The Christmas Island detention centre has been emptied, with all remaining detainees brought to the Australian mainland, the Australian Border Force has revealed.
But the centre, which was reopened by the Morrison government in 2020 to reduce overcrowding during the Covid-19 pandemic, will remain open as a contingency. This is despite the UN calling for it to be closed.
The population in Australia’s immigration detention centres peaked at more than 12,000 in 2013, after which a series of harsh policies including offshore detention and boat turnbacks were used to deter maritime arrivals by refugees and asylum seekers.
When Labor came to government in May 2022, there were 1,414 people in immigration detention, a figure that fell to 1,079 in July 2023 due to fewer visa cancellations on character grounds and community release for some low-risk detainees.
In June Guardian Australia revealed that the last of the detainees on Nauru were being moved off, although that detention centre will be kept open at a cost of $350m a year.
According to the most recent statistics for July, released in September, there were still 37 detainees on Christmas Island’s north-west point immigration detention centre.
But an Australian Border Force spokesperson said it “can confirm that the final transfer of immigration detainees from Christmas Island to the Australian mainland has occurred”.
“The Australian government views immigration detention as an essential component of maintaining a strong border,” the spokesperson said. “Immigration detention supports Australia’s generous and well-managed migration system.
“Immigration detention is used as a last resort. Whenever possible, unlawful non-citizens are accommodated in the community or in less restrictive alternative places of detention.”
In December 2022 the UN committee against torture said it was “concerned about the continued operation of the Christmas Island detention centre” and recommended Australia consider closing it.
Hannah Dickinson, principal solicitor at the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, said clearing Christmas Island was “an important step in addressing the crisis in detention”.
“Conditions there were absolutely brutal … It’s not fit for purpose and should be closed. It’s unclear why it wouldn’t be if it’s not being used for detention.
“I hope it shows a willingness to engage with the crisis,” she said, citing Australia’s policy of “mandatory, indefinite detention … causing extreme harm” to refugees and asylum seekers.
Paul Power, the chief executive officer of the Refugee Council of Australia, said clearing Christmas Island was a significant milestone.
“Christmas Island is so remote … the people who are there are cut off from everyone they could potentially have contact with. It just exacerbates the mental health issues with being stuck in immigration detention,” he said.
“We would strongly encourage the government to continuing reviewing the cases of people, particularly in long-term detention, and finding the most viable alternatives.”
Sanmati Verma, the acting legal director at the Human Rights Law Centre, said: “While the transfer of people off Christmas Island is welcome, it is ultimately cold comfort.
“The number of people trapped in long-term and indefinite detention remains almost the same under the Albanese Labor government as it was under the Coalition.
“A long-term solution and real commitment to finding alternatives to detention is needed.”
In September Guardian Australia revealed that the home affairs department under the former minister Peter Dutton was warned by an independent review in 2020 that immigration detention was “failing” to meet key objectives, including to resolve people’s immigration status as quickly as possible.
