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Australian immigration detention facilities comprise a number of different facilities throughout Australia and the Pacific Ocean. They are used to house people who are detained under Australia’s policy of mandatory detention and the Pacific Solution. Most facilities are operated by Global Solutions Limited (GSL) under contract from the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (DIMA).
Background
Since the 1990s the Australian government enforced a policy of mandatory detention of unauthorised arrivals. All non-citizens arriving by boat without a valid visa were detained until they were either granted a visa, or deported.
Towards the end of the 1990s, a large increase in the number of unauthorised arrivals exceeded the capacity of the existing Immigration Reception and Processing Centres at Port Hedland and Curtin.
Facilities
Immigration Detention Centres (IDCs)
According to DIMA, IDC’s “mainly accommodate over-stayers, people in breach of their visa conditions, or people refused entry at Australia's international airports”
Immigration Reception and Processing Centres (IRPCs)
According to DIMIA, IRPCs are “primarily used for unauthorised boat arrivals”
- Baxter
- Christmas Island
- Port Hedland – no longer operational
- Curtin – no longer operational
- Woomera – no longer operational
Residential Housing Projects (RHPs)
According to DIMA, RHPs “provide a flexible detention arrangement to enable women and children to live in family style accommodation while remaining in immigration detention.”
- Port Augusta
- Port Hedland – no longer operational
- Woomera – no longer operational
Pacific Solution facilities
As a result of the implementation of the Pacific Solution Australia also funded immigration detention centres on Manus Island and Nauru
- Manus Island
- Nauru detention centre
Controversy
The facilities have been a source of much controversy during their time of operation. There have been a number of riots and escapes, as well as accusations of human rights abuses from groups as diverse as refugee advocates, Amnesty International, the Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, Human Rights Watch, and the United Nations.
In March 2002, the Secretary General of Amnesty International, Irene Khan, said:
- It is obvious that the prolonged periods of detention, characterised by frustration and insecurity, are doing further damage to individuals who have fled grave human rights abuses. The detention policy has failed as a deterrent and succeeded only as punishment. How much longer will children and their families be punished for seeking safety from persecution? *
Throughout the controversy, Prime Minister John Howard and successive immigration ministers maintained that their actions were justified in the interests of protecting Australia's borders and ensuring that immigration law was enforced. A 2004 Liberal Party election policy document stated:
- The Coalition Government's tough stance on people smuggling stems from the core belief that Australia has the right to decide who comes to this country and the circumstances in which they come. Deterrence has been achieved through excision, boat returns, offshore processing and mandatory detention. *
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