, p 9.

[37]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129f, p 32.

[38]     Senator the Hon. A Vanstone, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senate Hansard, Questions on notice, no. 391, 14 June 2005.

[39]     Kamand S et al, The immigration kit (2008), 8th ed, The Federation Press, p 178. A ‘compelling need to work’ is defined in Migration Regulations 1994, regulation 1.08.

[40]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129, p 35.

[41]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129, p 35.

[42]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129, p 35.

[43]     DIAC Annual report 2007-08, p 88.

[44]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129o, p 2.

[45]     Domicelj T, Asylum Seekers Centre of New South Wales, Transcript of evidence, 24 October 2008, p 55.

[46]     Domicelj T, Asylum Seeker Centre of New South Wales, Transcript of evidence, 24 October 2008, p 52.

[47]     Hopgood B, Refugee Claimants Support Centre, Transcript of evidence, 23 January 2009,  p 3.

[48]     WD, Transcript of evidence, 22 January 2009, p 17.

[49]     The Let us work campaign, a working group of the Network of Asylum Seeker Agencies Victoria (NASAVic), Granting work rights to bridging visa holders in the protection application process: Briefing paper for the Federal Minister for Immigration and Citizenship (2008), pp 4-5.

[50]     Health Insurance Act 1973, s.3 (iv); Kamand S et al, The immigration kit (2008), 8th ed, The Federation Press, p 180.

[51]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129n, p 8.

[52]     The participants in these studies are clients of support centres and community organisations. Given that people are often most in need of assistance at the final stages of their case whilst pursuing judicial review or ministerial intervention, the clientele of such organisations may well reflect a distribution of the client group who have spent the longest periods of time on bridging visas. They do, however, demonstrate that some people spend multiple years living in the community on bridging visas.

[53]     Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, submission 93, p 14.

[54]     Coleman C, Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, Transcript of evidence, 11 September 2008, p 26.

[55]     Ozdowski S, Transcript of evidence, 24 October 2008, p 33.

[56]     University of Queensland Boilerhouse Community Engagement Centre, Defending human rights: Community-based asylum seekers in Queensland (2005), p 23.

[57]     Hopgood B, Refugee Claimants Support Centre, Transcript of evidence, 23 January 2009, p 3. The witness has clarified that this does not refer to a primary decision on an application.

[58]     Hopgood B, Refugee Claimants Support Centre, Transcript of evidence, 23 January 2009, p 7.

[59]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129, p 36.

[60]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129n, p 2.

[61]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129n, p 5. The data refers to the period May 2006 to January 2009.

[62]     Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, submission 93, p 7; Hopgood B, Refugee Claimants Support Centre, Transcript of evidence, 23 January 2009, p 6; Karapanagiotidis K, Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, Transcript of evidence, 24 October 2008, p 71.

[63]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129n, p 4.

[64]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129n, p 9.

[65]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129f, p 8.

[66]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129n, p 2.

[67]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129f, p 23.

[68]     Currently equivalent to a maximum of $449.30 per fortnight for a single person with no dependent children. Centrelink, viewed on 25 February 2009 at http://www.centrelink.gov.au/internet/internet.nsf/payments/newstart_rates.htm.

[69]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Fact sheet 62: Assistance for asylum seekers in Australia (2008), viewed on 10 February 2009 at http://www.immi.gov.au/media/fact-sheets/62assistance.htm.

[70]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129n, p 2.

[71]     National Archives of Australia, Fact sheet 170 – Migrant hostels in New South Wales, 1946–78 (undated), viewed on 10 February 2009 at http://www.naa.gov.au/about-us/publications/fact-sheets/fs170.aspx; Power P, Transcript of evidence, 4 February 2009, p 8; see also Hammerton A and Thomson A, Ten pound Poms: Australia’s invisible migrants (2005), Manchester University Press, pp 167-179; Migration Heritage NSW, viewed on 6 April 2009 at http://www.migrationheritage.nsw.gov.au/exhibition/objectsthroughtime /flag/.

[72]     Ozdowski S, Transcript of evidence, 24 October 2008, p 35.

[73]     Parliamentary Library, ‘The detention of boat people’ (2001), Current issues brief 08 2000-2001, Millbank A, p 4.

[74]     Mitchell G, Asylum seekers in Sweden: An integrated approach to reception, detention, determination, integration and return (2001), Appendix A, International Detention Coalition, submission 109, p 11; Parliamentary Library, ‘The detention of boat people’ (2007), Current issues brief no. 8 2000-01, Millbank A, p 2.

[75]     Law Institute of Victoria, Liberty Victoria and The Justice Project, submission 127, p 42; Mitchell G, Asylum seekers in Sweden: An integrated approach to reception, detention, determination, integration and return (2001), Appendix A, International Detention Coalition, submission 109, p 18.

[76]     New Zealand High Commission, correspondence, 26 February 2009.

[77]     Field O, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Alternatives to detention of asylum seekers and refugees (2006), p 31.

[78]     Field O, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Alternatives to detention of asylum seekers and refugees (2006), p 31.

[79]     Law Institute of Victoria, Liberty Victoria and The Justice Project, submission 127, p 42.

[80]     Field O, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Alternatives to detention of asylum seekers and refugees (2006), pp 32-33.

[81]     Law Institute of Victoria, Liberty Victoria and The Justice Project, submission 127, p 43; New Zealand High Commission, correspondence, 26 February 2009.

[82]     A Just Australia, submission 89, p 20.

[83]     Adelman H, Transcript of evidence, 25 February 2009, p 6.

[84]     Cusack C, submission 36, p 2.

[85]     Caton S, Refugee and Immigration Legal Service (RAILS), Transcript of evidence, 23 January 2009, p 31.

[86]     Field O and Edwards A, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Alternatives to detention of asylum seekers and refugees (2006), p 25.

[87]     Kamand S et al, The immigration kit (2008), 8th ed, The Federation Press, p 197; Phelan L, Mercy Refugee Service, Transcript of evidence, 7 May 2008, p 20.

[88]     Kamand S et al, The immigration kit (2008), 8th ed, The Federation Press, p 197.

[89]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129, p 38.

[90]     Field O, ‘Alternatives to detention of asylum seekers and refugees.’ Legal and protection policy research series, UNHCR, April 2006, p 26.

[91]     Law Institute of Victoria, Liberty Victoria and The Justice Project, submission 127, p 40.

[92]     Law Institute of Victoria, Liberty Victoria and The Justice Project, submission 127, p 41.

[93]     Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Enforcement (ENF) 20 operational manual - Detention (2007), p 15.

[94]     Law Institute of Victoria, Liberty Victoria and The Justice Project, submission 127, pp 38‑39.

[95]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129, p 38.

[96]     Root O, The Appearance Assistance Program: an alternative to detention for non-citizens in U.S immigration removal proceedings viewed on 30 January 2009 at http://www.vera.org/publication_pdf/aap_speech.pdf.

[97]     Alternatives to detention fact sheet, November 2008, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, viewed on 31 January 2009 at http://www.ice.gov/pi/news/factsheets/080115alternativestodetention.htm.

[98]     Root O, The Appearance Assistance Program: an alternative to detention for non-citizens in U.S immigration removal proceedings viewed on 30 January 2009 at http://www.vera.org/publication_pdf/aap_speech.pdf.

[99]     Alternatives to detention fact sheet, November 2008, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, viewed on 31 January 2009 at http://www.ice.gov/pi/news/ factsheets/080115alternativestodetention.htm

[100]  ‘Thematic Briefing prepared for the Independent Asylum Commission’, Information Centre about Asylum and Refugees, (2007) viewed on 4 February 2009 at http://www.icar.org.uk /bob_html/04_iac_briefings/Detention_of_asylum_seekers _in_the_UK_June_2007.pdf.

[101]   Group 4 Securitor, ‘What electronic monitoring technologies are available?’, viewed on 18 March 2009 at http://www.g4s.com/us/us-g4s_electronic_monitoring_ international/usa-newpage-10.htm.

[102]   Group 4 Securitor (G4S), G4S Patrol Suite, promotional brochure. On 31 March 2009 DIAC announced that Serco Australia Pty Ltd had been selected as the preferred tenderer for the new contract for the provision of immigration detention services at detention centres around Australia.

[103]   Bingemann M, ‘Centrelink to use voice ID’, The Australian, 27 January 2009.

[104]   Field O and Edwards A, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Alternatives to detention of asylum seekers and refugees (2006), p 37.

[105]   Black M and Smith R, Australian Institute of Criminology, Electronic monitoring in the criminal justice system, Trends and issues in crime and criminal justice (2003) No. 254, pp 2. Australian Institute of Criminology, viewed on 2 April 2009 at http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/tandi2/tandi254.pdf

[106]   Black M and Smith R, Australian Institute of Criminology, Electronic monitoring in the criminal justice system, Trends and issues in crime and criminal justice (2003) No. 254, pp 2. Australian Institute of Criminology, viewed on 2 April 2009 at http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/tandi2/tandi254.pdf

[107]   Black M and Smith R, Australian Institute of Criminology, Electronic monitoring in the criminal justice system, ‘Trends and issues in crime and criminal justice’ (2003) No. 254, pp 2. Australian Institute of Criminology, viewed on 2 April 2009 at http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/tandi2/tandi254.pdf

[108]   Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Electronic monitoring of persons in community detention arrangements (2009), research notes, p 14.

[109]   Black M and Smith R, Australian Institute of Criminology, Electronic monitoring in the criminal justice system, ‘Trends and issues in crime and criminal justice’ (2003) No. 254, pp 1. Australian Institute of Criminology, viewed on 2 April 2009 at http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/tandi2/tandi254.pdf

[110]   Field O and Edwards A, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Alternatives to detention of asylum seekers and refugees (2006), p 36.

[111]   Roberts M, ‘Immigrants face detention, few rights’, Associated Press, 15 March 2009.

[112]   United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), ‘ICE tests new electronic monitoring program’, media release, 3 August 2003, viewed on 17 March 2009 at http://www.ice.gov/pi/news/newsreleases/articles/tether080803.htm.

[113]   United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), ‘Fact sheet: Alternatives to detention’ (2008), viewed on 12 March 2009 at http://www.ice.gov/pi/news/factsheets/080115alternativestodetention.htm.

[114]   Adelman H, Transcript of evidence, 25 February 2009, p 10.

[115]   Adelman H, Transcript of evidence, 25 February 2009, p 4.

[116]   Black M and Smith R, Australian Institute of Criminology, Electronic monitoring in the criminal justice system, Trends and issues in crime and criminal justice (2003) No. 254, pp 3-4. Australian Institute of Criminology, viewed on 2 April 2009 at http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/tandi2/tandi254.pdf.

[117]   Black M and Smith R, Australian Institute of Criminology, Electronic monitoring in the criminal justice system, Trends and issues in crime and criminal justice (2003) No. 254, pp 3. Australian Institute of Criminology, viewed on 2 April 2009 at http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/tandi2/tandi254.pdf.

[118]   Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Electronic monitoring of persons in community detention arrangements (2009), research notes, p 10.

[119]   The visit took place on 25 February 2009 and at the time there were as yet no prisoners in the facility.


Chapter 3 Appropriate support and accommodation in the community

[1]       Department of Immigration and Citizenship, ‘About immigration residential housing’, viewed on 31 March 2009 at http://www.immi.gov.au/managing-australias-borders/detention/facilities/about/rhcs-recreation.htm; Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, Summary of observations following the inspection of mainland immigration detention facilities 2007 (2007), p 39.

[2]       Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, Summary of observations following the inspection of mainland immigration detention facilities 2007 (2007), p 17; Castan Centre for Human Rights Law, submission 97, p 32; Walker V, submission 5, p 2.

[3]       Special Benefit is a payment made to eligible Australians who are in severe financial need due to circumstances outside their control. Special Benefit is a discretionary payment and is only paid in special circumstances, which are determined by the Secretary of the Department of Family and Community Services. Generally, it will be the same rate as Newstart Allowance or Youth Allowance. Centrelink, viewed on 19 March 2009 at http://www.centrelink.gov.au/internet/internet.nsf/payments/special_benefit.htm.

[4]       Centrelink, ‘Newstart Allowance payment rates’, viewed on 19 March 2009 at http://www.centrelink.gov.au/internet/internet.nsf/payments/newstart_rates.htm.

[5]       A total of four return pending bridging visas granted to detainees in 2007-08, and as at 30 June 2008 there were only 16 people in the community holding this visa. Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129f, pp 27-28.

[6]       Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129n, p 2.

[7]       Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129n, p 1.

[8]       Domicelj T, Asylum Seekers Centre of NSW, Transcript of evidence, 24 October 2008, p 52.

[9]       Domicelj T, Asylum Seekers Centre of NSW, Transcript of evidence, 24 October 2008, p 53.

[10]     Australian Human Rights Commission, submission 99, p 23; International Detention Coalition, submission 109, p 2; NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors (STARTTS), submission 108, p 25; Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, submission 93, p 9; Office of Multicultural Interests WA, submission 106, p 19; Law Institute of Victoria, Liberty Victoria and The Justice Project, submission 127, p 36; Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, submission 121, pp 2-3; National Legal Aid, submission 137, p 7; Ozdowski S, submission 58, p 15; Uniting Church in Australia, submission 69, pp 11-12; Detention Health Advisory Group, submission 101, p 2; submission 76 , p 6; Amnesty International Australia, submission 132, p 13; Dagiland A, submission 65, p 2; Refugee Council of Australia, submission 120, p 11; Rouse R, submission 16, p 1; Little Company of Mary Refugee Project, submission 20, p 1; Ripper W, submission 50, p 3.

[11]     Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, submission 93a, p 2.

[12]     For example see: Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, submission 93, p 14; The Uniting Church in Australia, ‘The right to work for Asylum seekers’, viewed on 10 February 2009 at http://victas.uca.org.au/outreach-justice/justice-and-international-mission/project-areas/refugees-asylum-seekers/petition-right-to-work.pdf;m,1216966525; Walker V, Bridge for Asylum Seekers Foundation, correspondence, 23 March 2009; University of Queensland Boilerhouse Community Engagement Centre, Defending human rights: Community-based asylum seekers in Queensland (2005), p 12; Domicelj T, Asylum Seekers Centre of NSW, Transcript of evidence, 7 May 2008, p 3.

[13]     Domicelj T, Asylum Seekers Centre of NSW, Transcript of evidence, 7 May 2008, p 40.

[14]     Coleman C, Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, Transcript of evidence, 11 September 2008, p 26.

[15]     Walker V, Bridge for Asylum Seekers Foundation, correspondence, 23 March 2009; Balmain for Refugees, submission 68, p 1.

[16]     Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, viewed on 19 March 2009 at http://www.asrc.org.au/about_us/facts_and_figures.html.

[17]     Senator the Hon C Evans, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, ‘New directions in detention’, speech delivered at Australian National University, Canberra, 29 July 2008, p 7.

[18]     Refugee Council of Australia, submission 120, p 11.

[19]     Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, submission 99, p 23.

[20]     House of Lords, Session 2005–06 [2005] UKHL 66A, on appeal from:[2004] EWCA Civ 540, 3 November 2005, A Just Australia, submission 89, p 22; Nasu H, Zagor M & Rice M, submission 76, p 6; see also Saul B, ‘The Rudd Government’s human rights record: One year on’, address to NSW Young Lawyers, Sydney, 29 October 2008, p 6.

[21]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129f, p 28.

[22]     Ms LI, Transcript of evidence, 22 January 2009, p 15.

[23]     Gerogiannis B, Legal Aid NSW, Transcript of evidence, 24 October 2008, pp 24-25.; Bridge for Asylum Seekers Foundation, submission 5, p 2; Bishop I, submission 8, p 1; Balmain for Refugees, submission 68, p 21.

[24]     Mendis S, Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, Transcript of evidence, 11 September 2008, p 29.

[25]     Hopgood B, Refugee Claimants Support Centre, Transcript of evidence, 23 January 2009, p 3.

[26]     Mitchell G, International Detention Coalition, Transcript of evidence, 22 January 2009, p 9; Hopgood B, Refugee Claimants Support Centre, Transcript of evidence, 23 January 2009,  p 4; Nash C, Refugee Council of Australia, Transcript of evidence, 4 February 2009, p 6; Coleman C, Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, Transcript of evidence, 11 September 2008, p 27.

[27]     Mr L, Transcript of evidence, 24 October 2008, pp 85-87; see also Ms LI, Transcript of evidence, 22 January 2009, p 19; Mr U, Transcript of evidence, 24 October 2008, p 82.

[28]     Hopgood B, Refugee Claimants Support Centre, Transcript of evidence, 23 January 2009,  p 4.

[29]     Conducted by the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre for the Right to Work Campaign, 2005, information available at http://blogs.victas.uca.org.au/safetynotcharity/resources/research.htm#download.

[30]     Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria, Real jobs: Employment for migrants and refugees in Australia (2008), policy discussion paper no. 3, p 4; Kyle L et al, Brotherhood of St Lawrence, Refugees in the labour market: Looking for cost-effective models of assistance (2004), p ii.

[31]     Mendis M, Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, Transcript of evidence, 11 September 2008, p 31. See also Briskman L et al, Human rights overboard: Seeking asylum in Australia (2008), Scribe Publications, Melbourne, p 319.

[32]     Psihogios-Billington M, Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, Transcript of evidence, 22 January 2009, p 16.

[33]     Ms WD, Transcript of evidence, 22 January 2009, p 23.

[34]     Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, submission to DIMA [DIAC] bridging visa review (2006), p 36. See also Coleman C, Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, Transcript of evidence, 11 September 2008, p 31; see also Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria, Real jobs: Employment for migrants and refugees in Australia (2008), policy discussion paper no 3, p 10.

[35]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, ‘Immigration health services contract finalised’, media release, 27 January 2009.

[36]     Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, Standards for health services in Australian immigration detention centres (2007); Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Detention health framework: A policy framework for health care for people in immigration detention (2007).

[37]     Australian Medical Association, Health care of asylum seekers and refugees (2005), position paper, p 1; Harris M and Telfer B, ‘The health needs of asylum seekers living in the community’, Medical journal of Australia (2001), 175, pp 589-592; Refugee and Asylum Seeker Health Network (RASHN) Victoria, Asylum seeker health care in Victoria (2005), briefing paper, p 1; Office of Multicultural Interests WA, submission 106, p 16; Migrant Health Service, submission 33, p 2; Australian Psychological Society, submission 105, p 5; Royal Australasian College of Physicians, submission 54, p 5.

[38]     Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, submission 93, p 15.

[39]     Domicelj T, Asylum Seekers Centre of NSW, Transcript of evidence, 24 October 2008, p 56.

[40]     See the eligibility criteria for bridging visa E (051), outlined in table 2.4. The Committee did receive criticism about the effectiveness and operation of this provision, see Coffey G and Thompson S, submission 128, p 20; Castan Centre for Human Rights Law, submission 97, p 14, Refugee and Immigration Legal Centre, submission 130, pp 5-6.

[41]     Medicare Australia, correspondence, 19 February 2009.

[42]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129, p 35.

[43]     Detention Health Advisory Group, submission 101a, p 1; Correa-Velez I et al, ‘Community-based asylum seekers’ use of primary health care services in Melbourne’, Medical journal of Australia (2008), vol 188, no 6, p 346; University of Queensland Boilerhouse Community Engagement Centre, Defending human rights: Community-based asylum seekers in Queensland (2005), p 9.

[44]     Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, viewed on 24 March 2009 at http://www.asrc.org.au/about_us/facts_and_figures.html.

[45]     Domicelj T, Asylum Seekers Centre of NSW, Transcript of evidence, 24 October 2008, p 56.

[46]     Correa-Velez I et al, ‘Community-based asylum seekers’ use of primary health care services in Melbourne’, Medical journal of Australia (2008), vol 188, no 6, p 346.

[47]     Correa-Velez I et al, ‘Community-based asylum seekers’ use of primary health care services in Melbourne’, Medical journal of Australia (2008), vol 188, no 6, p 345.

[48]     Correa-Velez I et al, ‘Community-based asylum seekers’ use of primary health care services in Melbourne’, Medical journal of Australia (2008), vol 188, no 6, p 347.

[49]     Victorian State Government, Department of Human Services, Hospital Circular 27/2005, ‘Revised Arrangements for Public Hospital Services to Asylum Seekers’, 28 December 2005, viewed on 20 January 2008 at http://www.health.vic.gov.au/hospitalcirculars/circ05/circ2705.htm.

[50]     Singleton G, Detention Health Advisory Group, Transcript of evidence, 11 September 2008, p 42; Harris M and Telfer B, ‘The health needs of asylum seekers living in the community’, Medical journal of Australia (2001), 175, pp 589-592.

[51]     Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, submission 93, p 15.

[52]     Australian Policy Online, ‘Asylum seekers, searching for healthier policy’, 8 October 2007, viewed 10 February at http://www.apo.org.au/webboard/comment_results.chtml?filename_num=176949

[53]     Domicelj T, Asylum Seekers Centre of NSW, Transcript of evidence, 7 May 2008, p 19.; Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, submission 93, p 9; Thom G, Amnesty International Australia, Transcript of evidence, 7 May 2008, p 20.

[54]     Minas H, Detention Health Advisory Group, Transcript of evidence, 11 September 2008, p 42.

[55]     United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees(UNHCR), submission 133, pp 13, 14; see also Reception of asylum seekers, including standards of treatment, in the context of individual asylum systems (2001), 4 September, EC/GC/01/17, p 2; European Parliament, Resolution of 5 February 2009 on the implementation in the European Union of Directive 2003/9/EC laying down the minimum standards for the reception of asylum seekers and refugees: visits by the Committee on Civil Liberties 2005-2008 (2008/2235(INI)).

[56]     Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, submission 99, p 23; Royal Australasian College of Physicians, submission 54, p 3; Australian Medical Association, Health care of asylum seekers and refugees (2005), position paper, p 1.

[57]     NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors (STARTTS), submission 108, p 26; Caton S, Refugee and Immigration Legal Service (RAILS), Transcript of evidence, 23 January 2009, p 31; Edmund Rice Centre, submission 53, p 5; Romero Centre, submission 102, p 14; Hopgood B, Refugee Claimants Support Centre, Transcript of evidence, 23 January 2009, p 8; Domicelj T, Asylum Seekers Centre of NSW, Transcript of evidence, 24 October 2008, p 55. See also University of Queensland Boilerhouse Community Engagement Centre, Defending human rights: Community-based asylum seekers in Queensland (2005), p 12; Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, Welfare issues and immigration outcomes for asylum seekers on Bridging Visa E (2003), p 26.

[58]     Government of Western Australia, Department of Housing and Works, viewed on 28 January 2009 at http://www.housing.wa.gov.au/404_437.asp#Eligibility%20Criteria; Housing SA, correspondence, 10 February 2009; Queensland Government, Department of Housing, correspondence, 13 February 2009; Housing New South Wales, correspondence, 17 February 2009.

[59]     Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, submission 93, p 18.

[60]     Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Public rental housing 2007–08: Commonwealth State Housing Agreement national data report (2009), p x.

[61]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129n, p 1. Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, submission 93a, p 7.

[62]     Carty J, House of Welcome, Transcript of evidence, 7 May 2008, pp 40-41.

[63]     Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, submission 93, p 17; Baptcare, viewed on 25 March 2009 at http://www.baptcare.org.au/lwp/wcm/connect/Baptist/Services/Sanctuary.

[64]     Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, submission 93, p 19.

[65]     Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, submission 93, p 18. Domicelj T, Asylum Seekers Centre of NSW, Transcript of evidence, 24 October 2008, p 55. University of Queensland Boilerhouse Community Engagement Centre, Defending human rights: Community-based asylum seekers in Queensland (2005), p 12.

[66]     Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, submission 93, p 17; Hopgood B, Refugee Claimants Support Centre, Transcript of evidence, 23 January 2009, p 8.

[67]     Doherty C, Metropolitan Association Towards Community Housing (MATCH), Transcript of evidence, 23 January 2009, pp 27-28.

[68]     Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, submission 93, p 18.

[69]     Doherty C, Metropolitan Association Towards Community Housing (MATCH), Transcript of evidence, 23 January 2009, pp 27-28.

[70]     Doherty C, Metropolitan Association Towards Community Housing (MATCH), Transcript of evidence, 23 January 2009, pp 27-28.

[71]     Coleman C, Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, Transcript of evidence, 11 September 2008, p 36.

[72]     Doherty C, Metropolitan Association Towards Community Housing (MATCH), Transcript of evidence, 23 January 2009, p 28.

[73]     Senator the Hon C Evans, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senate Hansard, Supplementary Budget Estimates, Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee, 21 October 2008, p 113.

[74]     NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors (STARTTS), submission 108, p 12; Coffey G and Thompson S, submission 128, p 20; Forum of Australian Services for Survivors of Torture and Trauma (FASST), submission 115, pp 8, 11; Australian Psychological Society, submission 105, p 7; Researchers for Asylum Seekers, submission 57, p 1; Ozdowski S, submission 58, p 10; Uniting Church in Australia, submission 69, pp 6-7; Rural Australians for Refugees Daylesford and District, submission 91, p 3; Vichie S, submission 18, p 2; Circle of Friends 42, submission 32, p 4; Walker L, submission 66, p 3; Minas H, Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), Standards for health services in Australian immigration detention centres (2007), p 2. Some relevant clinical studies that have considered the impact of immigration detention on mental health are Steel Z et al, ‘Impact of immigration detention and temporary protection on the mental health of refugees’, The British journal of psychiatry (2006) vol 188, pp 58-64; Steel Z et al, ‘Psychiatric status of asylum seeker families held for a protracted period in a remote detention centre in Australia’, Australian and New Zealand journal of public health (2004) vol 28, pp 23-32; Sultan A and O'Sullivan K, ‘Psychological disturbances in asylum seekers held in long-term detention: a participant-observer account’, Medical journal of Australia (2001) vol 175, pp 593 -596.

[75]     Royal Australasian College of Physicians, submission 54, p 4; International Detention Coalition, submission 109, p 3; Australian Psychological Society, submission 105, p 7.

[76]     Australian Human Rights Commission, 2008 Immigration detention report: Summary of observations following visits to Australia’s immigration detention facilities (2009), p 12.

[77]     Hol-Radicic G, Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors (STARTTS), Transcript of evidence, 24 October 2008, p 37.

[78]     Commonwealth Ombudsman, submission 126, p 27.

[79]     Australian Human Rights Commission, 2008 Immigration detention report: Summary of observations following visits to Australia’s immigration detention facilities (2009), p 68.

[80]     Kenny M & Pederson A, submission 26, p 2; Prince R, submission 113, p 5.

[81]     Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, submission 93, p 17; NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors (STARTTS), submission 108, p 27; Clement N, Australia Red Cross, Transcript of evidence, 11 September 2008, p 6; Walker L, submission 66, p 6; Researchers for Asylum Seekers, submission 57, p 4; Milne F, Balmain for Refugees, Transcript of evidence, 24 October 2008, p 75; Mrs K, Transcript of evidence, 24 October 2008, p 80; Little Company of Mary Refugee Project, submission 20, p 2.

[82]     Lightfoot T, Detention Health Advisory Group, Transcript of evidence, 11 September 2008, pp 42, 45.

[83]     Clement N, Australian Red Cross, Transcript of evidence, 11 September 2008, p 2.

[84]     Australian Psychological Society, submission 105, p 6.

[85]     Mr U, Transcript of evidence, 24 October 2008, pp 90, 92.

[86]     Mrs K, Transcript of evidence, 24 October 2008, p 92.

[87]     Mrs L, Transcript of evidence, 24 October 2008, p 93.

[88]     Australian Human Rights Commission, 2008 Immigration detention report: Summary of observations following visits to Australia’s immigration detention facilities (2009), p 69. Commonwealth Ombudsman, Report for tabling in Parliament by the Commonwealth and Immigration Ombudsman under s 4860 of the Migration Act 1958, personal identifier: 448/08 (2008), tabled 15 October 2008.

[89]     Phelan L, Mercy Refugee Service, Transcript of evidence, 7 May 2008, p 20.

[90]     Mrs K, Transcript of evidence, 24 October 2008, p 79; Mr U, Transcript of evidence, 24 October 2008, pp 81-82; Mrs L, Mrs L, Transcript of evidence, 24 October 2008, p 84.

[91]     Penneck M, submission 14; The Migrant Health Centre, submission 33, pp 2-3. See also Mr U, Transcript of evidence, 24 October 2008, pp 80-81; Mr W, Transcript of evidence, 24 October 2008, p 83; Mrs L, Transcript of evidence, 24 October 2008, p 84; Mr QL, Transcript of evidence, 22 January 2009, p 17.

[92]     Nash C, Refugee Council of Australia, Transcript of evidence, 4 February 2009, p 9.

[93]     Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, A last resort? National inquiry into children in immigration detention (2004), and submission 99, p 16; Children out of Detention (ChilOut), submission 40; Ozdowski S, submission 58, pp 10-11; Australian Psychological Society, submission 105, p 5; Royal Australasian College of Physicians, submission 54, p 2; Researchers for Asylum Seekers, submission 57, p 1.

[94]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129, p 18. The submission states that all families with children and unaccompanied minors who enter into immigration detention are referred to the Minister for possible consideration for community detention arrangements within two weeks of being detained.

[95]     Children out of Detention (ChilOut), submission 40, p 5.

[96]     Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, submission 93, p 4.

[97]     Coleman C, Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, Transcript of evidence, 11 September 2008, p 26.

[98]     Hopgood B, Refugee Claimants Support Centre, Transcript of evidence, 23 January 2009,  p 2.

[99]     Walker V, Bridge for Asylum Seekers Foundation, correspondence, 24 March 2009.

[100]   Hopgood B, Refugee Claimants Support Centre, Transcript of evidence, 23 January 2009,  p 8; see also Gleeson M, Bric Housing, p 39.

[101]   Domicelj T, Asylum Seeker Centre of NSW, Transcript of evidence, 24 October 2008, p 56.

[102]   Mendis S, Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, Transcript of evidence, 11 September 2008, pp 35-36. See also Australian Psychological Society, submission 105, pp 6-7.

[103]  Uniting Church in Australia, submission 69, p 11; Markus A and Taylor J, ‘No work, no income, no Medicare’, People and place (2006), vol. 14, no. 1, p 49; Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, Welfare issues and immigration outcomes for asylum seekers on Bridging Visa E (2003), p 20.

[104]   Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, submission to DIMA [DIAC] bridging visa review (2006), p 38.

[105]   Mr GS; Transcript of evidence, 22 January 2009, p 21; see also Ms LI, p 15.

[106]   Office of Multicultural Interests WA, submission 106, p 16.

[107]   Mendis S, Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, Transcript of evidence, 11 September 2008, pp 35-36.

[108]   Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, submission 93, p 16.

[109]   Domicelj T, Asylum Seekers Centre of NSW, Transcript of evidence, 24 October 2008, p 56.

[110]   Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129, p 20.

[111]   Mendis S, Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, Transcript of evidence, 11 September 2008, pp 35-36.

[112]   Ms SI, Transcript of evidence, 22 January 2009, p 31; see also Ms GD, p 31.

[113]   Ms LI, Transcript of evidence, 22 January 2009, p 15.

[114]   Ms SI, Transcript of evidence, 22 January 2009, pp 30-31.

[115]   Immigration Detention Advisory Group, submission 62, p 9; Power P, Refugee Council of Australia, Transcript of evidence, 4 February 2009, p 4; Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, submission 93, p 3; NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors (STARTTS), submission 108, p 26; International Detention Coalition, submission 109, p 2; Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia (FECCA), submission 71, p 5; Forum of Australian Services for Survivors of Torture and Trauma (FASST), submission 115, p 20; Uniting Church in Australia, submission 69, p 15; Refugee and Immigration Legal Centre, submission 130, p 4; A Just Australia, submission89, p 23; Amnesty International Australia, submission 132, p 16.

[116]   Clement N, Australia Red Cross, Transcript of evidence, 11 September 2008, p 4.

[117]   Domicelj T, Asylum Seekers Centre of NSW, Transcript of evidence, 24 October 2008, p 54.

[118]   Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129n, p 6.

[119]   Refugee Council of Australia, submission 120, p 11.

[120]   Mitchell G, International Detention Coalition, Transcript of evidence, 22 January 2009, pp 7-8; Clement N, Australia Red Cross, Transcript of evidence, 7 May 2008, p 37.

[121]   Domicelj T, Asylum Seekers Centre of NSW, Transcript of evidence, 24 October 2008, p 53; Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129, p 37.

[122]   Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129, p 37.

[123]   Domicelj T, Asylum Seekers Centre of NSW, Transcript of evidence, 24 October 2008, p 53.

[124]   Refugee Council of Australia, submission 120, p 11.

[125]   Karapanagiotidis K, Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, Transcript of evidence, 24 October 2008, p 71; Coleman C, Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, Transcript of evidence, 11 September 2008, p 29 and submission 93a, p 7.; Hopgood B, Refugee Claimants Support Centre, Transcript of evidence, 23 January 2009, p 6; Caton S, Refugee and Immigration Legal Service (RAILS), Transcript of evidence, 23 January 2009, p 38; Nash C, Refugee Council of Australia, Transcript of evidence, 4 February 2009, p 13.

[126]   Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, submission 93, p 7.

[127]   Coleman C, Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, Transcript of evidence, 11 September 2008, p 29.

[128]   Hopgood B, Refugee Claimants Support Centre, Transcript of evidence, 23 January 2009, p 6.

[129]   Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129n, p 1.

[130]   Poorvadi M, Transcript of evidence, 7 May 2008, p 41.

[131]   Cusack C, submission 36, p 4. See also Circle of Friends 42, submission 32, p 4, Walker L, submission 66, p 6, Prince R, submission 113, p 5.

[132]   Curr P, Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, Transcript of evidence, 22 January 2009, p 29.

[133]   Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, submission 108, p 18; Bridge for Asylum Seekers Foundation, submission 5, p 2; Uniting Church in Australia, submission 69, p 32; Harding A, submission 70, p 2.


Chapter 4 A robust and cost-effective approach

[1]       Senator the Hon C Evans, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, ‘New directions in detention’, speech delivered at Australian National University, 29 July 2008, p 14.

[2]       Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129, p 5.

[3]       Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129n, p 8.

[4]       Metcalfe A, Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Transcript of evidence, 18 February 2009, p 11.

[5]       Metcalfe A, Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Transcript of evidence, 18 February 2009, p 11.

[6]       Examples of these include the Border Entry operations manual of New Zealand and the internal Home Office Guidelines of the United Kingdom.

[7]       Field O and Edwards A, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Alternatives to detention of asylum seekers and refugees (2006), p 24.

[8]       Field O and Edwards A, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Alternatives to detention of asylum seekers and refugees (2006), p 24.

[9]       Justice for Asylum Seeker Alliance. ‘Improving outcomes and reducing costs for asylum seekers’, August 2003, p 36.

[10]     Ozdowski S, submission 58, pp 6-7, Uniting Church in Australia, submission 69, p 14.

[11]     Mitchell G, International Detention Coalition, Transcript of evidence, 22 January 2009, pp 6, 9.

[12]     Castan Centre for Human Rights Law, submission 97, p 23.

[13]     Edmund Rice Centre, submission 53, p 5; Field O and Edwards A, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Alternatives to detention of asylum seekers and refugees (2006), p 25.

[14]     Edmund Rice Centre, submission 53, p 4.

[15]     Adelman H, Transcript of evidence, 25 February 2009, p 7.

[16]     Adelman H, Transcript of evidence, 25 February 2009, pp 3-4.

[17]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129h, p 6.

[18]     Metcalfe A, Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Transcript of evidence, 18 February 2009, p 4.

[19]     Metcalfe A, Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Transcript of evidence, 18 February 2009, p 11.

[20]     Correll B, Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Senate Hansard, Supplementary Budget Estimates, Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee, 21 October 2008, p 102.

[21]     Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, submission 93, p 9, Mitchell G, International Detention Coalition, Transcript of evidence, 22 January 2009, p 2, Castan Centre for Human Rights Law, submission 97, p 14. NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors (STARTTS), submission 108, p 27.

[22]     Commonwealth Ombudsman, submission 126, p 13.

[23]     NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors (STARTTS), submission 108, p 16.

[24]     Coffey G, Transcript of evidence, 11 September 2008, p 84.

[25]     The Let us work campaign, a working group of the Network of Asylum Seeker Agencies Victoria (NASAVic), Granting work rights to bridging visa holders in the protection application process: Briefing paper for the Federal Minister for Immigration and Citizenship (2008), p 6.

[26]     Sections 351, 471- Minister may substitute more favourable decision, section 501J Refusal or cancellation of protection visa--Minister may substitute more favourable decision, and section 48B Minister may determine that section 48A does not apply to non-citizen.

[27]     Domicelj T, Asylum Seekers Centre of New South Wales, Transcript of evidence, 7 May 2008, p 37.

[28]     Coleman C, Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, Transcript of evidence, 11 September 2008, p 33.

[29]     Nicholls D, Balmain for Refugees; and Jaivin L, Transcript of evidence, 7 May 2008, p 37. Linda Jaivin is a writer, translator and former journalist. She has been visiting Villawood Detention Centre regularly since 2001 and has built friendships with many current and former detainees.

[30]     Jaivin L, Transcript of evidence, 7 May 2008, p 37.

[31]     Senator the Hon C Evans, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senate Hansard, Additional Budget Estimates, Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee, 19 February 2008, p 22.

[32]     Domicelj T, Asylum Seekers Centre of New South Wales, Transcript of evidence, 7 May 2008, p 39. Under section 65A of the Migration Act, the Minister must make a decision under section 65 of the Act, in relation to a protection visa, within a period of 90 days.

[33]     Manne D, Refugee and Immigration Legal Centre, Transcript of evidence, 11 September 2008, p 18.

[34]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129, p 37.

[35]     Coleman C, Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, Transcript of evidence, 11 September 2008, p 33.

[36]     Mr HG, Transcript of evidence, 22 January 2009, p 24.

[37]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Fact sheet 63: Immigration advice and assistance scheme, viewed on 11 February at http://www.immi.gov.au/media/fact-sheets/63advice.htm.

[38]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Fact sheet 63: Immigration advice and assistance scheme, viewed on 11 February at http://www.immi.gov.au/media/fact-sheets/63advice.htm.

[39]     For the purpose of the IAAAS, a disadvantaged person is one who in financial hardship and disadvantaged due to a number of possible factors. These include language, cultural or gender barriers, illiteracy in the person’s home country, remoteness of location in Australia, physical or psychological disability as a result of, but not limited to torture or trauma, or as a result of family violence. Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Fact sheet 63: Immigration advice and assistance scheme, viewed on 11 February at http://www.immi.gov.au/media/fact-sheets/63advice.htm.

[40]     In addition to the references cited below, see Little Company of Mary Refugee Project, submission 20, p 3, Law Institute of Victoria, Liberty Victoria and The Justice Project, submission 127, p 33; Refugee Council of Australia, submission 120, p 9; Uniting Church of Australia, submission 69, pp 13, 18.

[41]     Commonwealth Ombudsman, submission 126, p 14.

[42]     Domicelj T, Asylum Seekers Centre of New South Wales, Transcript of evidence, 24 October 2008, p 60.

[43]     Prince S, Balmain for Refugees, Transcript of evidence, 24 October 2008, p 76; Coleman C, Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, Transcript of evidence, 11 September 2008, p 33.

[44]     Hopgood B, Refugee Claimants Support Centre, Transcript of evidence, 23 January 2009,  p 6.

[45]     Caton S, Refugee and Immigration Legal Service (RAILS), Transcript of evidence, 23 January 2009, pp 42-43.

[46]     Caton S, Refugee and Immigration Legal Service (RAILS), Transcript of evidence, 23 January 2009, pp 42-43.

[47]     Nash C, Refugee Council of Australia, Transcript of evidence, 4 February 2009, p 6.

[48]     National Legal Aid, submission 137, p 15.

[49]     National Legal Aid, submission 137, p 16.

[50]     Refugee and Immigration Legal Centre, submission 137, p 23.

[51]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129n, p 7.

[52]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129, p 37.

[53]     International Detention Coalition, submission 109, p 6.

[54]     International Organisation for Migration, Assisting voluntary return, viewed on 29 January 2009 at http://iom.ch/jahia/Jahia/about-migration/managing-migration/cache/offonce/pid/662;jsessionid=652036DBD4DA50DB933CD1238A26CBEA.worker0.2

[55]     International Organisation for Migration, Designing a programme for assisted voluntary return, viewed on 29 January 2009 at http://iom.ch/jahia/Jahia/about-migration/managingmigration/cache/offonce/pid/663;jsessionid=99293927CF93DB6F280 27590 E7346710.worker02.

[56]     International Organisation for Migration, Designing a programme for assisted voluntary return, viewed on 29 January 2009 at http://iom.ch/jahia/Jahia/about-migration/managing-migration/cache/offonce/pid/663;jsessionid=99293927C F93DB6F28027590E7346710.worker02.

[57]     Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, submission 93, pp 11, 19.

[58]     Senator the Hon C Evans, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, ‘New directions in detention’, speech delivered at Australian National University, 29 July 2008, p 13.

[59]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, correspondence, 29 January 2009.

[60]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129, p 34.

[61]     DIAC announced on 31 March 2009 that Serco Australia Pty Ltd had been selected as the preferred tenderer for the new contract for the provision of immigration detention services at detention centres around Australia.  The department has said that it will now enter into negotiations with the preferred tenderer, with the intention of signing the contract by 30 June 2009. Department of Immigration and Citizenship, viewed on 1 April 2009 at http://www.newsroom.immi.gov.au/media_releases/692.

[62]     The detention services provider is currently Group 4 Securitor, but on 31 March 2009 DIAC announced that the next tender would be awarded to Serco Australia Pty Ltd.

[63]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Questions on notice (166), Senate Hansard, Budget Estimates, Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee, 22 May 2006.

[64]     Castan Centre for Human Rights Law, submission 97, p 42.

[65]     Justice for Asylum Seekers, Improving outcomes and reducing costs for asylum seekers 2003,  p 9.

[66]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Questions on notice, (51), Senate Hansard, Budget Estimates, Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee, 13 February 2005. The operations cost for 2005-06 is a total of the overall operational and infrastructure costs provided by DIAC and does not include other national office costs.

[67]     Correll B, Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Budget Estimates, Senate Hansard, 28 May 2008, p 118-119.

[68]     Correll B, Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Senate Hansard, Budget Estimates Hearing, Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee, 22 May 2006, p 153.

[69]     Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee, Questions taken on notice, Budget Estimates Hearing, 26 May 2004, pp 7-8.

[70]     Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee, Questions taken on notice, Budget Estimates Hearing, 26 May 2004, pp 7-8.

[71]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129f, p 36.

[72]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129p, p 1.

[73]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129l, p 3.

[74]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129l, p 3.

[75]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129f, p 36.

[76]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129, p 32.

[77]     Joint Standing Committee on Migration, Asylum border control and detention (1994), Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia, pp 39-45.

[78]     Correll B, Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Transcript of evidence, 18 February 2009, p 11.

[79]     Metcalfe A, Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Transcript of evidence, 18 February 2009, p 11.

[80]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129, p 37.

[81]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129n, p 6.

[82]     Budget 2008-09, viewed on 30 January 2009 at http://www.budget.gov.au/2008-09/content/bp2/html/expense-18.htm.

[83]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129p, p 1.

[84]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129, p 37.

[85]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Fact sheet 62: Assistance for asylum seekers in Australia (2008), viewed on 10 February 2009 at http://www.immi.gov.au/media/fact-sheets/62assistance.htm.

[86]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Annual report 2007-08 (2008), viewed on 11 February 2009 at http://www.immi.gov.au/about/reports/annual/2007-08/html/outcome1/administered1-7.htm.

[87]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129f, p 36.

[88]     Centrelink special benefit is currently paid at a maximum of $449.30 per fortnight for a single person with no dependent children. Centrelink, viewed on 25 February 2009 at http://www.centrelink.gov.au/internet/internet.nsf/payments/newstart_rates.htm.

[89]     Refugee Advice and Casework Service, submission 25, p 3; Joint submission of The Social Justice Board of The Uniting Church in Australia, WA Synod, Social Responsibilities Commission - Anglican Province of Western Australia, Catholic Social Justice Council - Archdiocese of Perth, Council of Churches of Western Australia (WA) Inc, Religious Society of Friends, Perth Meeting, Coalition for Asylum Seekers, Refugees and Detainees (WA) Inc (CARAD), Centre For Advocacy, Support & Education (CASE) For Refugee Inc, and Edmund Rice Institute for Social Justice, Fremantle, submission 29, p 8. Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors, submission 108, p 28, Castan Centre for Human Rights Law, submission 97, p 43, A Just Australia, submission 89,p 23; Forsyth E, submission 28, p 4; NetAct, submission 27, p 6

[90]     Refugee Council of Australia, submission 120, p 4.

[91]     Burnside J, Liberty Victoria, Transcript of evidence, 11 September 2008, pp 48-49.

[92]     Edmund Rice Centre, submission 53, p 3.

[93]     A Just Australia, submission 89.

[94]     Council of Women, submission 111, p 7.

[95]     Law institute of Victoria, Liberty Victoria, The Justice Project, submission, p 43.

[96]     UNHCR, Alternatives to Detention of Asylum Seekers and Refugees (2006), p 48.

[97]     Human Rights Committee, NSW Young Lawyers, submission 59, p 17.

[98]     Human Rights Committee, NSW Young Lawyers, submission 59, p 18.

[99]     Castan Centre for Human Rights Law, submission 97, p 43.

[100]   Steen F, Romero Centre, Transcript of evidence, 23 January 2009, pp 13-14.

[101]   Domicelj T, Asylum Seekers Centre of New South Wales, Transcript of evidence, 24 October 2008, p 53.

[102]   Domicelj T, Asylum Seekers Centre of New South Wales, Transcript of evidence, 24 October 2008, p 57.

[103]   Karapanagiotidis K, Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, Transcript of evidence, 24 October 2008, p 71.

[104]   Scull S, Defending human rights: Community-based asylum seekers in Queensland 2004, p 62, Clapton E, Council of Churches of Western Australia, Transcript of evidence, 9 October 2008, p 2, Hopgood B, Refugee Claimants Support Centre, Transcript of evidence, 23 January 2009, p 2, Saul B, Sydney Centre for International Law, University of Sydney, ‘The Rudd Government’s human rights record: One year on’, speech delivered to New South Wales Young Lawyers, Sydney, 29 October 2008, p 5.

[105]   Karapanagiotidis K, Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, Transcript of evidence, 24 October 2008, p 69.

[106]   Domicelj T, Asylum Seeker Centre of New South Wales, Transcript of evidence, 24 October 2008, p 5.

[107]   Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, submission 93, p 19.

[108]   Joint submission of The Social Justice Board of The Uniting Church in Australia, WA Synod, Social Responsibilities Commission - Anglican Province of Western Australia, Catholic Social Justice Council - Archdiocese of Perth, Council of Churches of Western Australia (WA) Inc, Religious Society of Friends, Perth Meeting, Coalition for Asylum Seekers, Refugees and Detainees (WA) Inc (CARAD), Centre For Advocacy, Support & Education (CASE) For Refugee Inc, and Edmund Rice Institute for Social Justice, Fremantle, submission 29, p 15.

[109]   Metcalfe A, Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Transcript of evidence, 18 February 2009, p 19.


Chapter 5 A coordinated framework for community-based alternatives to detention

[1]       See chapter 2, paragraph 2.11, for further information on temporary alternative detention.

[2]       Senator the Hon C Evans, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, ‘New directions in detention’, speech delivered at Australian National University, 29 July 2008.

 

Additional comments by Senator Sarah Hanson-Young

[1]       Nash C, Refugee Council of Australia, Transcript of evidence, 4 February 2009, p 6.

[2]       A Just Australia website, ‘AJA policy for legal advice’, viewed on 19 May 2005 at http://www.ajustaustralia.com/informationandresources_researchandpapers.php?act=papers&id=111.

[3]       Senator the Hon C Evans, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, ‘New directions in detention’, speech delivered at Australian National University, 29 July 2008.


Minority Report by the Hon. Dr Sharman Stone MP

[1]       Paragraph 5.2 in the Committee’s second report of the inquiry into immigration detention.

[2]       Refer to chapter 3 in the Committee’s second report of the inquiry into immigration detention.

 

Dissenting Report by Mr Petro Georgiou MP

[1]       Labor’s detention values explicitly ban the detention of children in immigration detention centres. Children in the company of family members will be accommodated in immigration residential housing (IRH) or community settings. Senator the Hon C Evans, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, ‘New directions in detention’, speech delivered at Australia National University, 29 July 2008.

[2]       Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, submission 99, p 37.

[3]       Australian Human Rights Commission, 2008 Immigration Detention Report, p 82.

[4]       International Coalition on Detention of Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Migrants, submission 109, section 3.1.

[5]       Australian Human Rights Commission, 2008 Immigration Detention Report, p 63.

[6]       Australian Human Rights Commission, 2008 Immigration Detention Report, p 63.

[7]       Department of Immigration and Citizenship response to the Australian Human Rights Commission’s Immigration Detention Report 2008, pp 40-41.

[8]       Castan Centre for Human Rights Law, submission 97, p 35.

[9]       Australian Human Rights Commission, 2008 Immigration Detention Report, p 59.

[10]     Correll R, Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Transcript of Evidence, 24 September 2008, p 9.

[11]     Georgiou P, Transcript of Evidence, 24 September 2008, p 9.

[12]     Joint Standing Committee on Migration, Immigration detention in Australia: A new beginning – Criteria for release from detention (2008), Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia, pp 165‑171.

[13]     Paragraph 4.31 in the Committee’s second report of the inquiry into immigration detention.

[14]     Paragraph 4.37 in the Committee’s second report of the inquiry into immigration detention.

[15]     Senator the Hon C Evans, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, ‘New directions in detention’, speech delivered at Australian National University, 29 July 2008.


Appendix D: Overview of immigration detention population

[1]       Senator the Hon C Evans, Minster for Immigration and Citizenship, ‘Progress made in long-term immigration detention cases, media release, 24 September 2008.

[2]       Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Immigration detention statistics summary as at 1 May 2009, viewed on 14 May 2009 at http://www.immi.gov.au/managing-australias-borders/detention/_pdf/immigration-detention-statistics-20090501.pdf

[3]       Senator the Hon C Evans, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, ‘Unauthorised boat arrivals arrive on Christmas Island’, media release, 2 October 2008.

[4]       Metcalfe A, Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Transcript of evidence, 18 February 2009, p 5. 

[5]       Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Immigration detention statistics summary as at 20 March 2009, viewed on 31 March 2009 at http://www.immi.gov.au/managing-australias-borders/detention/_pdf/immigration-detention-statistics-20090320.pdf.pdf.

[6]       Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129, p 9.

[7]       Department of Immigration and Citizenship, supplementary submission 129d, p 2.

[8]       Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Immigration detention statistics summary as at 1 May 2009, viewed on 14 May 2009 at http://www.immi.gov.au/managing-australias-borders/detention/_pdf/immigration-detention-statistics-20090501.pdf

[9]       Parliamentary Library, Part 1, ‘Australia and Refugees, 1901–2002: Annotated Chronology Based on Official Sources: Summary’, Chronology No. 2 2002–03, 16 June 2003.

[10]     Hon P Costello MP, Treasurer, Budget Speech 2006 -07, delivered 9 May 2006; Department of Immigration and Citizenship, supplementary submission 129d, p 2.

[11]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129, p 18. The submission states that all families with children and unaccompanied minors who enter into immigration detention are referred to the Minister for possible consideration for community detention arrangements within two weeks of being detained.

[12]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, submission 129d, p 1.

[13]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Immigration detention statistics summary as at 1 May 2009, viewed on 14 May 2009 at http://www.immi.gov.au/managing-australias-borders/detention/_pdf/immigration-detention-statistics-20090501.pdf

[14]     Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Immigration detention statistics summary as at 1 May 2009, viewed on 14 May 2009 at http://www.immi.gov.au/managing-australias-borders/detention/_pdf/immigration-detention-statistics-20090501.pdf


Appendix F: Bridging visa conditions and entitlements -  

[1]       Certain applicants for a graduate skilled, skilled independent overseas student, designated area-sponsored overseas student, skilled Australian sponsored overseas student will have full work rights on their BVA even if the former substantive visa had work restrictions.

[2]       The term ‘compelling need to work’ is where (a) a person is severe financial hardship or (b) been nominated or sponsored by an employer for a substantive visa on skills grounds and appear to meet the requirements of the visa.

[3]       The Support for Victims of People Trafficking Program provides individualised case management and a range of support to victim.  The person is identified as eligible by the AFP. Recipients of the BVF are not permitted to undertake paid employment, however are able to access a range of services which include secure accommodation; a living allowance; a food allowance; an amount for the purchase of essentials such as clothing and toiletries; access to health care, including counselling; access to interpreters; and access to legal services. Viewed on 3 May 2009 at http://www.fahcsia.gov.au/sa/women/progserv/violence/Pages/ peopletrafficking.aspx#3

 

top