DIMA Annual Report 1996-97

Sub-program 8.2: Detention

Objective

To enforce entry and stay requirements and to facilitate the timely removal of unlawful non-citizens from Australia by providing for their lawful, appropriate and economical detention.

Description

This sub-program is responsible for administering the detention provisions of the Migration Act 1958 and for managing the operation of the Department's immigration detention facilities, located in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Port Hedland.

The Port Hedland facility is the largest and is used to accommodate unauthorised boat arrivals.

The Australian Protective Service (APS) provides guarding services at all centres and sub-contracts some other services at Villawood and Port Hedland. The APS is also the Department's security adviser.

Policy development and program support are provided by the Compliance and Enforcement Branch.

Financial and staffing resources summary

	1996-97 Budget and AEs $'000s	1996-97 Actual $'000s	1995-96 Actual $'000s
Budgetary (cash) basis
Components of appropriations
Annual appropriations
Running costs	12 181	10 131	11 650
Other program costs	400	643	-
Total appropriations	12 581	10 774	11 650
Less adjustments	23	44	21
Total outlays	12 558	10 730	11 629
Total revenue	-	-	-
Staffing
Staff years (actual)	9	7	10

Performance information

Outcomes are measured by the extent to which:

1. timely removal of unlawful non-citizens occurs;
2. the provision of detention services are cost effective; and
3. lawful and appropriate detention arrangements, for those unlawful non-citizens in detention, are made.

Performance outcomes

(i) Timely removal

The Migration Act 1958 requires that all unlawful non-citizens be detained and that unless granted permission to remain in Australia, their removal be effected as soon as practicable.

Where people arrive in Australia without authorisation, their detention ensures that they have no access to work or services and, should they have no claims to remain in Australia, that they are immediately available for removal.

Some 2 460 people were detained:

• 2 095 unlawful non-citizens, including people who arrived at airports without authorisation and those who had breached visa conditions, a 45 per cent increase on 1995-96; and
• 365 who had arrived in Australia by boat without authorisation, a decrease of more than 40 per cent on 1995-96.

Of the 2 095 unlawful non-citizens detained, most had overstayed the period of their visa (40 per cent). Others had arrived without documentation at airports in Australia (30 per cent) or breached their visa conditions (12 per cent).

Of those in this group who were removed, 82 per cent were removed within the first month of being detained.

Removal of unauthorised arrivals by boat is covered under sub-program 8.3.

Those people in detention who make claims which, prima facie, may engage Australia's protection obligations are facilitated through the determination process and afforded priority for processing, in order to minimise their time in detention.

Table 15: Detention statistics

Place of detention	No. of detainees at 30 June 1996	No. of detainees at 30 June 1997	Total detainee days - boats	Total detainee days - non boats	Average detainees per day	Average length of stay 1996-97 (days)
Port Hedland	272	301	81 604	-	223.57	137.38
Villawood	95	246	3 348	56 612	164.27	39.94
Maribyrnong	36	67	-	21 654	59.33	46.07
Perth	26	27	2 576	6 475	24.80	32.33
Other locations	1	16	1 529	-	4.15	-
Totals	430	657	89 057	84 741	476.12	61.08

The number of detainees and the total number of detainee days by place of detention is reflected in the Table 15.

Of the 657 people in detention at 30 June 1997, 327 were unauthorised boat arrivals and 330 were other unlawful non-citizens.

This compares with 430 persons in detention at 30 June 1996, of whom 281 were unauthorised boat arrivals and 149 other unlawful non-citizens.

Overall, detainee days have decreased by 21.2 per cent, mainly as a result of the speedy return of boat arrivals.

Detainee days for boat arrivals decreased by 48.8 per cent and detainee days for non-boat arrivals increased by 83.3 per cent, reflecting the significant increase in people arriving at airports, without authorisation.

The average length of detention of unlawful non-citizens (excluding boat persons) in Villawood and Maribyrnong has increased considerably but has remained stable in Perth.

The increase is due to the significant increase in unauthorised airport arrivals seeking Australia's protection: 497 compared to 185 in 1995-96.

Before removing unauthorised arrivals from Australia, the Department must have valid travel documents for the persons to be removed, or permission from the relevant receiving country to accept these persons.

While every effort is made to expedite the removal process, the Department has limited control over the time actually taken by countries to issue travel documents or to permit return.

This time may be affected, for example, by the prevailing bilateral relationship or the country's capacity to identify their nationals and process such requests.

Removal may also be delayed where the people to be removed do not cooperate and provide false or misleading information as to their identities.

(ii) Cost effectiveness

The total administrative and property operating costs (excluding the Port Hedland refurbishment work) for unauthorised boat arrivals for the 89 057 detainee days in 1996-97 is estimated to be $14.8 million.

This is down from the $19.4 million spent on the 174 032 detainee days in 1995-96.

The decrease in total costs stems from the considerably lower detainee days which can, for the most part, be attributed to the speedy return of recent boat arrivals.

The total detainee days for other unlawful non-citizens increased significantly from 46 200 detainee days in 1995-96 to 84 740 detainee days in 1996-97 and has led to substantial economies of scale at the Maribyrnong and Villawood facilities.

Against this background, the unit detention cost for boat people held at Port Hedland has increased significantly.

Although the average occupancy level in Port Hedland has decreased by 40 per cent, estimated guarding hours have increased by more than 25 per cent and estimated costs by 35 per cent for the same period.

This is consistent with the trend of rising guarding costs experienced in recent years.

In the context of the 1996-97 Budget, the Government decided to cease the arrangement tying the Department to the APS, for the provision of custodial services, requiring that guarding services be put to competitive tender.

A request for a proposal for the delivery of the immigration detention function was sent to selected organisations in April 1997.

Several proposals were received by the closing date of 9 May 1997 and at 30 June 1997 were being evaluated. The current service provider, the APS, did not submit a proposal.

(iii) Detention arrangements

The Department is responsible for the care and control of detainees and provides, either directly or contractually, a number of facilities and services including accommodation, food, health care and medical treatment, education, recreational equipment and services, welfare services and counselling services.

There were 31 escapes involving 30 detainees. Ten escapees were located and returned to detention.

A number of hunger strikes, of short duration and without harm, were undertaken by detainees during the year.

A major disturbance occurred at the Port Hedland facility in December 1996 involving up to 80 detainees, security staff and West Australian Police. Given the seriousness of the incident, the Australian Federal Police were requested to conduct an inquiry into the matter. The report had not been received by 30 June 1997.

Advisory committees have been established for each detention facility to provide advice on detainees' welfare needs and conditions and services in the facilities.

A number of visits took place during the year, including those by representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC), the Commonwealth Ombudsman's Office and the Australian Red Cross Society.

Regular and ad hoc visits are made by pastoral and other interest groups.

The United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) forwarded its views on 3 May 1997, in relation to a complaint received by a former Cambodian boat person, that Australia is in breach of two articles of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

As at 30 June 1997, the Government was considering the views of the UNHRC and formulating its response.

There is a mechanism for release of certain unauthorised boat arrivals from detention in special or exceptional circumstances such as having a special need for which care cannot be provided in detention facilities, or being under 18 years of age or over 75 years of age.

Given the stringent criteria, only 114 of this type of bridging visas were issued.

Litigation was initiated in 1996 by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commissioner (HREOC) which illustrated a conflict in practice between the Migration Act 1958 and the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act 1986.

Section 256 of the Migration Act 1958 requires that all reasonable facilities are to be provided to a detainee making a request for legal assistance.

Section 193(2) of the Act, however, makes it clear that officers have no obligation to advise unauthorised arrivals of their options.

The effect of last year's Federal Court decision is that the HREOC Act 1986 can be used to undermine the intent of Section 193 of the Migration Act 1958, by allowing for the provision of unsolicited advice about access to lawyers to people who have entered Australia illegally.

The Government has moved to address this inconsistency, which threatens the integrity of entry procedures, with the introduction of the Migration LegislationAmendment Bill (No.2) 1996.

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