At least 141 individuals were released into the community after a landmark high court ruling in Australia. Among these individuals, Australian Federal Police (AFP) arrested two recently released immigration detainees for alleged visa breaches. The High Court of Australia overturned a 20-year precedent and declared indefinite immigration detention to be unlawful on Nov. 8, 2023. Since then, multiple detainees have been arrested, including two more over the Christmas break. An Afghan national, 45, was charged with failing to comply with his visa-mandated curfew and has been charged with 10 counts of breaching the conditions of his Commonwealth visa. He faced court in Parramatta and may face up to five years in prison and a $93,900 fine.
Another detainee, an Iranian man, was arrested in Western Australia for failing to comply with his visa-mandated curfew. The preventive detention regime was passed in December 2023, enabling courts to detain the most serious offenders who pose an unacceptable risk of serious violent or sexual offenses. This came amid political pressure from the Opposition to get the highest risk offenders off the streets. The High Court’s reasoning for its ruling left the door open for a law providing for preventive detention. The judges also stated that release from unlawful detention does not grant the individuals the right to remain in Australia, nor does it prevent detention on another basis.