Last refugee on Nauru evacuated as Australian government says offshore processing policy remains

Human rights and refugee advocacy groups have welcomed the end of offshore processing on Nauru, but said many of those held suffered irreparable damage. Photograph: Torsten Blackwood/AFP/Getty Images

The last refugee held by Australia on Nauru has been evacuated off the island, flying into Brisbane on Saturday night, marking the end – at least for now – of more than a decade of offshore processing on the Pacific island.

However the Australian government says it remains committed to offshore processing as a policy. It maintains an offshore detention centre in abeyance on the island, at an annual cost of $350m, which it says is “ready to receive and process any new unauthorised maritime arrivals”.