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The Commonwealth Ombudsman, Prof. John McMillan, today released a report on the Department of Immigration and Citizenship’s administration of detention debt waiver and write-off.

‘The Department of Immigration and Citizenship’s administration of detention debt needs to be of a high standard because a detention debt can have significant consequences for an individual’, said Prof. McMillan. ‘We examined this issue because complaints to my office highlighted some areas of concern.’

The Migration Act 1958 requires that a non-citizen who is detained is liable to pay the Australian government the costs of their detention. This liability includes costs of the transportation of the person to and from an immigration detention centre and the daily maintenance amount for each day the person spends in detention. In the year ended 30 June 2007, DIAC raised debts of over $28 million for the detention of unlawful non-citizens. DIAC has power to write off a debt. Only the Department of Finance is empowered to consider whether to waive the debt.

Prof. McMillan said that his office’s investigation assessed whether DIAC’s administrative processes and procedures are appropriate and whether they are applied reasonably and consistently across the Department to individuals.

‘We found that overall DIAC is administering detention debt waiver and write-off according to legislative and policy requirements’, said Prof. McMillan.

‘However, we also found scope for improvement in the timeliness and prioritisation in processing cases, the consistency and reasonableness of decisions on debt waiver and write-off, and in record keeping and communication with clients. DIAC should provide clear and consistent information about a person’s options and provide regular updates on the amount of their debt while in detention.’

The Ombudsman made six recommendations. These included that DIAC change its policies and practice on both the management of debt waiver and debt write-off; review the circumstances of people in detention awaiting removal from Australia; and update relevant information systems in a timely manner. The Secretary of DIAC has accepted all of the Ombudsman’s recommendations and has agreed to address them.

The report is available online.

For further information or to arrange an interview with Prof. McMillan contact:

Elizabeth Courtney-Frost
Director, Public Affairs
Phone: 02 6276 0133
Email: elizabeth.frost@ombudsman.gov.au

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