Nine year old asylum seeker settles case with immigration department

A nine-year-old asylum seeker who was held in immigration detention on Christmas Island has been awarded a settlement by the immigration department over claims her physical and mental health deteriorated in her 12 months on the island. The girl was five years old when she arrived in Australia on 26 July 2013 and was placed in the Christmas Island detention centre, along with her father and pregnant mother. In detention, she suffered recurrent dental abscesses and recurrent allergic reactions on Christmas Island and was also diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, major depression with anxiety, separation anxiety, stuttering and bed-wetting. Court documents are available from the Victoria Supreme Court.