MEDIA RELEASE: Offshore Inquiry adds to evidence of the harm caused by offshore detention, but leaves secrets buried

Media Release, Thursday 2 July 2026

Today, the Senate Inquiry into Australia’s offshore processing and resettlement arrangements has failed to deliver the truth, accountability and action needed after more than a decade of cruelty, corruption and secrecy.

The Inquiry heard powerful new evidence from courageous whistleblowers and people who have survived Australia’s offshore detention regime. People with lived experience of being detained offshore gave evidence about the lasting damage caused by Australia’s policies, including trauma, family separation, fear, medical neglect, loss of safety and the destruction of their lives.Their evidence added to what has been known for years: offshore detention causes profound and ongoing harm, and it must end.

Despite this, the report’s recommendations do not go far enough. Recommendations calling for greater transparency are not enough when people have died, children have been harmed, families have been torn apart, countless lives have been destroyed and billions of dollars in public money have flowed through contracts that remain shrouded in secrecy.

The organisations say the Labor-controlled committee has failed to recommend the concrete action needed to expose the full truth of what successive Australian Governments, departments, private contractors and subcontractors know about offshore processing, what they are concealing, and who is profiting.

As refugee and human rights organisations warned when the Inquiry was established, a Parliamentary Inquiry without the full powers of compulsion was never going to be enough to force the truth into the light. Those who hold the secrets have been allowed to keep them.

Only a Royal Commission into Immigration Detention with the power to compel evidence from Governments, contractors and multinational corporations will be able to uncover the full truth about the corruption, waste of taxpayer money and profiteering and waste that has taken place in offshore processing. A Royal Commission would also add to the overwhelming body of evidence about the harm offshore detention has caused to people seeking asylum, refugees, families and children.

The Albanese Government does not need to wait for a Royal Commission to know that offshore detention must end. After more than a decade of deaths, self-harm, mental health deterioration, families torn apart and deliberate cruelty inflicted by government policy, we already know enough to act. 

The Albanese Government must immediately bring every person Australia has sent offshore to safety in Australia, provide a clear, swift pathway to permanency for those without resettlement options, end offshore processing for good, cancel the contracts that sustain the system, and establish a Royal Commission into immigration detention.

Ogy Simic, Head of Advocacy, Asylum Seeker Resource Centre said: 

“People who survived offshore detention, and the whistleblowers who witnessed what was done to them, have shown extraordinary courage in giving evidence to this Inquiry. They told the truth about a system built on secrecy, cruelty and harm. They deserve far more than a report that just says the Government should be more transparent.

This report is simply not enough when people have died, children have been harmed, families have been torn apart, countless lives have been destroyed and billions of dollars in public money have flowed through secretive contracts.

We warned from the start that a Parliamentary Inquiry without the full powers of compulsion would not be enough to force the truth into the light. Those who hold the secrets have been allowed to keep them. Australia needs a Royal Commission to expose the full truth, but we do not need to wait for one to know that offshore detention must end.”

Dr Graham Thom, Advocacy Coordinator, Refugee Council of Australia

“We have heard the evidence. We know the harm. We know the human cost. While greater transparency is important, the time for reviews and promises has passed. What we need now from the Australian government is action: close the offshore detention centres, bring people to safety, and ensure there is accountability for what has been allowed to go on in secrecy for too long.”

Sarah Dale, Centre Director & Principal Solicitor, Refugee Advice and Casework Service

The Committee’s recommendations focus narrowly on contract administration and measures of transparency. They do not engage with any of the real substantive issues impacting the horrific experience of the persons affected, despite all the evidence seen and heard. These recommendations obfuscate UN findings that Australia has breached its human rights obligations, that people live with the risk of refoulement, that there are inadequate protections for women, children and LGBTIQA+ people on Nauru, and it completely ignores the separation of Australian families. Offshore processing must end, third country reception arrangements must cease, permanency and protection must be afforded now.

Laura John, Associate Legal Director, Human Rights Law Centre

“This is another missed opportunity for the Albanese Government to end over 14 years of corruption, neglect and deliberate cruelty towards refugees and people seeking asylum.

Despite new evidence from whistleblowers and survivors of Australia’s offshore regime, the parliamentary inquiry recommends only weak measures aimed at improving transparency and ‘strengthening integrity’ in contractual arrangements. There is no integrity in a system designed to cause irreparable harm to thousands of people and their families – including those who have now built homes in Australia, but remain in visa limbo.

We do not need more evidence, or more inquiries – we have all the evidence we need. Offshore processing must be dismantled in its entirety, and every person subjected to it guaranteed safety and a chance to rebuild their lives.” 

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