How many inquiries does it take to change detention?
11 June 2008

Below is a list of only some of the inquiries into Australia’s refugee and mandatory detention policy

1997

• UN Human Rights Commission
• September. Commonwealth Ombudsman Final Report into Detention, Immigration and Ethinic Affairs (Investigation of Complaints Concerning Onshore Refugee Processing)

1998

• Human rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Those who’ve come across the seas: detention of unauthorised arrivals

1999

• United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Immigration Detention Human Rights Commisioners 1998 -99 Review
• United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees – Refugees and others of concern to UNHCR – 1998 statistical overview. Geneva: UNHCR

2000

• Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights Concluding observations of the Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights: Australia 01/09/2000
• Senate Legal and Constitutional Reference Committee A sanctuary under review: an examination of Australia’s refugee and humanitarian determination processes.
  

2001

• Flood, P., Report of the inquiry into immigration detention procedures
• Joint Standing Committee Foreign Affairs and Trade Report on visits to immigration detention centres
• Australian Commonwealth Ombudsman Report on Own Motion Investigation into the DIMIA Centres
• Human rights and Equal Opportunity Commission A report on visits to immigration detention facilities by the Human Rights Commission

2002

• Health Services Australia Submission to the National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention from Health Services Australia
• Report of Justice Bhagwati, Regional Advisor for Asia and the Pacific of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mission to Australia, 24 May to 2 June 2002

2003

• Catholic Commission for Justice Development and Peace Concerns about ministerial discretion in migration matters. A special report
• Barnes, D. Asylum Seekers and Refugees in Australia: Issues of mental health and wellbeing. Transcultural Mental Health Centre.

2004

• Commonwealth of Australia Australia’s national framework for human rights: National Action plan
• Human rights and Equal Opportunity Commission A last resort? National inquiry into children in immigration detention
• Senate Select Committee on Ministerial Discretion in Migration Matters Inquiry into Ministerial Discretion in Migration Matters. Canberra: Senate printing unit
• Refugee Council of Australia Complementary protection: The way ahead

2005

• M. Palmer Inquiry into the circumstances of the Immigration detention of Cornelia Rau: Report. Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra
• Amesty International The Impact of Indefinite Detention
• Commonwealth Ombudsman Inquiry into the circumstances of the Vivian Alvarez matter
• Senate Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade References Committee The removal, search for and discoveryof Vivian Solon. Final report. Canberra:Commonwealth of Australia
• UQ Boilerhourse Community Engagement Centre Defending human rights: Community-based asylum seekers in Queensland. Ipswich: The University of Queensland.
• McAdam, J Complementary protection and beyond: How states deal with human rights protection. New Issues in Refugee Research Working Paper Series No 118 Geneva: UNHCR

2006

• Senate and Constitutional References Committee Administration and operation of the Migration Act 1958
• Commonwelath Ombudsman Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs: Management of a frail aged visitor to Australia.
• Commonwelath Obmbudsman Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs: Report into referred immigration cases: Canberra: commonwealth of Australia
• Asylum Seekers Project Hotham Mission DIMA bridging visa review: Hotham mission

2007

• Oxfam: A price too high: The cost of Australia’s approach to asylum seekers, August, Oxfam, Melbourne, p. 13

2008

• Various documents from Senate Estimates Committees
• The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
• Report of the Commissioner on Mental Health (South Australia), Auditor General's report
• Commonwealth Ombudsman, Reports into referred immigration cases, Auditor General's report

Further Reports:

• Commonwelath Ombudsman, Investigation of Complaints Concerning the Transfer of Immigration Detainees to State Prisons, December 1995
• Australian National Audit Office The Management of Boat People : Performace Audit Commonwelath of Australia 1998
• Asylum, Border Control and Detention, Joint Standing committee on migration, Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia, February 1994
• Adrienne Millbank, The Detention of Boat People, Parliamentary Library Current Issues Brief 8, 2000-01, 27 February 2001
• A v Australia; Views of Human Rights Committee 30 April 1997: Un Documents CCPR/C/59/D/ 560/1993
• The Politics of Australian Immigration, Bureau of Immigration Research, AGPD, Canberra (1993)
• Crock, Mary The Peril of Boat People: Assessing Australia’s Response
• The Human Rights Law Resource Centre Report on Australia's Compliance with the Convention against Torture
• United Nations Committee Against Torture Concluding Observations on Australia – Australia’s Compliance with the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumance or Degarading Treatment, 40th Session, Geneva, May 2008
• Third and Fourth Periodic Report of Australia to the Committee Against Torture April 2005
• Committee Against Torture List of Issues for Australia, 6th of June 2007