The Commonwealth and Immigration Ombudsman, Prof. John McMillan, today released his final reports relating to the immigration detention of 247 people during the years 1993 to 2007.

The Australian Government referred the cases to the Ombudsman following the inquiries into the immigration detention of Ms Cornelia Rau and the wrongful removal from Australia of Ms Vivian Alvarez.

The 247 cases related to people who had been detained by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) and later released as they could not be detained any longer as unlawful non-citizens. While the individual reports on each case provided to DIAC by the Ombudsman will not be released publicly, the systemic issues arising out of the investigations have formed the basis of six consolidated public reports.

The Ombudsman’s reports relating to children in detention, mental health and incapacity and the two individual cases of Mr T and Mr G, were released in December 2006.

In releasing four further reports, Prof. McMillan said: ‘The reports I release today highlight deficiencies in DIAC’s administration which led to the detention of 226 people, including Australian citizens, permanent residents and lawful visa holders. The reports recommend a range of administrative, systems and policy changes which are aimed at addressing the issues of concern’.

The reports relate to:

• Data problems—dealing with cases where people were detained as a result of a data error by DIAC
• Notification issues including cases affected by the 2003 Federal Court decision in relation to Chan Ta Srey—dealing with cases where DIAC’s visa refusal notification letters or cancellation processes were defective
• Detention process issues—dealing with cases where DIAC’s decision to detain a person was often problematic, falling short of the relevant legislative requirements
• Other legal issues—dealing with cases where a person was detained following a visa cancellation or refusal and released when that decision was later set aside. This report also includes cases where people, subject to a criminal deportation order, were detained and later released.

Prof. McMillan said: ‘The loss of freedom through detention can have grave consequences for the individuals and their families. There should be nothing short of a careful and lawful exercise of the power to detain a person, characterised by thorough attention to detail and ongoing review of any decision to detain a person. Unfortunately, this was not the case in the majority of these matters’.

‘It is inexcusable that there were such frequent errors leading to the detention of people who had a lawful right to live unrestrained in the community.’

The release of these reports concludes the Ombudsman’s investigation of the 247 referred detention cases.

DIAC has accepted the recommendations outlined in the reports. The Ombudsman will monitor the Department’s response to the individual cases and its progress in addressing the systemic issues identified in the consolidated reports.

Prof. McMillan acknowledges that DIAC has been working to address many of the issues identified in these and other reports for the past two years and is making significant headway in its process of reform.

‘The issues arising from the investigation of these matters provide many valuable lessons for effective public administration across all areas of government’, said Prof. McMillan.

The reports are now available at www.ombudsman.gov.au.

Date of release: 2 July 2007