Fact Sheet 69 - Caring for Unaccompanied Minors
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As a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Australian Government takes its obligations towards unaccompanied minors very seriously.
Unaccompanied minors are covered by the Immigration Guardianship of Children Act 1946 (IGOC Act). The IGOC Act ensures that minors who arrive in Australian territory unaccompanied, and with the intention of settling in Australia permanently, have the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship as their legal guardian.
Unaccompanied minors seeking asylum in Australia and certain children who were adopted overseas or enter Australia for adoption purposes come within the operation of the IGOC Act.
See: Fact Sheet 36 Adopting children from overseas
Background
The IGOC Act was introduced when groups of mostly British unaccompanied minors came to Australia after World War II.
Some of the groups who have come within the operation of the IGOC Act since the commencement of the IGOC Act include:
- child migrants from Europe
- children arriving after the fall of Saigon
- children arriving following the evacuation of East Timor
- children arriving from Afghanistan
- children arriving as irregular maritime arrivals.
The number of unaccompanied minors arriving in Australia has increased steadily over recent years.
Wards of the minister
Unaccompanied minors who fall under the IGOC Act are wards of the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship.
The minister delegates his function as guardian of wards to officers of the department and to officers in relevant child welfare authority in each state and territory. The state and territory agencies provide welfare supervision and settlement support to unaccompanied minors who are permanent residents.
Guardianship continues until the ward turns 18 years of age, leaves Australia permanently, becomes an Australian citizen or when the minister directs that the ward will not be covered by the IGOC Act. This may occur, for example, when the child is adopted or a relative over the age of 21 takes responsibility for them.
Unaccompanied humanitarian minors
There are two kinds of unaccompanied humanitarian minors (UHMs):
Unaccompanied humanitarian ward
A UHM ward is a non-citizen minor who arrives under the Offshore Humanitarian Program or is granted a protection visa onshore and does not have a parent or a relative over the age of 21 to care for them in Australia.The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship is the guardian of UHM wards.
Unaccompanied humanitarian non ward
A UHM non ward is a non-citizen minor who arrives under the Offshore Humanitarian Program or is granted a protection visa onshore and does not have a parent but has a relative over the age of 21 to care for them in Australia.The Minister for Immigration and Citizenship is not the guardian of UHM non wards.
Unaccompanied Humanitarian Minor Program
The Commonwealth, state and territory governments work together to provide settlement services to UHMs through the UHM Program. Some support for unaccompanied humanitarian minors is provided by not-for-profit service providers.
The UHM Program is available to all minors granted a visa under the Humanitarian Program irrespective of their mode of arrival.
Care of unaccompanied minors in detention
Except in exceptional circumstances, all unaccompanied minors in detention for whom the minister is guardian are accommodated in an alternative place of detention (APOD), such as immigration residential housing, immigration transit accommodation or released, if eligible on a bridging visa. No minors are placed in an immigration detention centre.
On 18 October 2010, the Prime Minister and the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship announced an expansion of the current residence determination program (also known as community detention), to progressively relocate significant numbers of unaccompanied minors and vulnerable families from immigration detention facilities and APODs into community-based accommodation while their asylum claims are processed.
In making decisions concerning the welfare and care of unaccompanied minors in immigration detention facilities, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship draws upon the advice of people with expertise in child welfare, such as psychologists and state child welfare authorities.
For those unaccompanied minors who are required to spend a short period in a low security detention facility or an APOD or who are living in the community under a residence determination (community detention), intensive care and support is provided to cater to their specific educational, social and medical needs.
All minors in detention are case managed to ensure their case progresses in the shortest time possible. Case managers also coordinate service provision from other providers such as health and welfare.
Further information is available on the department's website.
See: www.immi.gov.au
The department also operates a national general enquiries line.
Telephone: 131 881
Hours of operation: Monday to Friday from 8.30 am to 4.30 pm (recorded information is available outside these hours).
Fact Sheet 69. Produced by the National Communications Branch, Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Canberra.
Last reviewed March 2011.
© Commonwealth of Australia 2007.