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Asylum Seekers and Refugees
19 February 2025Media ReleaseHuman Rights Commissioner says NZYQ Nauru resettlement announcement raises more questions than it answers
Australia’s Human Rights Commissioner has written to Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke seeking clarity and transparency around an Australian Government decision to resettle three members of the NZYQ cohort in Nauru, saying the announcement raises serious human rights concerns and prompts more questions than it answers. -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
12 December 2024Opinion piece
Women in immigration detention are trapped in a system designed for men. Many have not hugged a family member in years
In an opinion piece published in The Guardian, Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay Commissioner Finlay describes the harrowing experiences faced by many women in immigration detention and calls for urgent reform to address these human rights failures. It follows the release of the AHRC report into the issue. -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
9 December 2024Media Release
Women in immigration detention at serious risk of harassment and violence
The Australian Human Rights Commission has called for significant reform to the country’s immigration detention system, after a new report into the treatment of women in detention found their rights, safety and wellbeing are being widely overlooked. These failures, it found, are compounding the risk to women of harassment, violence, and ill health. -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
2 December 2024Publication
'Not Just An Afterthought’ - Women in Immigration Detention Report
The Australian Human Rights Commission has called for significant reform to the country’s immigration detention system, after a new inspection report into the treatment of women in detention found their rights, safety and wellbeing are being widely overlooked. -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
27 November 2024News story
Explainer: Commission does not support the Migration Amendment Bill
The Australian Government has introduced new migration laws into Parliament to expand search and seizure powers in immigration detention centres. The Commission does not support the Migration Amendment (Prohibiting Items in Immigration Detention Facilities) Bill 2024 -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
25 November 2024News story
Submission on the Migration Amendment Bill 2024
The Australian Human Rights Commission has made a submission to the Parliamentary Committee that is considering the Migration Amendment Bill 2024. -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
25 November 2024Submission
Migration Amendment Bill 2024
Learn more about the Migration Amendment Bill 2024 and how it impacts human rights. -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
7 June 2024Webpage
Commission concerned for detainees during COVID
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Asylum Seekers and Refugees
7 June 2024Webpage
Management of COVID-19 risks in immigration detention (2021)
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Asylum Seekers and Refugees
19 April 2024News story
Inspection report: “serious concerns” at Yongah Hill Detention Centre
An inspection report by the Australian Human Rights Commission has found that a high-security immigration detention centre in Western Australia was, in part, “no longer fit for purpose”, and raised serious concerns over safety conditions and the level of care for detainees and staff. The Yongah Hill Immigration Detention Centre Inspection Report followed a two-day inspection of the adult… -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
19 April 2024Publication
Yongah Hill Immigration Detention Inspection Report
In 2023, the Commission monitored the human rights of people detained at the Yongah Hill Immigration Detention Centre. The Commission’s inspection report provides 33 recommendations, noting key observations and concerns. -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
7 December 2023Opinion piece
Hasty detainee laws raise human rights concerns
Read an opinion piece from Australia's Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay raising concerns about the passage of new laws responding to the fallout from the recent NZYQ High Court decision. -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
9 November 2023Media Release
Commission commends High Court ruling on indefinite immigration detention
The Australian Human Rights Commission has welcomed yesterday’s High Court ruling which determined that Australia’s system of indefinite immigration detention is unlawful. The landmark decision overturns almost two decades of the practice by Australian authorities in finding it is unlawful to hold a person in immigration detention when there is no real prospect of them being removed from… -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
20 June 2023Media Release
Inspection report: Serious human rights concerns in hotel detention
Explore an inspection report by the Commission that found serious human rights concerns persist in the use of hotels as alternative places of detention. -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
14 June 2023Publication
The Use of Hotels as Alternative Places of Detention
Overview The Australian Human Rights Commission conducts ongoing monitoring of conditions in detention to ensure that Australia’s immigration detention system complies with our obligations under international human rights law. Australia’s immigration authorities use hotels as Alternative Places of Detention (commonly known as APODs) instead of housing some people in immigration detention… -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
4 April 2023Publication
Australia’s international obligations
Australia is obliged under international law to protect the human rights of all asylum seekers and refugees, regardless of how or where they arrive. -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
7 October 2022Media Release
Joint Statement on the use of hotel APODs
This Statement provides guidance on the short-term use of hotel APODs, including access to open‑air exercise, access to meaningful programs and activities, and the need to ensure medical and welfare services are of the same standard as those provided in other immigration detention facilities. -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
7 October 2022Publication
Joint Statement on the use of Hotels as Alternative Places of Detention
Read the joint statement on the use of hotels as alternative places of detention for asylum seekers.
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