In Their Voice: Experiences of Australia's Mandatory Detention Policies

Abstract

The Australian Government's approach to asylum seekers since the Australian Labor Party introduced mandatory detention in 1992 has been increasingly harsh and punitive. Legally, asylum seekers are dealt with under the 1958 Migration Act, which incorporates Australia's obligations as a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention. Since the influx of Asian asylum seekers in the 1970s the Act has been systematically politicised. One example of this is that the Australian Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs no longer accepts the group determination process of the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHCR) whereby whole groups found to be persecuted could claim asylum. Instead the Department requires asylum seekers to prove individually their claims for asylum. The politicised approach coupled with indefinite mandatory detention means Australian refugee laws and practices are a tool of deterrence and punishment.