“The Australian Human Rights Commission welcomed the federal government’s decision to close the offshore detention centres on Nauru and Manus Island, but we remain concerned about the mandatory detention and offshore processing of asylum seekers on Christmas Island,” President Branson said.

“The detention of asylum seekers in a place as small and remote as Christmas Island means detainees have limited access to essential services such as legal assistance, health care, torture and trauma counselling and religious support.

“The lack of local infrastructure also makes it difficult for the Government to comply with key aspects of its own New Directions policy, particularly in relation to using immigration detention centres as a last resort, and the presumption that asylum seekers will be released into the community once their health, identity and security checks are completed.

“We are particularly concerned that some children, including unaccompanied minors, are held in a closed detention facility on the island, known as the ‘construction camp’, which is claustrophobic, lacking in open grassy space and an inappropriate place for children.”

Ms Branson said the Commission was also concerned that asylum seekers arriving in excised offshore places like Christmas Island were barred from the refugee status determination system that applied under Australian law. Instead they went through a ‘non-statutory’ process with no access to the Refugee Review Tribunal and very limited access to Australian courts.

“These asylum seekers must rely solely on Ministerial discretion in order to be permitted to apply for a protection visa,” Ms Branson said.

“This policy should be abandoned and all ‘unauthorised arrivals’ making claims for asylum should have those claims assessed under the refugee status determination system that applies under the Migration Act.

“Under the Refugee Convention, asylum seekers should not be penalised because of their method of arrival,” Ms Branson said. “Regardless of how or where they arrive in Australia, all people are entitled to have their fundamental human rights protected, including the right to seek asylum.”

Ms Branson also said it was important to recognise the efforts made by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship to manage the detention operations on Christmas Island in a humane and positive manner, particularly given the considerable constraints they were working within.

Immigration detention and offshore processing on Christmas Island can be found at: www.humanrights.gov.au/human_rights/immigration/idc2009_xmas_island.html