Explosive testimony alleges grooming and abuse by Australian-paid guards in offshore detention

Media Release, Tuesday 5 May 2026

Evidence given to a Senate inquiry this morning has exposed allegations of grooming and sexual exploitation of women and children by guards working under Australian government contracts in offshore detention on Nauru, with a person previously detained offshore in Nauru describing a system where those meant to protect people instead used their power to exploit them.
Maryam, who was detained on Nauru after arriving in Australia by boat in 2013, told the inquiry that chronic deprivation and the failure to provide basic necessities created the conditions for abuse. She explained that people were forced to wear the same clothes, including underwear and bras, for the first six months after they arrived, resulting in infections and health problems, and that ongoing access to food and other basic needs was limited and highly controlled.
Maryam described how as a result, a system of “trading” developed between detainees and guards, where basic items like food, toiletries and cigarettes were exchanged because people were not being given what they needed to survive. Over time, she said, that system escalated into exploitation, with guards seeking increasingly inappropriate and coercive exchanges. “Security guards were asking for sexual favours in exchange for cigarettes, and asking for a kiss or hug from children for a lollipop or chewing gum,” she told the Committee, saying that “at the time it was hard to concentrate on everything around us. But when I look back on it, I think the women and children were being groomed by security guards. They were using their power for their own gratification.” Maryam was clear that the guards engaging in this were both Australian and Nauruan, and all were paid under Australian contracts.
She told the inquiry there was little real protection for people in detention, and that the greatest risk often came from those tasked with keeping them safe. “We needed someone to protect us from the guards themselves,” she said, describing an environment where fear, hunger and neglect were widespread, and where women and children were particularly vulnerable. Her evidence also detailed unsafe living conditions, inadequate food and the absence of proper medical care, all of which compounded the harm and created a system in which exploitation could flourish.
When these allegations were put to International Health and Medical Services (IHMS) in the next session, the contractor providing healthcare within the offshore system, they said they had not substantiated any allegations of sexual assault or harassment against their own staff. However, they confirmed that investigations into such allegations were conducted internally, and that reports were provided to the Department of Home Affairs, which acknowledged receiving them but indicated no further action was being taken.
This evidence raises serious questions about whether allegations of abuse in offshore detention have been independently investigated or acted upon, and whether a system funded by Australian taxpayers has been left to regulate itself without meaningful oversight.
Maryam also rejected the idea that these kinds of abuses are confined to the past, pointing out that offshore processing was initiated by Kevin Rudd, and pointing to the ongoing harm experienced by people who were sent offshore and are still living in Australia without permanency. She told the inquiry that after more than a decade, hundreds of people remain in limbo on temporary visas, unable to move forward with their lives. She said the current government has the power to end this uncertainty by granting them permanent visas, allowing people to finally rebuild their lives and giving their children the stability and future they deserve.

Jana Favero, Deputy CEO of Asylum Seeker Resource Centre said: 
“This is some of the most disturbing evidence we have ever heard about offshore detention.”
“To hear direct testimony that children were being groomed and people were being coerced into sexual exploitation by guards working under Australian contracts is shocking, but it is not surprising.”
“The conditions in which this kind of abuse flourishes have been purposefully created by a system where people are deprived of the basics they need to survive, and then placed entirely at the mercy of those in power.”
“The Albanese Government can end this today. They can close offshore detention and grant permanent visas to the people still living in limbo in Australia after being sent there. After everything they’ve been through, it’s time to let them stay for good.”

For media enquiries or interviews, contact:
Natasha Blucher on 0412 034 821 or media@asrc.org.au