Australia - September 2025

On 4 September, the Australian parliament passed the Home Affairs Legislation Amendment (2025 Measure No.1) Bill, 2025, enabling the deportation of non-citizens to third countries without procedural fairness (i.e. individuals will only be notified of deportation proceedings once a final decision has been made). The law also allows for the enforcement of prior visa cancellations, even if they were blocked or based on incorrect or incomplete information. The bill follows a 2023 High Court ruling that blocked indefinite detention for non-citizens unable to return home, leading to the release of hundreds of detainees. The government claims that only a small number of non-citizens awaiting deportations will be affected, particularly those with serious criminal histories and others linked to the Court ruling, who will be deported to Nauru, under a recent bilateral agreement. However, legal experts warn that it could affect 80,000 people, particularly alongside the harsh anti-migration laws passed in December 2024. Opposition leaders and civil society strongly condemned the bill’s rushed and secretive passage that prevented adequate public consultation.

Sources: International IDEA (1), International IDEA (2), Human Rights Watch, Parliament of Australia, Refugee Council of Australia, Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, Law Council of Australia