Monthly Wrap - 5 May 2021

In the media

In Court

Two cases commenced in the courts that could have implications for people who are or were in immigration detention. One is the appeal of a landmark habeas corpus ruling against the government. In the other, a man is suing the government for the mental ill-health he alleges was caused by his five years in detention. Refugees detained in a hotel in Darwin commenced proceedings against the government for false imprisonment and negligence. The Federal Court overturned a finding of unlawful conduct against former Immigration Minister Alan Tudge. Meanwhile Defence Minister Peter Dutton commenced defamation proceedings against a refugee advocate.

In Detention

The owner of the Brisbane hotel where asylum seeker men were formerly detained took legal action against the tenant for damages, failure to disclose how the hotel was being used and undertaking works without permission. The men were relocated to detention in Brisbane and Melbourne. Senator Kristina Keneally resorted to a commercial flight to Christmas Island after the Defence Minister revoked access to a RAAF plane for a scheduled Senate Committee tour. The Senator visited the family of four who remain in detention on Christmas Island.

Offshore

A gang reportedly attacked a compound in Port Moresby where refugees are housed.

In Community

A Hazara man who came to Australia by boat hopes to be selected for the Refugee Olympics Team in Tokyo.

International

The UNHCR published a data series showing how climate change is exacerbating the pre-existing factors behind forced displacement, such as political instability, conflicts over resources and poverty. Evidence was presented in court showing Italy knew that Libya routinely ignored their requests for assistance to boats stranded at sea. Hundreds of asylum seekers and migrants drowned as a result, and the frequency of deaths off the Libyan coast continues. The South African government gave refugees camped in Cape Town a two-week ultimatum – voluntary repatriation with IOM and UNHCR assistance, or local integration. Meanwhile around 2,000 people fled into Chad after renewed conflict erupted in the Central African Republic. 

A German court has heard that a right-wing extremist group planned to attack asylum seekers, Muslim people and politicians in an effort to destroy democracy. Canada’s practice of turning back asylum seekers who arrive via the USA has been declared lawful. Mexico has experienced a dramatic increase in the number of asylum applications lodged compared to the same time last year.

In policy

People who came to Australia by boat before August 2012 and have since secured permanent residency are given the lowest priority in the processing of family reunion applications (for their spouses and children). Some have been waiting for more than 10 years to be reunited with their family. Australia’s systematic separation of family of those who seek asylum was detailed in the Human Rights Law Centre’s ‘Together in Safety’ report.

Despite no new arrivals on Nauru since 2014 and a significant reduction in the number of asylum seekers and refugees who remain there, data shows that a Brisbane company (Canstruct) has received $1.4 billion in funding for garrison services from 2017 to 2021. Meanwhile some who were released from many years in onshore and offshore detention continue to have nightmares about their experience.

In research

Using the example of a 2015 Australian Government telemovie, a study analysed the gendered dimension of public information campaigns aimed at dissuading people from attempting to enter a country for protection. 

New releases

Still Alive – a new visual novel by Safdar Ahmed, an artist who ran an art project in the Villawood Detention Centre (Sydney).

Monthly Wrap - 5 April 2021

In the media

In Court

A government lawyer told a court that the Immigration Minister could consider deporting recognised refugees ‘in an appropriate case’ regardless of the harm they could face on return. Such action would breach non-refoulement; customary law whereby nations cannot return recognised refugees to potential persecution, degrading treatment or death.

The High Court ruled that the cancellation of an Afghan refugee’s protection visa was invalid because the notice served on him did not specify the exact date by which a challenge would need to be lodged. A Federal Court judge expressed concern that detainee requests to be returned to PNG and Nauru are seemingly ignored until a case is brought before the court. 

In Detention

The Department of Home Affairs and its subcontractor International Health and Medical Services, were charged with breaching workplace safety laws in relation to a suicide in Villawood Detention Centre in 2019. Meanwhile the family known as the Biloela family passed three years in detention, and three men detained in Brisbane required medical assistance after incidents including an attempted suicide and an apparent altercation. Senator Lambie backtracked on her threat to reveal the deal she made with the Government to secure her vote for the repeal of the so-called Medevac legislation in 2019.

Offshore

China called on Australia to shut down its offshore detention program and refugees in PNG tested positive for COVID-19.

International

While the conflict in Syria passed a 10-year milestone, Denmark removed the residence rights of 94 Syrian refugees on the basis that their home city of Damascus is now safe. The UK was condemned for exploring the adoption of Australia’s offshore detention regime, and a group of residents in Kent revealed a covert operation to rescue people who attempt to get to England by boat. In Greece, a father who faces imprisonment for endangering his son’s life at sea, explained why he attempted the sea crossing. In Asia, Rohingya refugees were killed when a fire engulfed a camp in Cox’s Bazaar. In Africa, the UNHCR was taken by surprise when Kenya announced that Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps will be closed. The UNHCR inspected refugee camps in Ethiopia’s Tigray region that were recently destroyed, and the World Food Program launched a financial appeal for refugees in East Africa whose rations were cut.

In policy

Australia’s new Home Affairs Minister, Karen Andrews, was urged to take immediate action to resolve the protracted uncertainty experienced by people seeking asylum. Labor accused the former Attorney General, Christian Porter, of having misrepresented legal advice he had received about the risks posed by the so-called Medevac legislation.

Charities saw a significant rise in the prevalence of asylum seekers who have lost access to Medicare due to administrative problems around the renewal of their bridging visas. This has caused people to lose access to cancer treatment, psychological treatment and to being told that they are ineligible for free COVID-19 tests.

A new legal clinic was launched to provide citizenship advice to families whose children were born in Australia to parents who are stateless, and the media was criticised for repeating government claims that Operation Sovereign Borders had stopped the boats, when data shows that boat traffic had significantly decreased prior to the program’s commencement.

In research

A new paper explores the relationship between refugee experiences of time and their decisions to attempt onward migration, despite the physical dangers and legal barriers that states implement to block their arrival.

New releases

Where the Water Ends by Zoe Holman – a new book on the experiences of people seeking asylum in Europe.

No Friends but the Mountains: A Symphonic Song Cycle – an orchestral adaptation of Behrouz Boochani’s book, by Australian composer Luke Styles. 

Monthly Wrap - 3 March 2021

In the media

In Court

The Federal Court heard a number of matters relating to asylum seekers in February. The full bench of the court ordered the government to provide funding so that a medically evacuated asylum seeker can secure sufficiently experienced legal representation in his unlawful detention case. This was in recognition that the case has ramifications for other medical evacuees in onshore detention.

In a similar matter, a judge warned that the government risks a finding of habeas corpus if the plaintiffs in question are not released, resettled or returned offshore by the next hearing date (on 3 March 2021). Meanwhile the government lost its appeal against the family from Biloela and was criticised for its communication with the family.

In detention

An asylum seeker who was transferred onshore in 2019 for medical reasons died of a heart attack. His death has prompted calls for better independent oversight of the medical attention given to people who have been subject to indefinite detention.

More than 200 health professionals signed a letter calling on the government to release families who have been detained in Darwin for more than a year. Melbourne City Council rejected a motion to intervene in the detention of asylum seekers in a city hotel. Instead, the council agreed to ensure that adequate services were being made available to the men. A refugee who has been in hotel detention for more than 18 months, following seven years in offshore detention, spoke out against their treatment.

The Department of Home Affairs extended a six month contract, totalling $221 million, for offshore detention services on Nauru. This equates to around $10,000 per person per day.

International

The coup in Myanmar has exacerbated the uncertainty facing displaced Rohingya people. Meanwhile, the Indian coastguard located a boat adrift at sea carrying 81 survivors and eight dead. All are Rohingyan people who departed Bangladesh on 11 February 2021.

Europe has received its lowest number of asylum applications in eight years due to COVID-19-related travel restrictions. In Greece, a woman who attempted suicide by self-immolation has been charged with arson. She had been granted refugee status with her family, but their onward travel to Germany had been postponed due to her advanced pregnancy.

The US government announced  a restoration of funding to UNRWA (the UN agency responsible for humanitarian aid to Palestinian refugees). However the deficit caused by sudden cessation of funding, under the previous government, has threatened UNRWA’s viability.

In policy

The Minister for Foreign Affairs made a statement to the United Nations in which she condemned arbitrary detention and asserted the need for all nations to comply with international law. Meanwhile independent MP Andrew Wilkie introduced a private members bill to end indefinite detention.

In research

Madeline Gleeson at the UNSW’s Kaldor Centre writes on the impact of COVID-19 on Australia’s role in responding to asylum seekers arriving by sea.

The Castan Centre for Human Rights Law and the Monash Migration and Inclusion Centre published a report examining the significance of the sudden economic and social crisis that COVID-19 presented, the vulnerabilities of migrants in the labour market and the need for policy responses that recognise Australia’s human rights obligations and target the intersecting causes of migrants’ precariousness.

A study into the impact of immigration detention on those who are employed to detain has culminated in an audio-visual exhibition called Agonistes.

Syrian refugees in four European countries were surveyed to explore the factors that contributed towards a sense of integration with the wider community. The study found language proficiency, age and whether people had any choice as to their country of refuge played a role in their integration.

Monthly Wrap - 3 February 2021

In the media

Detention

Around 60 people who were transferred onshore under ‘medevac legislation’ were released in December and January. The majority had been detained in hotels since July 2019. More than 150 of their peers remain in locked detention, including five families who have been detained in a hotel in Darwin for more than a year. Protests and rallies to highlight the plight of detained refugees were held over the holiday period, and Australians mailed Christmas cards to the family from Biloela who passed 1,000 days in locked detention at a cost of more than $6 million.

In the courts

The High Court ruled that lower courts can hear ‘duty of care’ cases brought by asylum seekers who were held offshore. However it also conceded that the Government can use a section of the Migration Act to argue that the case must be heard in the High Court. Meanwhile former Acting Immigration Minister, Alan Tudge, has appealed a Court ruling that he acted unlawfully when he failed to release an asylum seeker from detention.

International

The new US administration committed to increasing America’s annual refugee intake. The treatment of Uighur people in China was detailed in a long-form feature by a person who was held in the ‘re-education’ camp for two years. The conflict in Tigray, Ethiopia, caused a large exodus of people into Sudan. Bosnia was urged to provide adequate accommodation for around 3,000 refugees and migrants who are sleeping on the streets or in abandoned buildings. Bangladesh continued to relocate thousands of Rohingya refugees to a remote island, despite widespread criticism. Spain launched the first ever publicly funded centre dedicated to asylum seekers who identify as LGBTI.

In policy

At the UN Human Rights Council more than 40 countries criticised Australia’s human rights record, including its asylum seeker policies. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights detailed a number of concerns about Australia’s human rights situation. Earlier, the government rejected the majority of recommendations in the Australian Human Rights Commission’s detention inspection report for 2019.

The Australian Information Commissioner concluded its lengthy investigation into the accidental publication of the personal details of more than 10,000 asylum seekers in 2014. The Government has been ordered to pay compensation to more than 1,300 people.

During December the Guardian ran a Lives in Limbo series comprising a range of articles about the situation of asylum seekers who remain ineligible to apply for protection because they arrived by boat after the government changed its asylum policy in July 2013.

The 2000 Cabinet Papers were released. They reveal an increasing concern about the arrival of asylum seekers by boat, concern about growing unrest on mainland immigration detention centres and a preference for contracting out detention centre operations.  

In research

The Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, UNSW, in partnership with the Raoul Wallenberg Institute, Lund University, announced the launch of a new Displaced Scholars Peer Mentoring Program. The program aims to support early career scholars who have experienced displacement and are researching and/or studying in the field of refugee and forced migration studies to pursue their academic and professional goals.

Shout outs

A young man achieved Dux of his school less than three years after arriving in Australia as a refugee. Meanwhile a woman who fled Kenya in 1999 won the 2021 Australia Day Local Hero Award.

Monthly Wrap 1 December 2020

In the media

Detention

A detained refugee brought a test case against the Australian Government, arguing that the widespread handcuffing of detainees for offsite appointments is unlawful.  

A group of the most recent medical transferees were moved into the community. While this is standard practice and has been applied to more than 1,200 ex-offshore detainees, it was significant because none of the men who were transferred under the so-called ‘medevac legislation’ have been moved out of locked detention. One of the detained men was denied permission to visit his wife in hospital.

Community

A Sri Lankan family received deportation orders following their father’s death (the primary visa holder), despite awaiting an outcome on their asylum claim. The local community has rallied to demand the family is given permission to stay.

International

The number of refugees resettled globally in 2020 hit an historic low. Greece faces legal action for allegedly returning Syrians to Turkey and was slammed by an EU committee for the conditions in its migrant centres. More than 110 people drowned in three days trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea and the Mayor of Paris expressed horror at the brutal way in which police dismantled a migrant camp there. The British Home Office forced volunteers to sign confidentiality agreements prohibiting the disclosure of information about operations in an asylum seeker facility. The election of Joe Biden in the USA offers positive prospects for the country’s refugee policies.  

In policy

An annual review of the best and worst legislation in 2019 (by right and left-leaning think tanks) found the repeal of the so-called ‘medevac law’ ranked amongst the lowest in terms of justification and need. As Australia’s treatment of asylum seekers was slammed by former federal Labor MP Barry Jones and labelled by actor Cate Blanchett as ‘not our finest hour’, 60 organisations launched the Time for a Home campaign demanding the resettlement of detained refugees and asylum seekers (onshore and offshore) by World Refugee Day, 21 June 2021.

Following their 2020 virtual conference, the Kaldor Centre released Temporary; an online exhibition of the cohort of asylum seekers who are ineligible for permanent residence due to Australian immigration policy. Refugee Action Collective (RAC) Sydney held a virtual forum on refugees and the media.

In research

In a new book, University of Queensland researchers argue there is no credible evidence of a link between asylum seekers and terrorism.

Monthly Wrap - 4 November 2020

In the media

Federal Budget

The Federal Budget included a $120 million cut to financial support for families and individuals who were transferred onshore for medical reasons. The cut took charities by surprise and was criticised as the final step in a systematic dismantling of Australia’s onshore asylum framework. The Government also removed 5,000 places from the annual humanitarian quota to save almost $1 billion, and refused to introduce any new pathways for asylum seekers to achieve settlement in Australia. Meanwhile the annual intake of refugees in 2019-20 fell short of the allocation, due to COVID-19 response measures.

Detention

In Brisbane, a refugee who remains in locked detention, despite being transferred onshore to be with his wife and child, attempted suicide. A Queensland police officer is being investigated for allegedly assaulting a man outside the hotel detention facility. Meanwhile authorities confirmed that a further 24 asylum seekers and refugees were transferred onshore for medical reasons in the past two months.

Courts

As the case to stop the deportation of the family from Biloela returned to the Federal Court, their experience of detention on Christmas Island was detailed by SBS News. An asylum seeker sued for false imprisonment after a judge found he was unlawfully detained. Lawyers questioned the extent to which federal ministers respect the rule of law in light of recent findings against ministers within the Department of Home Affairs.

International

Canada announced an increase to its annual humanitarian intake for 2021-2023. The European Union’s new Migration Pact was criticised for the extent to which it will restrict people’s ability to seek asylum. The UK Government reportedly considered an Australian-style offshore processing regime and legislation, whereby the rights available to asylum seekers would depend on the way in which they arrived. The ongoing persecution of Uyghur people in China was extensively detailed by the Economist. The former Interior Minister of Italy was charged with kidnapping over his 2019 decision to prevent people from disembarking a coastguard ship.

In policy

Refugee advocates delivered a petition to Parliament calling on the Government to accept New Zealand’s longstanding offer to resettle Australia’s offshore refugees. Earlier, officials confirmed that the offer is under active consideration, and that the USA resettlement program has accepted a total of 1,120 people to date.

Meanwhile, Senator Lambie will reveal the deal she struck over the ‘medevac’ repeal Bill if the Government does not do so by year’s end.

A new podcast was released on the plight of more than 14,000 people stranded in Indonesia following Australia’s reduction in refugee resettlement. A journalist spoke of his regret in deciding not to publish images of an asylum seeker who died by suicide on Manus Island in 2017.

In research

From 17 November, the Kaldor Centre is hosting a three-day virtual conference, ‘New frontiers of refugee law in a closed world’. The conference will host a range of leaders from around the world, and explore what the post-pandemic world will look like for refugees and other forced migrants.

Three researchers have examined offshore processing arrangements of four different periods and regions—the Safe Havens of the United States with Jamaica and the Turks and Caicos Islands; the 2001 and 2012 Pacific Solutions of Australia with Nauru and Papua New Guinea; and the EU-Turkey deal. The article considers whether each of these arrangements had an impact on the ratification of refugee and human rights-related treaties by the states receiving the asylum seekers and refugees.

Jane McAdam and Jonathan Pryke write on climate change and the likely impacts on Pacific Islanders, calling for Australia to enhance mobility for Pacific peoples and reduce vulnerability to the impacts of disaster and climate change in the region.

The UNHCR’s annual Dialogue on Protection Challenges commenced in October, themed ‘protection and resilience during pandemics’. The Dialogue, continuing through to December, is focused on the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for the protection and resilience of refugees and people who are internally displaced or stateless and their host communities.

Monthly Wrap – 1 October 2020

In the media

Detention

Data obtained by SBS News revealed a concerning escalation in self-harm incidents in immigration detention in 2020. The rise was attributed to the combined effects of protracted detention and social isolation, due to visits having been suspended since March. Media outlets ran stories on how some people use music and writing to cope with indefinite detention.

A critically ill man remains in immigration detention after lengthy negotiations between his lawyer and the government failed. The man was refused refugee status on the basis of an alleged Interpol notice. Interpol has twice said it has no record of him. Meanwhile, it was revealed that refugees were among those recently transferred to the Christmas Island detention centre, despite Australian Border Force assurances to the contrary. 

In the courts

A Federal Court judge found that the Acting Immigration Minister had engaged in ‘criminal’ conduct by unlawfully detaining an asylum seeker, and warned the Minister that he had exposed himself to potential civil and criminal litigation.

In an Australian first, a man in immigration detention won a habeas corpus case resulting in his immediate release. The case may have implications for others in indefinite immigration detention who are unable to be relocated from Australia. Meanwhile, a man passed more than 11 years in detention despite being found to be owed protection. He was released (2 October 2020) after a successful petition calling on the Government to action Federal Court orders to review his case.

PNG and Nauru

The inquest into the death of Omid Masoumali resumed after COVID-19 delays. The inquest will investigate Mr Masoumali’s mental health care prior to his death by self-immolation (Nauru, 2016).

Resettlements to the USA continued, however hundreds more refugees remain on PNG and Nauru, some of whom have been approved for resettlement in the USA or are waiting on outcomes of their applications to Canada’s refugee sponsorship program.

Some refugees on Nauru reportedly refused medical transfers to Australia for fear of being detained without treatment in worse conditions.

The New York Times published a reflective piece by Behrouz Boochani on his experience of immigration detention in the context of the ‘White Australia’ policy. 

International

Japan announced it will no longer detain asylum seekers while their status is being determined. Uganda, long lauded as a model host for refugees, shut down more than 200 refugee aid agencies for their failure to comply with local regulations. In Greece, 12,000 refugees were made homeless after a fire destroyed the Moria camp (Lesvos). The situation amplified divisions within the EU amidst agreement on a new EU Migration Pact. Those affected by the fire on Lesvos include minors awaiting family reunion. Reports show that the vulnerability of children seeking asylum in Europe has not improved. Meanwhile, refugees continue to attempt English Channel crossings.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights warned of further war crimes against Rohingya in Myanmar. Rohingya refugees held on a Bangladeshi silt island since April alleged they were sexually assaulted by local police. In the USA, investigations are underway into allegations that women in immigration detention have been subjected to 'mass hysterectomies’. The election outcome will directly impact America’s asylum policy.

In policy

The Government has commenced exiting around 500 people from Community Detention onto Bridging Visas. They will be given 3 weeks notice to vacate their properties and the majority will have their stipends ceased. While it will give people freedom of choice, it comes at a time of unparalleled economic uncertainty and strain on charities. Australia’s migration and humanitarian program is expected to be adjusted in the upcoming budget. A controversial bill that would prohibit items like mobile phones in immigration detention passed the lower house. Jacqui Lambie launched a public poll to guide her vote.

The Kaldor Centre published a proposal for an overhaul of asylum processes at Australian airports. Recommendations include abandoning the policy of automatic visa cancellation for prospective asylum claimants, and legislation to govern how asylum screening procedures occur at airports.

A Refugee Council of Australia proposal to give refugees on Temporary Protection Visas and Safe Haven Enterprise Visas a direct path to permanent residency in exchange for working on farms gained the support of some Government and opposition MPs. The proposal was met with some caution.

Human Rights Watch’s submission to Australia’s 2020 UN Universal Periodic Review documented abuse and neglect of people seeking asylum. It found insufficient progress had been made on improvements the government had agreed to in its 2015 review.

In research

Daniel Ghezelbash and Asylum Insight’s Nik Tan published a working paper on the impacts of COVID-19 on the extinguishment of the right to seek asylum, looking at how this played out in Australia, Canada, Europe and the US. The paper also explores strategies for restoring and protecting the right to seek asylum beyond the pandemic.

The Refugee Law Initiative published research into what happens to people who have been refused refugee status in developing countries. Focusing on Egypt, the study found no clear pattern of movement. Whereas developed countries pursue policies of deportation or incentivised returns, failed asylum seekers in developing countries tend to make their own decisions about staying, moving on or returning.

From the Kaldor Centre, Savitri Taylor writes on repatriation of the Rohingya, commonly viewed by the international community as a preferred durable solution. Brian Gorlick writes on the International Court of Justice order made in January 2020 for the Gambia v Myanmar matter, its significance for international law, and concern it will not solve the Rohingya refugee crisis. 

The University of South Australia’s Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Research Group published a new study finding mental health issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression and suicidality widespread among people seeking asylum in Western nations. The research examined data from Australia, Europe, Canada and the United States, finding asylum seekers from all regions face numerous systemic mental health challenges.

Monthly Wrap - 2 September 2020

In the media

Detention

Huyen Thu Thi Tran and her two-year-old daughter Isabella, who was born in detention, were released from a Melbourne immigration detention centre. The Acting Immigration Minister cited an incident of a Brisbane immigration detainee accused of possessing and distributing ‘child exploitation material’, as justification for the proposed legislation to empower ABF officers to seize electronic devices in immigration detention. Queensland police have not released any information regarding the man's background.

Darebin City Council (Melbourne) passed a motion to explore the planning regulations regarding hotel detention. Specifically, whether the men detained in the Bellcity Mantra are ‘away from their usual place of residence’ and whether the definition of ‘hotel accommodation’ excludes detention. One of the men detained in the hotel wrote about their experience over the past seven years.

The Supreme Court in Queensland ruled that a planned bridge blockade by refugee supporters could not go ahead because it would infringe on public rights. Instead, a smaller group of supporters staged a peak-hour march through the city to protest the ongoing detention of people in a Kangaroo Point hotel. 

The Prime Minister’s post of himself cooking a Sri Lankan curry caused a public backlash about the Murugappan family who remain detained on Christmas Island. Meanwhile, the transfer of around 250 men from mainland detention facilities to Christmas Island commenced. Australian Border Force stated that people seeking asylum would not be among those transferred and put the cost of the operation at $55 million.    

COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to have an impact on people seeking asylum in Australia. Thousands have lost work and are ineligible for Federal Government support. Charities are struggling with demand and have called for a rational response from the Government towards people seeking asylum. A 68-year-old Melbourne immigration detainee with underlying health issues lost his court battle against being forcibly transferred to Yongah Hill Immigration Detention Centre in Perth over COVID-19 fears.

Papua New Guinea is seeing a rise in COVID-19 infections. Refugees and asylum seekers there expressed concern about their vulnerability due to the mental and physical toll of the past seven years. Meanwhile, resettlements to the USA continued. More than 800 people have been transferred under the USA-Australia deal to date.

International

Reuters reported on the effects of COVID-19 on global refugee resettlements. Canada offered permanent residency to asylum seekers who work in care roles associated with their pandemic response. In the USA, officers engaged on the refugee resettlement program fear that the pandemic has given their government an opportunity for a more permanent contraction of their refugee program. The UK has experienced a higher incidence of attempted boat arrivals over their summer. This prompted a feature story on the people aboard those boats. In Scotland a woman who experienced chronic destitution after she lost her work rights was found dead next to her baby. The incident caused an outpouring of support from Glaswegians. Far right activists were filmed harassing asylum seekers who are being housed in hotels.

Another boat capsized off the coast of Libya and at least 55 people drowned. Meanwhile, a new rescue boat for the Mediterranean Sea, funded by street artist Banksy, rescued 219 people in its first 10 days of operation. Its pleas for help from European countries went ignored until Italy relented. The situation facing Rohingya people in Myanmar was profiled in a story about the upcoming elections there. In Gaza, a lockdown has been imposed after families living in the al-Maghazi refugee camp tested positive. And Germany marked five years since the peak of the crisis for refugees.

In policy

The Acting Immigration Minister reported that detention costs have reduced by $1.89 billion since 2013/14. This figure excludes the approx. $7.6 billion spent on offshore detention and processing. In addition, the Acting Immigration Minister stated that 70% of the people in detention are awaiting deportation after completing prison sentences. Whereas the latest Department of Home Affairs statistics shows the figure to be 46%. 

The Commonwealth Ombudsman released their latest six-monthly monitoring report into detention (for the period July-December 2019). The report highlighted particular concerns about the excessive and frequent use of force in Australia’s immigration detention facilities. The experiences of people in immigration detention were featured in The Saturday Paper and The Monthly, as well as a new campaign urging the Government to accept the spare room offers that Australians have made to people in detention.

Australia’s failure to protect the rights of refugees, and the harm caused by years of uncertainty for people still in PNG and Nauru, were a focus of Amnesty International’s latest submission to the United Nations Periodic Review (UPR). The UPR is an assessment of each UN member states’ human rights record.

In research

In Crime, Media, Culture: An International Journal, authors write of the experience of those incarcerated in Australia’s immigration detention and the disproportionate impacts of COVID-19 on people seeking asylum, refugees and other non-citizens.

The Mixed Migration Centre released initial findings from a study adapting their 4Mi data collection program to capture evidence of the impacts of COVID-19 on refugees and migrants. Between April and July, the Centre conducted almost 7,000 interviews with refugees and migrants in 13 different countries across Africa, Latin America and Asia.

The Kaldor Centre released a special series, ‘The Andaman Sea Crisis Five Years On’, aiming to inform regional discussions about protection. The series provides analysis from refugees, academics, human rights organisations and others at the forefront of forming regional policy in this area.

The Kaldor Centre’s Emerging Scholars Network has received a grant to deliver a mentoring program to promote partnerships and opportunities for early-career scholars of forced migration with lived experiences of displacement.

Monthly Wrap - 4 August 2020

In the media

Courts

Minister Dutton was again warned he risked contempt of court charges when his office notified the federal court that he had been unavailable to make a decision on a person’s asylum claim. The Minister avoided the charges at late notice by rejecting the asylum claim.

Detention

The cost of Australia’s detention contract with Serco (the company that manages Australia’s immigration detention) was confirmed as $2.5 billion. The amount was provided at a Senate Estimates hearing where it was also revealed that 22 Serco staff have been investigated for allegedly bringing contraband into detention centres.

19 July 2020 marked the seventh anniversary of the reinstatement of offshore processing. The milestone was commemorated in a number of ways. A man detained in Melbourne released a musical tribute to the Australian woman who has supported him throughout his ordeal. In Brisbane protestors held a rally outside the detention hotel and stated that they would blockade the Story Bridge if people are not released. A woman was charged with trespass after she tried to visit a refugee in hospital in Brisbane. Various profile pieces were published on the impact the protracted state of limbo has had on people.

An interpreter who worked for the US forces in Afghanistan faces indefinite detention in Australia. He had been living in Australia on a bridging visa without work rights and committed a robbery, for which he received a suspended sentence in 2016. He has been in immigration detention since.

Priya Murugappan, the mother and wife of the Tamil family who remain detained on Christmas Island, was transferred to a Perth hospital for tests where she stayed for around 10 days. Her husband and children were refused permission to accompany her. Minister Dutton said that the family was gaming the system and that he wanted the situation to ‘…come to an end’. His comments were rebuked.

SBS News published an in-depth report into a two-year old child who has spent her entire life in detention in Melbourne.

COVID-19

A guard at the detention hotel in Melbourne tested positive for COVID-19. Men held at the hotel expressed fear, but the Department of Home Affairs confirmed that the guard had not been on-site in the lead up to the positive test. The facility underwent a deep clean. In Sydney, a number of guards who work at the Villawood detention centre were ordered to self-isolate after they had been to a pub at the centre of a COVID-19 cluster.

International

Behrouz Boochani was granted protection in New Zealand. He was notified of the decision exactly seven years since his arrival to Australia. The news was accompanied by an in-depth account of his adjustment to life in New Zealand.

For some months the media have covered the situation of Rohingya people stranded at sea due to pandemic-related border closures. Bangladesh refused to allow refugees to leave an island where they were taken after having been adrift at sea. Malaysia agreed to stop returning boats to the high seas, but many on board those boats have reportedly been imprisoned and caned for arriving without a valid permit. The caning order was subsequently overturned by an appeal court. The significant hardening of Malaysia’s treatment of Rohingya refugees was reportedly a result of changed domestic political dynamics. 

In Syria, COVID-19 was confirmed to have reached Idlib where displaced Syrians live in overcrowded camps. In Italy, a ship carrying 180 people who had been rescued from their boats was given permission to dock in Sicily so that those on board could receive medical treatment and be quarantined under COVID-19 measures. In the English Channel, people were rescued and returned to France after their boat capsized. Norway announced LGBTIQ people will be prioritised under its refugee program.  

The UNHCR raised concerns that the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are also heightening risks of trafficking and exploitation for refugees, internally displaced and stateless people.

In policy

The Refugee Council of Australia released a report into Australia’s offshore detention system. The report compiles data obtained from Senate Estimates and under Freedom of Information to detail the facts about offshore detention over the past seven years.

Following China’s passing of new security laws pertaining to Hong Kong, the Australian government committed to offering safe haven to people whose safety was at risk. Instead of protection visas, the government announced that Hong Kongers in Australia could apply for a 4-year extension to their existing visa. Dozens of people in Australia had reportedly already requested safe haven.   

The Commonwealth Ombudsman published its 6-monthly detention inspection report. The inspection did not include detention hotels (Alternative Places of Detention). The report details the COVID-19 risks in detention centres due to the facility layout, operations and the higher than usual number of people in detention as global travel restrictions have further complicated deportations. 

The European Union was urged not to consider adopting elements of Australia’s offshore detention regime. The call came from a man who was formerly detained on Manus Island and is now a resident of Switzerland. 

In research

The University of Auckland launched its new Centre for Asia Pacific Refugee Studies, as a faculty research centre within the Faculty of Education and Social Work. The Centre will work to bring together academia, refugee communities, government, civil society and the private sector to work on current and future forced displacement situations.

The World Health Organisation commenced a global survey, ‘ApartTogether’ to support a global study to assess the public health social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on refugees and migrants. The survey closes on 31 August 2020.

In April 2020, Kaldor Centre’s Director Professor Jane McAdam contributed to development of 14 Principles of protection for migrants, refugees and other displaced people during COVID-19, alongside a number of experts globally. This month Professor McAdam presented on the Principles to better equip front line staff in Bangladesh to recognise protection needs and understand what rights Rohingya refugees have. 

Tina Dixson writes on the lives of LGBTIQ+ people seeking asylum in Australia during COVID-19.
 

Monthly Wrap - 1 July 2020

In the media

Courts

The Federal Court warned Minister Dutton and Minister Tudge that they would be held in contempt of court if they continued to defy a court ruling that a man’s protection claim should be decided “shortly”. The court stated that the Department of Home Affairs’ refusal to decide the man’s claim was “contrary to law”. The situation was detailed in an opinion piece by the principal solicitor in the case.

A former security guard on Manus Island reached an out of court settlement with the Australian Government on a case alleging psychological trauma as a result of the 2014 riots at the detention centre, where one person was killed and 77 injured. His case was to argue that the government and the security contractor, G4S, failed to provide adequate protective equipment and training in the lead up to the riot.

Detention

CNN published a long-form report on Australia’s use of hotels to detain people who were medically evacuated from PNG and Nauru. One of the hotels, in Brisbane, was the site of regular protests through June that culminated in a blockade. Protestors sought to prevent the transfer of men to Brisbane’s immigration detention centre by searching vehicles that entered and exited the hotel site. Some organisers were arrested, but charges were later dropped. Dozens more were arrested in the third weekend of protests.

In Sydney a planned rally went ahead despite a court-ordered ban due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In Wollongong an indefinite sleep-out to protest the indefinite detention of asylum seekers reached a 300 night milestone. Doctors say they will continue the sleep-out until the indefinite detention of asylum seekers ends.

In Melbourne protestors were arrested after they locked themselves in a cage on the roof of a cafe co-located with a hotel where people have been detained since last year. Earlier in the month a rally was split across different locations to get around bans on large gatherings.

The Saturday Paper reported on the plight of asylum seekers who cannot access Australia’s COVID-19 support packages and featured a story of a father and son who are the last family on Nauru.

Twenty-eight refugees were resettled in the US this month under the agreement reached with the previous US administration.

International

Some nations are anticipating an exodus of people from Hong Kong as China pursues legislation that would permit its security agencies to be deployed in Hong Kong. Dozens of student protestors have claimed asylum in Australia, and Britain has asked countries in the Five Eyes network, which includes Australia, to join them in offering sanctuary.

The predicament of Rohingya people who have been stranded at sea since February continued. Around 22 boats have been turned back or forced back to open waters, smugglers have reportedly demanded payments from the family members of those on board the boats that are at sea, and in one instance around 270 people on board a damaged trawler were taken into custody by Malaysian authorities. Indonesian villagers took it upon themselves to rescue 94 Rohingya people from their stricken boat after authorities refused to assist.

In Greece locals have reported a new phenomenon where boats arrive with people on board who vanish soon after landing, with authorities claiming that the boats were empty. Locals believe that people are being returned to their point of departure; a contravention of international law. 

In policy

The Senate’s Legal and Social Issues Committee is examining a bill proposed by the Federal Government that would allow a ban on mobile phones in onshore immigration detention centres, to stop drug and contraband items circulating in the facilities. The bill would also expand guards’ powers to conduct searches. The Committee received evidence from organisations such as UNHCR, the Australian Medical Association, the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law and Serco. While Serco is supportive of the amendments, other organisations raised concerns for the potential damage to refugees’ mental health and the potential for a constitutional challenge because of the bill’s effect on freedom of expression.

The Commonwealth Ombudsman committed to publishing their monitoring reports into the implementation of COVID-19 protocols at immigration detention centres. The report was due for release in June.

In research

The UNHCR released its 2019 annual Global Trends report, presenting a range of findings. At the end of 2019, the UNHCR reported a total of 79.5 million people around the world had been forcibly displaced, up from 70.8 million the year before. Of this, 45.7 million are internally displaced people and 4.2 million are asylum seekers.

A study into the reporting of self-harm incidents among asylum seekers (held onshore and offshore) highlights a number of reporting and systems failures. The study analysed 949 self-harm incident reports from 1 August 2014 to 31 July 2015. Its findings included (i) low rates of recording the medical severity of the self-harm, (ii) a widespread failure to record who saw the person following the incident, and (iii) a failure to record whether or not psychosocial assessment was provided. The study recommends data recording changes that would ensure better compliance with WHO standards and the introduction of an independent monitoring mechanism for self-harm incidents among asylum seekers that are held onshore and offshore.

In her article, Jenny Poon challenges the argument that non-refoulement obligations do not apply unless and until an individual is within the territory of a state and that formal asylum procedures seeking refugee status have commenced. Poon’s article argues that regardless of the proximity of an individual to the border or territory of a state or the individual’s legal status, states have responsibility for complying with non-refoulement obligations, including when on the high seas.

Monthly Wrap - 2 June 2020

In the media

Detention

The Public Interest Advocacy Centre lodged an official complaint with the Commonwealth Ombudsman on behalf of 13 asylum seekers, saying the conditions in Australia’s immigration detention where they are being held could lead to a "catastrophic" coronavirus outbreak among detainees. The group reported that up to five men are sharing one room and twelve men are sharing one shower and toilet.

Refugee activists occupied a hotel in Melbourne where around 60 men have been detained since they were transferred to Australia for medical treatment. The activists hung protest banners from the roof of the hotel and barricaded themselves in a hotel room. Police escorted protestors from the premises and fined them for breaching Victoria’s COVID-19 rules. On the same day, a refugee detained in the hotel attempted suicide and was taken to hospital. The protest and attempted suicide were reportedly unrelated.   

A man who was separated from his wife and son for 3 years remains in locked detention despite being less than an hour from their home. The family had been detained on Nauru when the child needed to be medically transferred to Australia. The man was refused permission to accompany them, but was subsequently transferred to Australia a year ago. He says that his son no longer recognises him.

Resettlement

The transfer of refugees and asylum seekers to the USA from Australia, PNG and Nauru resumed. Over the course of May, around 40 men were resettled under the 2016 Australia-USA refugee transfer agreement. One of the men in PNG was told he would be leaving for the USA, but received a call to say his name had been removed from the list one day before departure – reportedly for the second time in two months. 

The NZ opposition alleged political interference in the granting of a visitor visa to Behrouz Boochani. The NZ Prime Minister labelled the allegation “offensive” and refused to discuss the matter. Under NZ law it is illegal to discuss asylum applications or the existence of applications. 

Border Closures

The situation of around 500 Rohingya people stranded at sea continued to deteriorate. A small number reportedly landed in Southern Bangladesh and were then sent to a silt island. The majority remain on the high seas. The media reported that footage published online showed that those on board had lost weight and that family members have urged governments to help locate the boats and bring them to safety. It is not known how many have died on board the boats.

In Malta, boats carrying refugees and migrants were intercepted and returned to Libya using private vessels paid for by the Maltese government. Those returned were taken to a detention centre in Tripoli notorious for its mistreatment of people. Around 12 people reportedly died at sea.

Relocations

Relocations of unaccompanied minors from Greek refugee camps to other EU countries continued. The relocations are an attempt to reduce overcrowding in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In policy

The Australian Government reintroduced proposed legislation to expand the powers of Australian Border Force officers to seize mobile phones from people in detention if they suspect illegal or extremist activity. Similar legislation was brought to Parliament in 2017 but did not proceed to debate. Lawyers have voiced their concern about the potential for overreach.

The Australian Nation Audit Office released a report into the awarding of contracts by the Department of Home Affairs for operations at offshore detention centres. The report shows that the contracts accepted a profit margin well above the accepted range and concluded that they did not present value for money. A total of $7.1 billion was spent on offshore contracts for PNG and Nauru at a cost of around $450,000 per person per year.

The Kaldor Centre, UNSW, made a submission to the federal Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights in relation to federal COVID-19 related legislation. The submission ‘urges Australia’s parliamentarians to maintain key principles of refugee protection while crafting responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. The UNHCR also made a submission to this Committee.

For more on COVID-19, see our latest explainer.

In research

The Migration Policy Practice journal (April-June 2020) published a range of articles on COVID-19 and its impacts on migration policy, focusing in part on asylum seekers and refugees. One article focuses on the indirect impacts of COVID-19 on displaced children, such as health, education, and protection and safety.

In The Centre of Gravity Series, Claire Higgens writes on Protecting Refugees and Australia’s Interests. Higgens argues that the securitised approach to asylum and refugee policy leaves Australia with little flexibility to respond to potential future refugee situations in the Asia-Pacific region. Higgins recommends that Australia expand pathways for resettlement and provide access to fair and efficient onshore asylum procedures.

In the International Journal Of Refugee Law, Tristan Harley and Harry Hobbs considered the participation of refugees in decision-making processes that affect them. The paper considers the emergent drive for refugee participation in law and policy, examines the evolution of the international legal framework, and explores options that could promote the inclusion of refugees in the design and implementation of policy.

Monthly Wrap - 5 May 2020

In the media

In the Courts

A refugee in detention filed a High Court claim arguing the Department of Home Affairs has breached its duty of care to provide conditions that enable him to protect himself from COVID-19. The refugee was transferred from Manus Island to Australia in 2019 and his case is reportedly the first of many. Around 1,400 people are held in detention centres or Alternative Places of Detention (APODs) in Australia.

The Federal Government was ordered to pay $200,000 in legal fees to the Biloela family. This followed a ruling that two-year old Tharunicaa was denied procedural fairness in her asylum bid. The family has again asked the government to release them from the Christmas Island Detention Centre as the mental health of the two girls declines.

The Federal Court overturned a tribunal finding that two men were not credible because of discrepancies in their recollections of what happened immediately after their first sexual encounter six years prior. Their asylum claim, which started in 2013, was returned to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for reconsideration.

The names of 400 protection applicants were accidentally published on the Federal Court website in what was described as a ‘major systemic failure.’

COVID-19

Protests occurred in detention locations around the country over COVID-19 concerns. In Sydney’s Villawood Detention Centre, three people were arrested after a rooftop protest and a further 35 reportedly staged a five-day hunger strike. In Melbourne a refugee activist was arrested and 26 others were fined for staging a car convoy protest during stage 3 restrictions.

Around 1,180 doctors have called for the release of immigration detainees who pose no significant security or health risks, as did the Australian Human Rights Commissioner. The Department of Home Affairs has stated that there have been no confirmed COVID-19 cases in detention locations and risk management strategies are in place.

In PNG and Nauru concerns were raised about COVID-19 risks to the 430 asylum seekers and refugees located there. Resettlement flights to the USA were suspended indefinitely. Canadian sponsorship applications continue to be assessed but flights are suspended.

Overseas

The UNHCR warned that border closures as a result of COVID-19 are placing fundamental norms of refugee and human rights law at risk, if no exceptions are made for people seeking asylum.

In Malaysia, a boat carrying Rohingya refugees was pushed back due to COVID-19 fears. In response, Indonesia’s representative to the ASEAN Intergovernmental Human Rights Commission called on countries to show compassion during this time.

Malta declared it cannot cope with any arrival of asylum seekers due to the pandemic. It reportedly hired fishing boats to intercept and return any boats to Libya.

Bangladesh's coast guard rescued 396 Rohingya refugees who were adrift at sea for months, 32 were believed to have died. A human rights group said it believed more boats carrying Rohingya were adrift at sea, with COVID-19 lockdowns in Malaysia and Thailand making it harder to find refuge.

Greece commenced COVID-19 related relocations of unaccompanied asylum seeker children to Luxembourg in what was the first of more than 1,000 relocations to other EU countries. The overcrowding in refugee camps in the Greek Aegean islands has been identified as a risk during the pandemic.

Refugees and migrants have continued to arrive on the Italian island of Lampedusa, despite a government order to close domestic ports to international charity refugee boats during the pandemic. There is concern over rising tensions between groups on the island.

In policy

Asylum seekers have been excluded from the Commonwealth’s wage and other support packages put in place as a result of COVID-19. People on Bridging visas are ineligible for the Jobkeeper or Jobseeker program. The Federal Government urged people on temporary visas to return home.

A number of states and territories announced funding packages for asylum seekers and others on temporary visas to access essential goods and supports if experiencing financial hardship as a result of COVID-19.

The Commonwealth has not released people from immigration detention or APODs, despite its Health department identifying people in ‘detention facilities’ at most risk of serious infection. This policy decision has been criticised by medical experts.

In research

The UNSW’s Kaldor Centre launched COVID-19 Watch, an online hub that provides commentary and analysis on COVID-19 and displacement from refugees, scholars, practitioners and others, including articles impacting asylum seekers in Australia. This includes Kerry Murphy’s piece, which outlined some key issues impacting asylum seekers as a result of COVID-19 in Australia, including stalling visa processing, implications for SHEV holders, and immigration detention.

Elsewhere, Gabrielle Holly’s article examines recent litigation against the Australian government and the corporate contractors engaged in offshore detention, as well as actions seeking injunctions that require the Australian government to airlift detainees to Australia for medical treatment. Holly concludes that while features of the Australian jurisdiction can potentially provide a path to remedy for individuals who have suffered wrongs in Australia's offshore detention regime, they have not yet presented a serious challenge to current government policy.

A study amongst asylum seekers in onshore detention centres found this group are at increased risk of self-harm, and the type of detention they are held in may exacerbate this risk. The study found that self-harm rates for asylum seekers in all types of closed onshore immigration detention settings were much higher than rates found in the general population. Average rates were not lower in facilities with lower security features.

Weekly media wrap - 25 April 2020

A refugee in Australian immigration detention filed a claim in the High Court arguing that the Department of Home Affairs is breaching its duty of care to him by failing to provide conditions that allow him to protect himself from COVID-19. The refugee, who suffers from a number of serious illnesses, was transferred from Manus Island to Australia in 2019 and is seeking release into the community to protect him from infection. The Guardian suggested this test case is likely to be the first of many, with around 1400 people in detention of alternative places of detention in Australia.

Former prime minister Malcolm Turnball’s book, A Bigger Picture, details the US-Australia resettlement deal. According to the book, President Trump described refugees on Manus Island as ‘2000 of the worst terrorists in the world.’

Indonesia’s representative to the ASEAN Intergovernmental Human Rights Commission (AICHR), Yuyun Wahyuningrum, expressed concern about Malaysia’s pushback of a boat carrying Rohingya refugees because of COVID-19 fears earlier this month.

UNHCR warned that border closures in response to the COVID-19 crisis place rules of refugee and human rights law are at risk. According to the UN refugee agency, ’167 countries have so far fully or partially closed their borders to contain the spread of the virus. At least 57 states are making no exception for people seeking asylum.‘

Editorial note: From next week, we are shifting from weekly media wraps to a monthly summary of the top news, policy and research developments from Australia and around the world. To receive this new monthly wrap in your inbox the first week of each month, subscribe.

Weekly media wrap - 18 April 2020

The Federal Court ruled that two-year old Tharunicaa Murugappan, born in Australia to Tamil asylum-seeker parents, was not afforded procedural fairness in her asylum bid. The formerly Biloela-based family cannot be immediately deported and will remain in detention on Christmas Island until their case is finalised. Mother Priya said the mental health of her two young daughters was deteriorating and asked the government to allow the family to return to Biloela. Meanwhile, BuzzFeed News reported that Immigration Minister David Coleman did not reply to a letter from two human rights commissioners in 2019, accusing him of violating international human rights law in detaining the family.

Three men living in the Villawood Immigration Detention Centre were arrested after staging a rooftop protest over COVID-19 concerns. SBS News reported that 35 asylum seekers and refugees at the centre had refused all food and water for five days as part of a hunger strike. Australia's Human Rights Commissioner Edward Santow called for the urgent release of all immigration detainees who pose no significant security or health risks, in line with the recommendations of peak medical bodies.

Bangladesh's coast guard rescued 396 starving Rohingya refugees adrift at sea for months, with at least 32 believed to have died. A human rights group said it believed more boats carrying Rohingya were adrift at sea, with COVID-19 lockdowns in Malaysia and Thailand making it harder for them to find refuge.

Greece relocated a dozen unaccompanied asylum seeker children from overcrowded migrant camps to Luxembourg – the first of more than 1000 relocations to other EU countries amid concerns over the impact of COVID-19 on camps in the Greek Aegean islands.

Weekly media wrap - 11 April 2020

The names of hundreds of people seeking protection visas have been published on the Federal Court website. The Federal Court, through the searchable Commonwealth Courts database, disclosed the names of people who have said they have been persecuted in their home countries over a number of years. This week, a Federal Court spokesman described the disclosure as a ‘major systemic failure’ and said the court had identified 400 asylum seekers whose names had been published.

Asylum seekers on temporary visas living in Australian communities are not eligible for wage subsidies that were passed in Parliament this week as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The Refugee Council of Australia estimates that close to 90,000 people on bridging visas have no safety net during this time. Many asylum seekers on bridging visas have lost their jobs as a result of restrictions to curb the spread of the virus, and so non-profit organisations are seeing spikes in demand for their support in accessing essential goods and services.

Police arrested a refugee activist and fined 26 others nearly $43,000 for holding a car convoy protest outside a hotel in Melbourne's north where refugees and asylum seekers are being detained. The group were fined for breaching social distancing orders currently in place in Victoria.

Dozens of refugees and migrants have continued to arrive on the Italian island of Lampedusa, despite a recent government order closing domestic ports to international charity refugee boats wishing to dock. Italian ministers on Tuesday ruled that at least until 31 July, for the duration of the coronavirus pandemic, domestic ports can no longer be considered a ‘place of safety’. There is concern over rising tensions between groups on the island. A group of 60 local residents held a protest after a small number of new arrivals were not abiding by quarantine laws.

Weekly media wrap – 4 April 2020

The news this week was dominated by the Covid-19 virus. In Australia 1,180 doctors signed a letter calling for the release of people from immigration detention. The letter outlined the risks to detainees and the broader community from any outbreak of the virus in immigration facilities. It was released publicly after discussions with the Department of Home Affairs reportedly broke down.

Meanwhile concerns were raised about Covid-19 risks to asylum seekers in PNG and Nauru. Around 430 asylum seekers remain there. The Catholic Brishops Conference (PNG) urged the PNG Health Minister to speak to the Australian Government amidst concerns about the local health system being able to cope with an outbreak. Around 50-60 were due to fly to the USA but the resettlement program has been suspended due to the pandemic. Canada sponsorship applications are still being processed administratively but transfers have been suspended. Around 180 men in PNG and Nauru were ineligible for USA resettlement or were rejected and have not received any informoation about options available to them.

The organisers of the annual Palm Island rally for refugees and asylum seekers have moved the rally online. The focus is on people in immigration detention and highlighting that social distancing measures cannot be practiced in detention. Various online activities are planned alongside activities that can be undertaken in the community in a way that conforms with rules around social distancing and crowds. The Department of Home Affairs stated that preventive measures have been put in place to keep detainees and staff safe and are constantly reviewed.

Weekly media wrap - 28 March 2020

Asylum seekers from across immigration detention centres have expressed significant concern about the risk to exposure to COVID-19 in an open letter to prime minister Scott Morrison, saying it will be extremely difficult to self-isolate and protect themselves while in detention. A Villawood detainee told the ABC that conditions in the detention centre were crowded and detainees were unable to comply with physical distancing rules required of the general public. The detainees were also concerned staff were not wearing any personal protective equipment. Visits to immigration detention centres have been cancelled.  A detainee in Villawood detention centre has reportedly been tested for coronavirus.

The detainees’ calls for release were backed by leading Australian infectious disease specialists. The Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases and the Australian College of Infection Prevention and Control have also written to the Federal Government. The doctors warned that the estimated 1,400 asylum seekers and non-citizens being held in detention centres across Australia are living in crowded conditions that preclude adequate social distancing or self-isolation. The Home Affairs Department has reportedly rejected these calls to release detainees being held in immigration detention in Australia over COVID-19 concerns.

The Labor Opposition also called on the Australian government to extend visa deadlines and relax conditions for temporary visa holders, including people with bridging and temporary protection visas, in Australia that are ‘trapped’ as a result of the global travel bans and border closures.

Some 5,800 asylum seekers were evacuated from near Turkey’s border with Greece, as part of measures to curb the spread of coronavirus. The Turkish Interior Minister reported that these asylum seekers are being hosted in repatriation centres in nine provinces.

Weekly media wrap - 21 March 2020

The High Court granted the Australian Government the right to appeal a Federal Court ruling over the medical transfer of dozens of asylum seekers and refugees. If the appeal is successful, only the High Court will be able to hear such cases, with the Australian Government claiming that the Federal Court has no jurisdiction to hear the cases brought on behalf of those in offshore detention. Refugee lawyers have voiced concern that this will make it much harder for cases of those requiring urgent medical transfers to be heard.  

A guard at a makeshift immigration detention facility in Brisbane tested positive for coronavirus, resulting in concerns for the approximately 80 refugees being held there, majority of whom were transferred from offshore detention to Australia for specialist medical treatment. The facility, based at a hotel in inner Brisbane, has been described as inhospitable, cramped and dirty. It is understood detainees at this facility have not yet been tested and refugee advocates fear that the virus could spread rapidly in such conditions and within any detention population.

Globally, the resettlement of refugees has been suspended indefinitely by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). This is due to travel restrictions and drastically reduced entry into many countries. In a statement by the two agencies, they have appealed to countries to continue collaborating to ensure that refugee movements can continue where possible for critical emergency cases, and to ensure that processing of resettlement cases continues. Aid agencies have voiced fears that millions of refugees around the world will be left vulnerable in refugee camps and temporary settlements. Temporary visa holders, including refugees on temporary protection visas and bridging visas, are currently in limbo about their future as a result of national lockdowns.

Weekly media wrap - 14 March 2020

It was reported that the Australian government’s major Manus Island contractor, Paladin, negotiated
in 2017-19 to pay brokers DRM and Trakpro to arrange favourable visa outcomes for its workers to
come to Papua New Guinea. The Home Affairs department paid Paladin $423 million to run the
centre, but there were difficulties obtaining visas from the PNG government, and a significant
amount of money was paid to a Singapore bank account linked to Trakpro for a “marketing
arrangement.” At Paladin’s subsequent board meeting, the need for a ‘bribery and corruption policy’
was discussed. The Home Affairs secretary Mike Pezzullo maintains that none of his officials were
aware of any PNG requests for improper payments, while internal Paladin emails suggest otherwise.
Labor’s Senator Keneally called on Home Affairs Minister Dutton to order an exhaustive search of
the Department’s emails.

The president of the Law Council of Australia called for more judges and an “urgent injection of
funds” to deal with a massive backlog of migration and refugee reviews. Pauline Wright said the
backlog had knock-on effects, such as delays in family law cases. The upward trend in the workload
was a result of increasing numbers of reviews by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and the
Immigration Assessment Authority of the ‘legacy caseload.’

Sydney year 12 student Renuga Inpakumar spoke at the 43rd session of the UN Human Rights Council in favour of two Tamil refugees being held in a Melbourne detention centre. Former Manus
detainee Abdul Aziz Muhamat also spoke, about his experiences of Australian detention, and the
serious situation he saw in Greek refugee camps.

The United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) announced in Geneva on Wednesday a suspension of its visit to Australia in view of the current situation caused by the
coronavirus (Covid-19). It also postponed other upcoming missions. Australian refugee advocates
and experts were hoping to be able to guide the Subcommittee on the issues to look out for in their
assessment of immigration detention as part of their monitoring brief.

Refugees relocated from Manus Island to Port Moresby have been attacked twice in the past month
by local residents, with one refugee’s leg being broken and a security guard being hospitalised. They
claim to have received little support from the Australian government-funded contractor JDA
Wokman, which has a $72m contract to help former detainees settle in Port Moresby.

As the leader of the successful campaign to prevent Melbourne footballer Hakeem Al-Araibi from being deported to Bahrain in 2019, sports commentator Craig Foster has continued his support for
refugees, saying ‘I cannot unsee what I saw’. Several Australian actors, musicians and sports stars
have joined his Game Over campaign, around the theme “People trapped offshore are suffering. We
must get them to Safety.”

A study by Dr Daniel Ghezelbash of Macquarie University, of 18,196 cases decided at the AAT between January 2015 and December 2019, shows that only 4% of unrepresented applicants were successful, and asylum seekers with legal representation are seven times more likely to be successful. A policy influence may be greater government restrictions on public funding for free legal advice services. The appellant’s country of origin, and which Tribunal member hears the case is also significant to the outcome, although this needs more analysis, and is not necessarily due to subjective bias. The research only looked at asylum seekers who arrived by plane and had access to a review by the AAT.

Weekly media wrap – 5 March 2020

A boat carrying 8 people was intercepted and returned to Indonesia in mid-January 2020. Home Affairs Minister reported that the people were ‘potential illegal immigrants’ and the boat was intercepted around 240km north of Broome. Minister Dutton reported that all onboard were safe. 

The Age and Sydney Morning Herald were given permission to release a suicide note left by a former security guard who was working on Manus Island during the riots of 2014 and subsequently suffered from PTSD. Diane Parker, ended her life in July 2019 before her claim for compensation reached the court. Her children and the executors of her will gave the media permission to release the note, which is understood to have not been sent to Mr Morrison. It has been reported that a compensation settlement was reached with another security guard in similar circumstances and a further 18 claims have been lodged or are being prepared for lodgement.   

The Sunshine Coast Daily published an in-depth story on how a teacher secretly documented the conditions of refugees held offshore in Nauru using spy glasses. Gabby Sutherland risked jail time to capture images and video of the hardship faced by people and families while she was based there in 2014/15. Many of her revelations were included in the Australian Human Rights Commission’s Forgotten Children Report and were used to campaign to get refugees off Nauru. An exhibition of her work, titled Woven Secrets, has started a national tour.

The conversation published a snapshot into a 5-year study of forced relocations of people across Australia’s immigration detention network. The study, by Michelle Peterie, comprised more than 70 interviews with regular detention centre visitors. These interviews highlighted the harsh nature of relocations and the negative outcome in terms of cutting people off from support networks, lawyers and connections they have with communities.