PrintOutput 1.6 Offshore asylum seeker management
Objectives
Under this output, the department:
- ensures that people in offshore processing centres (OPCs) are provided with appropriate care and accommodation and the opportunity for any asylum claims to be considered where necessary
- ensures that OPCs in Nauru and Manus Province are closed in a timely manner with due consideration given to transferring residents, disposing of assets and negotiating conditions of closure with host governments and other stakeholders.
Description
The department monitors, supports and advises on offshore centre and related activities to allow people in offshore processing centres to be appropriately accommodated, cared for and given the opportunity for any asylum claims to be considered.
Performance
Table 55: Offshore asylum seeker management—performance information| Measures | Results |
|---|---|
| 2007–08 | |
| Quality | |
| Contractors' performance is reviewed quarterly to ensure appropriate care and accommodation for people in offshore processing centres | The department monitored the performance of all contractors engaged in projects related to OPCs. The departmental liaison officer in Nauru, and Canberra-based officers who travelled to Nauru, reviewed performance and ensured that the care and accommodation provided to residents of OPCs was appropriate and of a high standard. IOM, which operated the centres, met its requirement of quarterly reporting against an agreed assurance framework. |
| All contracts are managed on time | All contracts in Nauru that the department managed were completed on time and within budget. Schedules were occasionally adjusted when circumstances, such as delays in sourcing materials internationally, were beyond the control of the department and its contractors. |
| Residents are transferred from Nauru in safety and with dignity | The remaining 89 residents of Nauru OPC were resettled to Australia between December 2007 and February 2008. The last group of 21 residents left Nauru on 8 February. The residents were resettled in safety and with dignity. |
| Government equipment in offshore processing centres is disposed of effectively | Government equipment in offshore processing centres was disposed of effectively. |
| Closure negotiations are concluded on time | Closure negotiations with the governments of Nauru and Papua New Guinea were successfully concluded, precipitating the closure of both the Nauru and Manus centres on 31 March 2008. |
Following the federal election in November, the new government moved rapidly to end the 'Pacific Strategy' and close the OPCs in Nauru and Manus Province, Papua New Guinea. The cases of the remaining 89 residents of the Nauru OPC were resolved quickly, with the last group of refugees departing Nauru for resettlement in Australia on 8 February 2008. On 31 March 2008, the International Organization for Migration, (IOM) which operated the centres in Nauru and Manus, closed the OPCs, returned the sites and gifted the centres' assets to the respective host governments. Closure of the centres formally ended the 'Pacific Strategy'.
Prior to their departure, centre residents had access to appropriate accommodation, care and human services. IOM provided high-quality and responsive services in its management of the processing centres, giving priority to the social wellbeing of residents. IOM continually reviewed its community health programs, ensuring programs addressed changing needs. These programs included a wide range of sporting and leisure activities (including television, videos and reading materials) and education programs (including language classes and computer skills).
Prior to closing the centre in Nauru, IOM reconfigured the site so it would better address Nauru's future needs. Fixed residential accommodation was converted to temporary classrooms for senior high school students while AusAID rebuilds Nauru's secondary school as part of the existing development assistance package. Office accommodation (previously occupied by IOM, the department and Australian Federal Police) was retained for use by the government of Nauru. Some demountable buildings were relocated for use as school buildings elsewhere on the island.
Christmas Island
Christmas Island has a range of immigration detention facilities that provide flexibility to respond to the individual needs of unauthorised boat arrivals. The facility at Phosphate Hill is able to manage unauthorised boat arrival groups, including children and their families, in unfenced community based accommodation. There is also one secure compound which can be used as required. As well as these facilities, the purpose-designed immigration detention centre on Christmas Island became available in April 2008.
In 2007–08, there were a total of 20 people from two boats processed on Christmas Island with 16 people returned to their country of origin and four remaining on Christmas Island as at 30 June.
