Recommendation 272
- Department of Home Affairs
The Australian Government is committed to a managed and equitable system of migration, consistent with our international obligations and respect for the human rights of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers. Australia respects and complies with its non‑refoulement obligations.
Australia engages actively with domestic and international organisations, including the UNHCR, the International Organization on Migration (IOM), and civil society organisations on a range of migration related matters. The Australian Government engagement, through a combination of high-level and informal consultations, allows Australia to engage with these stakeholders on issues of concern, and work with them to pursue shared objectives. Australia considers all recommendations made by UN human rights treaty bodies, the UNHCR and Special Procedures.
The Australian Government considers immigration detention an essential component of effective border control. The Australian Government's strong border policies have increased public confidence, enabling Australia to have one of the world's most generous humanitarian programs, which increased to 18,750 places in 2018-2019.
Since 2008, Australian Government policy has required that held detention be a last resort for the management of unlawful non-citizens who have not yet been granted permission to arrive or stay in Australia. Unlawful non-citizens will be detained until the assessment of health, identity and security risks which they present to the Australian community are resolved. These assessments are completed as expeditiously as possible to facilitate the shortest possible timeframe for detaining people in immigration detention facilities. This principle of last resort is not formally codified, other than in respect of minors in section 4AA of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth).
Under the Migration Act, immigration detention is not limited by a prescribed timeframe but relevantly ends when the person is granted a visa or is removed from Australia.
The vast majority of asylum seekers have access to independent merits review of decisions to refuse visa applications by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal or, in certain circumstances, by the Immigration Assessment Authority. All asylum seekers also have a constitutional right to seek judicial review of migration decisions. People in immigration detention may seek judicial review of the lawfulness of their detention, and request or refuse consular access or legal representation at any time. They may also submit a complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission.
Once all domestic remedies are exhausted, individuals may also submit a complaint to relevant United Nation bodies such as the United Nations Committee against Torture or the UN Human Rights Committee.The Australian Government remains committed to efforts that strengthen regional frameworks on irregular migration and human trafficking, including through the Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime. The Regional Support Office of the Bali Process (RSO), established in 2012 and located in Bangkok, works with UNHCR and other relevant organisations to support 45 Bali Process member States to address irregular migration and improve border management and refugee protection, through capacity building, training, exchange of best practice, sharing technical resources and joint projects. The Australian Government's $50 million flagship programme, the Australia-Asia Program to Combat Trafficking in Persons 2013-18 builds on ten years of Australian Government effort to strengthen national and regional criminal justice responses to trafficking in South East Asia.
The Australian Government considers immigration detention an essential component of effective border control. The Australian Government's strong immigration and border protection policies have increased public confidence, enabling Australia to have one of the world's most generous humanitarian systems, and commit to increasing its intake of refugees in response to the humanitarian crisis in Syria and Iraq.
Since 2008, Australian Government policy has required that detention in an immigration detention facility be a last resort for the management of unlawful non-citizens. This principle of last resort is not formally codified, other than in respect of minors in section 4AA of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth). The decision to detain a person in held detention is based on an assessment of risk.
Under the Migration Act, immigration detention is not limited by a prescribed timeframe but relevantly ends when the person is granted a visa or is removed from Australia.
The vast majority of asylum seekers have access to independent merits review of decisions to refuse visa applications by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal or, in certain circumstances, by the Immigration Assessment Authority. Asylum seekers also have a constitutional right to seek judicial review of migration decisions. People in immigration detention may seek judicial review of the lawfulness of their detention, and request or refuse consular access or legal representation at any time.