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Australia’s Human Rights Commissioner has expressed serious concerns about the Federal Government’s proposed changes to the Migration Act, warning they could undermine human rights and breach Australia’s international legal obligations.  

Earlier this week the government introduced legislation in Parliament to amend the Migration Act 1958 (Cth), including amendments allowing the removal of certain non-citizens to third countries without affording them procedural fairness. 

Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay said: ‘These amendments strip away one of the most basic legal protections of a fair society: the right to be heard. They would allow the government to remove someone to a third country without giving them a meaningful opportunity to respond to a decision that has significant consequences for their life, safety, health and family. 

‘Procedural fairness is a cornerstone of our legal system and a safeguard against error. Expressly removing it from decisions about third country transfers risks serious harm and sets a troubling precedent. 

‘The proposed laws also seek to retrospectively validate relevant visa decisions, which may give rise to retrospective criminal liability. This raises significant concerns about the rule of law and requires careful scrutiny. 

‘These changes must be carefully examined by the Parliament to ensure they do not undermine Australia’s human rights obligations. Fairness should never be optional.’ 

The amendments form part of the government’s ongoing response to recent High Court decisions, including the 2023 decision in NZYQ which found indefinite immigration detention to be unconstitutional. That ruling led to the release of hundreds of detainees from immigration detention who could not be deported to their country of origin, prompting a series of legislative changes including provisions which allow the government to pay a third country to accept non-citizens under “third country reception arrangements”.  

‘These amendments need to be seen in their broader context,’ Commissioner Finlay said. 

‘Rather than a patchwork of reactive responses, we need to ensure principled migration and asylum policies that maintain the integrity of Australia’s migration system while also upholding our human rights obligations.’ 

ENDS | Media contact: media@humanrights.gov.au or 0457 281 897 (calls only, no texts)