Liberty Victoria’s Rights Advocacy Project have released a report detailing the explosion in personal, discretionary, non-reviewable powers of the Minister for Immigration.

This report argues that the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection has too much power.

Many of the powers under the Migration Act, ASIO Act and Maritime Powers Act significantly affect the lives of people seeking asylum, yet they are discretionary, non-delegable, non-compellable and not subject to the rules of natural justice. When the Minister exercises these personal powers, the Minister’s decision is often either difficult or impossible to review. The breadth of the Minister’s discretionary powers creates a real risk that unfair decisions will be made, yet the limited (or lack of) review options mean that there is no avenue for correcting mistakes.

These powers therefore remove the possibility of ensuring that people seeking asylum in Australia are treated fairly or humanely.

The second edition of this Report provides an update on legal and policy developments related to refugees and people seeking asylum in Australia since 2013.

The Report is not intended to address all the issues facing refugees and people seeking asylum in Australia. Instead, it focuses on developments which place Australia at risk of breaching its international human rights obligations

The Refugee Council of Australia’s State of the Nation report documents what is happening to real people, here in our community, to their loved ones and their families. It collects the voices and views, the ideas and expertise, of people who are living through the experience of seeking safety and settling in Australia and the many committed Australians who are working hard to help them. It reflects our conversations with people across Australia and within our networks in 2015 and 2016. Finally, it sets out the challenges we face as we head into 2017 and provides clear actions our governments, and communities can take to ensure Australia treats refugees humanely.  Read the full report here

  • Submissions to the International Criminal Court urging them to investigate and prosecute Australia for crimes against humanity over its treatment of refugees

Summary of the five submissions
Submission by Stanford Law School’s International Human Rights and Conflict Resolution Clinic
Submission by English and Australian lawyers Courtenay Barklem, Tony Fisher,Professor Bill Bowring, Mary Johnson, Julian Burnside AO QC, Oliver Kidd, Alison Battisson
Submission by Refugee Action Collective (Victoria) and press release
Submission by Andrew Wilkie MP
Submission by Tracie Alymer
Australian settlement with refugees should be considered as part of OTP inquiry into crimes against humanity