The Australian government has agreed to pay A$28 million (approximately US$20 million) in compensation to dozens of former asylum seekers who were detained in controversial immigration centres in the country’s remote outback more than two decades ago.
The settlement follows a landmark ruling by Australia’s High Court, which found that the government is not protected from compensation claims arising from unlawful immigration detention.
The class action, brought by 38 former detainees, alleged that they suffered significant physical and psychological harm while being held at the now-closed Woomera and Baxter detention centres. The legal action was resolved after the government agreed to settle the claims.
Woomera, located in the harsh desert region of South Australia, opened in 1999 as part of the conservative government’s efforts to discourage asylum seekers arriving by boat.
Within six months, the facility housed nearly 1,500 detainees, the majority fleeing conflict and persecution in Iraq and Afghanistan. Children accounted for roughly one-third of those detained.
The centre became a symbol of Australia’s tough immigration policies and attracted international criticism from human rights organisations.
Disturbing scenes emerged from the facility, including hunger strikes during which some detainees sewed their lips shut in protest, as well as several attempts at mass escapes.
Woomera was shut down in 2003 amid mounting pressure and scrutiny over detention conditions.
Nicholas Kitchin, a lawyer representing the former detainees through Shine Lawyers, described the settlement as both significant and bittersweet.
“Today is an important moment, but it is also one marked by grief. Some group members did not live to see this day,” Kitchin said.
He noted that many former detainees have since built successful lives in Australia, raising families and contributing to their communities despite the lasting trauma associated with their detention.
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“For many group members, Australia is now home. They have built lives, families and communities here, while continuing to live with the consequences of an extraordinarily trying chapter in their lives,” he said.
A spokesperson for the Department of Home Affairs confirmed that the matter had been resolved in accordance with established legal principles and procedures.
Following the closure of desert-based detention facilities, Australia adopted a policy of transferring boat-arriving asylum seekers to offshore processing centres on the Pacific islands of Nauru and Manus Island while their refugee claims were assessed.
Meanwhile, refugee advocates continue to raise concerns about the welfare of asylum seekers and refugees who remain affected by Australia’s offshore detention policies.
The Refugee Action Coalition has called on authorities to urgently evacuate Hatam Yekta, a 36-year-old Kurdish-Iranian refugee who was sent to Manus Island in 2013.
The organisation says his mental and physical health has severely deteriorated after years of detention and uncertainty.
Photographs released by the group show Yekta in a frail condition while receiving treatment in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.
“Hatam’s condition is an appalling example of the plight of the refugees suffering serious mental health problems as a result of their mistreatment in Manus Island detention,” said Refugee Action Coalition spokesperson Ian Rintoul.
Australia maintains that responsibility for refugees remaining in Papua New Guinea rests with the Papua New Guinean government, following the conclusion of the offshore processing arrangement in 2022.
The compensation settlement marks one of the most significant acknowledgments yet of the human cost associated with Australia’s immigration detention regime and is expected to intensify debate over the country’s treatment of asylum seekers.