Asylum seeker rights
Media and commentary related to our work on asylum seeker rights and ensuring access to health care in Australian immigration detention.
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Legal challenge filed to protect refugee at COVID-19 risk in immigration detention
Joint media release. A legal challenge against Minister Peter Dutton and the Department of Home Affairs on behalf of a person in immigration detention relating to COVID-19 has been filed in the High Court by the Human Rights Law Centre. Lawyers for the man will argue that Minister Dutton and the Government are breaching its…
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Federal Government must act urgently to avoid COVID-19 catastrophe in immigration detention
Joint statement: PIAC, Human Rights Law Centre, Refugee Advice and Casework Service, National Justice Project, Refugee Legal, Asylum Seeker Resource Centre. A coalition of human rights lawyers have today called on the Morrison Government to act urgently to ensure the safety of the women and men held in its care in onshore immigration detention centres.…
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Opinion: Australia’s immigration detention system is cruel and damaging by its very nature, by Jonathon Hunyor
The Australian Human Rights Commission’s report on the use of force in immigration detention is the latest chapter in a now familiar story of excessively harsh, punitive and degrading conditions in Australian immigration detention centres. Once again, we see a disregard for the rights and basic dignity of people who have sought our protection and…
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Man waits years for hepatitis C medication after immigration detention transfer
‘A man who waited 18 months for hepatitis C medication to be approved while in detention was transferred interstate before it arrived, leading to another two-year delay in receiving it.’ ‘The case has been brought to light by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (Piac), as the home affairs department continues to maintain that decisions to…
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Asylum seekers held in prison-like conditions for record periods
People in Australia’s onshore immigration detention centres are now held for an average of about 500 days: an all-time high, and far longer than other similar countries, according to a report by the Australian Human Rights Commission. Risk Management in Australian Immigration Detention, released on 18 June, also found that Australia’s immigration detention regime is…
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Life saving medication secured for asylum seeker with Hepatitis C
Our legal action and strategic advocacy has ensured access to curative Hepatitis C medication for people in immigration detention.
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Major breakthrough: Hepatitis C treatment secured for onshore detainees
Asylum seekers with Hepatitis C in onshore detention will now have access to curative medication following advocacy by PIAC’s Asylum Seeker Health Rights Project. Under new Commonwealth Government policies, all people in onshore immigration detention will now have access to Hepatitis C medication. ‘For years, asylum seekers in immigration detention were routinely denied access to…
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Secret recordings allege excessive force by guards in Australia’s detention centres
‘Leaked video, audio and images have revealed allegations of excessive force and harassment inside Australia’s network of onshore detention centres.’ ‘Last year the federal court overruled a ban on detainees having phones, which has allowed snippets of life inside the centres – long closed to media and cloaked in secrecy – to be recorded and…
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PIAC Welcomes Passage of MedEvac Bill
These new laws are an important step forward in Australia’s treatment of people seeking asylum.
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The Age: Thought our treatment of asylum seekers couldn’t get any worse?
Editorial in the Sunday Age: ‘This newspaper has argued for years that the treatment by successive Australian governments of people seeking asylum will come to be seen as one of the most shameful chapters in our history. Our resolve to advocate for the end of needlessly punitive, even inhuman, treatment of desperate and vulnerable people…