Anti-Fairness Bill’s passing marks the start of Australia’s subsequent expensive human rights catastrophe

4 September 2025

The Refugee Council of Australia is dismayed by the rushed passing of laws that may pave the best way for the removing of due course of for folks topic to pressured removing from Australia to Nauru and doubtlessly different nations. 

This regulation removes primary authorized protections which have been central to Australia’s democratic system. The new laws – rushed by way of Parliament in a single week – permits the Government to forcibly deport folks with out warning, no matter whether or not they could face persecution or severe hurt. There isn’t any requirement to think about their well being wants and no unbiased oversight of the method. 

The regulation offers the Government the ability to retrospectively validate visa choices made based mostly on incorrect data. This means folks may very well be deported based mostly on choices that have been made below incorrect or outdated legal guidelines, with out the prospect for these choices to be correctly reviewed. 

This Bill’s passage expands upon the suite of legal guidelines rushed by way of Parliament in November 2024. Those legal guidelines included creating provisions that will see folks imprisoned for as much as 5 years if they don’t adjust to removing instructions, together with expectations for to cooperate with governments they initially fled from. Refugee standing will be revoked to allow removing, even in circumstances the place there was no change within the particular person’s danger or scenario. 

People topic to this regulation embody these with deep connections to Australia, together with Australian citizen members of the family. Families will probably be completely separated with no proper to enchantment or search reunification. There isn’t any safety in place to make sure households can keep collectively or keep contact. 

“Everything we know about what happens when people are sent indefinitely against their will to a small island like Nauru tells us that this will end badly for all involved,” RCOA chief government officer Paul Power mentioned. “We know that the people exiled indefinitely to Nauru will suffer greatly and, as their physical and mental health worsens, the international pressure on both Nauru and Australia will increase. 

“Successive Australian governments have dragged our nation’s international reputation through the mud with 25 years of appalling treatment of foreign nationals who originally came to Australia to seek protection. How can we possibly think that this policy is going to be different?” 

The Government has mentioned this regulation will apply to a small group of individuals. However, the laws is written broadly and will simply be utilized by future governments to detain or take away a a lot wider group of individuals, together with recognised refugees and folks nonetheless within the means of looking for safety. 

The passage of this regulation follows the announcement of a brand new offshore settlement between Australia and Nauru. The Government has dedicated to paying $408 million upfront, plus $70 million per yr for 30 years, to help ongoing offshore operations. Over the 30 years, that is anticipated to price greater than $2.5 billion. If the entire present cohort of 354 persons are despatched to Nauru, that works out to round $7 million per individual to ship folks to indefinite relocation to a small island nation that they don’t have any connection to.  

The association doesn’t element any unbiased monitoring for the folks transferred, and there aren’t any indications that steps have been taken to ameliorate the considerations about corruption and monetary impropriety raised in 2023 concerning Australia’s earlier multi-billion greenback association with Nauru. 

There are severe considerations about Nauru’s means to fulfill the well being wants of individuals transferred and to make sure their security. The well being system on Nauru has already confirmed insufficient, with latest reviews of medical evacuations for treatable situations, together with dengue fever outbreaks in July 2025. 

This regulation entrenches the worst facets of Australia’s punitive offshore regime, at huge human and monetary price. It overrides pure justice and removes the suitable to equity. People topic to this laws who’ve been convicted of offences have served their time and require help to rehabilitate and reintegrate into the group, identical to Australian residents who’ve interacted with the justice system.