ACTION 4: End mandatory detention of people seeking asylum

Thousands of people who have arrived in Australia to seek asylum (refugee protection) have been held in immigration detention - sometimes for many years.  Australia needs to allow people to live in the community while their claims for protection are assessed.    

RCOA Report:   …Australia’s detention policies are some of the harshest in the world. Detention is mandatory for those without a valid visa. It is also indefinite, and there is no independent review…..Australia’s detention policies have been found many times to be in breach of its obligations under international law.   See more detail here: Australia's detention policies 

Once people are in detention, they may remain there for long periods.  See below excerpts from  a policy paper   Policy-freedom  published by the ASRC in 2022 which critiques Australia’s approach to immigration detention, and compares length of stay with international statistics.    

The time people spend in immigration detention has rapidly expanded over the previous decade. In 2012, a person in immigration detention in Australia was held, on average, for less than 100 days, it is now 726 days. For people seeking asylum the average time spend in immigration detention waiting for a visa outcome is 925 days, as of December 2021. Australia is an international outlier with long-term, indefinite mandatory detention being used as a first resort, rather than the last. 

For comparison in Canada, as of 30 June 2022, the average length of detention was only 24 days, while in the United States, as of 21 July 2022, the average length of detention was 43 days. In the United Kingdom, as of 31 March 2022, 57 percent of people in detention had been held for less than 29 days, and 86 per cent had been held for less than six months.

The Albanese Government has released many refugees and people seeking asylum form immigration detention – this is a welcome development.   However, the policy of mandatory detention remains, and we need to urge the government to implement their stated policy of minimising  detention and allowing people to live in the community while their claims for refugee protection are processed.  

 Send a message to the Prime Minister and the Minister Tony Burke.  

• Contact Form for the Prime Minister: www.pm.gov.au/contact 

• Email address for Minister Burke: tony.burke.mp@aph.gov.au 

Suggested points for your email (Include your name and address in your email.)

• Mandatory Detention of people seeking asylum is not consistent with international law, and this policy must be abandoned.

• People be detained only while security and health checks are completed. 

• People need to be provided with basic supports to live in the community while their claims for refugee protection are assessed.