Children in detention – 2011 update

On October 18th last year Immigration Minister Chris Bowen announced that the government had decided to expand its existing residence determination program and would seek to transition several hundred children and vulnerable family groups out of immigration detention facilities and into community-based accommodation. Prime Minister Julia Gillard later offered quantification of this announcement, pledging that the majority of the 900 children then in detention would be released into the community by June this year.

Undoubtedly this proposal deserves some praise. Moving vulnerable and traumatised children out of immigration detention will protect their physical and mental health, shielding them from needless further trauma.

Since the announcement, the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC) has received numerous requests asking for updates on the numbers of children released from detention to date. The ASRC is aware of only 11 children who have been released in the three months since the announcement in October.

It is hoped that the government will ramp up the pace at which children are being released in the coming months and change the policy of mandatorily detaining children. As we become aware of additional numbers of children being released from immigration detention we will continue provide updates through our blog and website. We believe this is important for two reasons – not only to inform the general public, but to ensure that the government remains publically accountable and is bound to honour the initial promises made on this issue.

Current figures – January 2011

• 1003 children are in detention.

• 463 are unaccompanied minors.

To keep up to date with the latest figures of children in detention please visit – https://asrc.org.au