This report argues that current arrangements at Manus Island do not meet international protection standards for the reception and treatment of asylum-seekers. Summary UNHCR acknowledges a number of positive developments since its January visit, including the transfer of children and their families back to Australia, and was also impressed by the obvious sensitivity, dedication and...

IT IS ALWAYS difficult to make direct comparisons between refugee determination procedures in different countries with different legal systems, but the most recent figures from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees suggest that Australia’s asylum record is entirely unremarkable.

This paper sets out the key clauses of the government contract for health care provision to asylum seekers on Nauru and Manus Island, and examines their adequacy in providing for mental and physical health needs. Introduction With the recent return to processing of asylum seekers in Regional Processing Centres (RPCs) on Nauru and Manus Island...

This book was produced and edited by Labor for Refugees, a ‘ginger’ group of people who belong to the Australian Labor Party and work from within the party with the goal of trying to change Labor’s asylum seeker and refugee policies so that they better reflect Labor values and are more in line with the...

The policy of mandatory detention in Australia (that is the legal requirement to detain all non-citizens without a valid visa) was introduced by the Keating (Labor) Government in 1992 in response to a wave of Indochinese boat arrivals. Under this policy it is a requirement that ‘unlawful non-citizens’ (a national from another country without a...