Immigration Detainees Who Broke Law Won’t Be Charged Due to ‘Technical Issue’

Security guards patrol the grounds near rolls of razor wire at the Villawood Immigration Detention Centre in Sydney, Australia, on Sept. 9, 2005. Ian Waldie/Getty Images

People who were being held in indefinite immigration detention, whom the government was forced to release after the High Court ruled that holding them was illegal, probably won’t face charges for breaching their visa conditions since they were released.

After the detainees were released, federal parliament passed emergency laws imposing strict visa conditions and surveillance including ankle bracelets and curfews, but anyone who failed to abide by those restrictions will now not be punished.

While not all of the 149 people turned loose as a result of the High Court’s decision in November 2023 have since committed crimes, several have.

But a “technical error” has resulted in the Department of Home Affairs having to reissue all but one of their visas, meaning that the 10 offenders among them will not be prosecuted for breaching their visa conditions, such as failing to abide by their curfew or reporting to police.

However, anyone accused of breaching state and territory laws could still be convicted of those offences, and punished by imprisonment if a judge so ruled.

Serious Criminal Convictions

Many of the group have previous serious criminal convictions, including for murder and rape.

“We’ve acted immediately to deal with this technical issue,” Immigration Minister Andrew Giles said. “I can assure everyone that ... community safety [hasn’t] been compromised because continuous monitoring has been maintained.”

Department lawyers discovered the oversight at the weekend, but Mr. Giles admitted the issue had existed for more than a decade.

It is believed that the problem arises from the fact that the detainees were released on a bridging visa that typically requires the individual to be in a detention facility at the time of visa grant. However, because the visas were issued after the High Court ruling, the government believes they were not valid when granted.

The government is quickly reissuing new, correct, visas to the 149 people, which will put them under the same rules, including ankle bracelets and reporting conditions.

‘Incompetence’: Shadow Minister

Shadow Immigration Minister Dan Tehan ascribed the latest events to “incompetence” and called on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, to “step in directly and sort out the mess happening under his leadership.”

“The Australian people can no longer continue to put up with this level of incompetence or failure to do due diligence. Once again this Labor government has made a mistake and then not been upfront with the Australian people,” Mr. Tehan said in a statement.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said the detainees’ release had been a “trainwreck” and called on Mr. Giles to resign.

“The average Australian expects their prime minister to keep them safe,” he said. “And yet, the Albanese government has made catastrophic errors here in releasing criminals into the community, as it turns out on the wrong visas, which means that some of the offences they’ve committed now have to be put to one side.”