Australia’s limitless detention of refugees and immigrants is under the microscope as human rights groups and government watchdogs line up against recent changes that they say allow it to effectively breach international law.

Australia is one of few Western nations not to set time limits on immigration detention and the latest figures show the average stint is 735 days, or almost two years.

The United Nations is among several high-powered groups demanding an end to indefinite detention in Australia, because of amendments that effectively leave refugees as well as migrants with a criminal background in limbo.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees recently lodged a submission to a powerful parliamentary committee calling for time limits to be introduced.

“Indefinite detention is arbitrary and so impermissible at international law that maximum limits on periods of detention should be established,” the refugee agency said in its submission filed in June.

“The UNHCR has observed first-hand the significant detrimental impact long-term immigration detention has had on the health and psycho-social wellbeing of those affected.”

In the last five years there have been over 2000 instances of self-harm – actual and threatened – in Australian detention facilities, it added.

The Clarifying International Obligations for Removal amendments to the Migration Act passed federal parliament with bipartisan support in 2021. They are now under review.

Languishing in limbo

Australia is a signatory to various international human rights laws including the principle of non-refoulment, which means refugees cannot be sent back to countries where they face persecution.

But the immigration minister can overturn a person’s refugee status, leaving them with no option but to stay behind bars or return to the country they fled.

Mary Crock, an international law professor at the University of Sydney, said Australia has dropped the ball when it comes to juggling international law and its immigration policies.

“The two fault lines of Australian migration law have been boat people and migrants who have been convicted of a crime,” she told AAP.

“It’s part of the politicisation of migration.”

Professor Crock described the 2021 legislative changes as a political sop to try to solve a problem that was never resolved.

She said there was a growing tendency to deport people under increasingly complex and automated powers.

The Australian Human Rights Commission and Commonwealth Ombudsman have also demanded an end to indefinite detention, along with advocacy groups including the Refugee Council of Australia, Amnesty International and Asylum Seeker Resource Centre.

In his submission to the federal parliament intelligence and security committee, Commonwealth Ombudsman Iain Anderson called for alternatives to be found.

“Individuals find themselves in a state of limbo, where their detention becomes lengthy and without a clear resolution,” he said.

“When reviewing individual cases, I frequently find myself questioning why certain individuals are still held in detention and why the processes involved in resolving their cases take an excessive amount of time.”

In its submission to the committee, which will begin hearings later this year, the Department of Home Affairs said immigration detention was a last resort, particularly for people whose removal may not be practical in the foreseeable future.

“The government’s preference is to manage non-citizens in the community wherever possible,” it said.

It ends when it ends

The department said detention was not limited by a set time frame under the Migration Act.

“It ends when the person is either granted a visa or is removed from Australia. The time frame associated with either of these events is dependent upon a number of factors.”

The Department of Home Affairs told the committee in its submission that no unlawful non-citizens had been removed since the powers came into effect.

Immigration Minister Andrew Giles was contacted for comment.

A spokesperson for Mr Giles has previously said the government was open to exploring measures aimed at addressing barriers to immigration status resolution and the risks of long-term detention.

-AAP