Services Provided at Immigration Detention Facilities

Education and other activities

A number of programs for people in immigration detention are run within, and external to, the immigration detention facilities which contribute to personal development and quality of life. These include activities such as cultural and lifestyle classes, sporting activities and excursions (fishing, shopping trips) and educational services, including English language instruction.

Resources and equipment for self education and recreation available at immigration detention facilities include computers, appropriate videos, art and craft supplies, sport and recreational facilities and equipment and amenities including a library with a variety of reading material in various languages. Quiet places for passive activities such as reading and contemplation are also available.

Food

Good quality, nutritional food that is interesting, appealing and culturally appropriate is served three times a day. Special meals are also prepared for religious festivals, such as Ramadan and Christmas. Further, those requiring special diets for cultural or medicinal purposes are catered for on an individual basis.

Emphasis is placed on providing people in immigration detention with menu choice, self-catering activities such as barbeques, and allowing their input into food preparation. Access to tea, coffee and snacks between meals is also provided.

Medical

All people in immigration detention are provided access to health care at a standard generally comparable to the health care available to the Australian community. Health care services are provided by qualified health professionals and take into account the diverse and potentially complex health care needs of people in immigration detention.

For people in facility based detention (immigration detention centres and immigration transit accommodation) most primary health services are available onsite with referral to external health services providers in the community as clinically required. For people in community detention and immigration residential housing, health care services are provided exclusively by community-based health providers.
See: Immigration Detention Health Services

Religion

All immigration detention facilities have areas for prayer and worship services, and people in immigration detention are able to practise the religion of their choice on an individual or communal basis. External clergy provide services for most major faiths.
See: Religious Representatives

People in immigration detention have access to:

• qualified religious representatives
• appropriate religious books and materials
• communal areas where religious activities, such as celebrations, feasts and worship, can be undertaken.