The Albanese government is seeking preventative detention orders to lock up 32 foreign nationals it believes pose an unacceptable risk of committing serious violent or sexual offences in Australia.
Immigration Minister Andrew Giles revealed on Wednesday his department is working around the clock to progress the cases identified as the most urgent under laws the government recalled Parliament to pass in December.
"Six cases have been referred for expert review and ... a further 26 [are] in an advanced stage of preparation," Mr Giles told the ABC, after a second day of being attacked in Parliament over dozens of cases of violent criminals having their visas reinstated on his watch.
The new preventative detention laws were passed after the High Court's November ruling that indefinite detention of foreign nationals who cannot be deported is unlawful.
Mr Giles said putting the new law into action was "an absolute focus for me and for my department".
"This is a process that is extremely resource-intensive," he said. "Putting together one of these cases for expert review requires the consideration of thousands - and sometimes tens of thousands - of pages of documents and engaging with many state as well as Commonwealth authorities."
Mr Giles has faced sustained attacks from the opposition - and some journalists - calling for him to resign as horrific details have been aired in Parliament and the media of the crimes of released former immigration detainees.
They include a man who choked a woman unconscious and threatened to kill two strangers in Canberra; a serial rapist; and a man who raped his stepdaughter while his wife was giving birth.
The preventative detention regime will allow a court to order the detention of the most serious offenders where they pose an unacceptable risk to the community.
"These are matters that are subject to the court once we get there," Mr Giles said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese revealed during Question Time, which was largely devoted to the government's immigration record, that Mr Giles will overhaul a controversial ministerial direction cited by an appeals tribunal to overturn visa cancellations.
Mr Giles told the Parliament he will revise Direction 99, which says significant weight must be given to a person's ties to Australia when deciding whether to refuse their visa.
The Administrative Decisions Tribunal has given consideration to this ministerial direction when ruling that a number of foreign criminals should have their visas reinstated.
"The new direction will ensure that all members of the AAT will adopt a commonsense approach to visa decisions, consistent with the intent of Ministerial Direction 99," Mr Giles said.
"A number of recent AAT decisions have not shown common sense ... This means ensuring that the protection of the community outweighs other considerations."
Mr Albanese took aim at Opposition Leader Peter Dutton over his record of presiding over similar decisions by the AAT, which the government is abolishing and replacing.
"When this bloke was the Home Affairs minister, for example, the tribunal decided that a heroin dealer and ice manufacturer should be allowed to stay."
Mr Dutton responded on X: "I cancelled more than 6300 visas - more than any minister since federation."
