Australian gov’t monitoring, curfews for released immigration detainees ruled invalid by High Court

CANBERRA, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) — The Australian government’s monitoring and curfew regime for former immigration detainees has been ruled invalid by the High Court.
The High Court on Wednesday ruled that the electronic ankle bracelets and curfews imposed on former immigration detainees by the government overreached the separation of powers between the courts, which administer criminal punishment, and the federal government.
The regime was introduced by the governing Labor Party in 2023 after the High Court ruled that indefinite detention of non-citizens without valid visas is unlawful even in circumstances where the individual cannot be deported.
As of October, a total of 215 non-citizens had been released from immigration detention as a result of that ruling. Of those, 143 have electronic monitoring bracelets and 126 are subject to a curfew.
Wednesday’s ruling means that those restrictions will be lifted.
The case was brought in the High Court by a stateless Eritrean man who was released from immigration detention in 2023 and was subsequently charged with six offenses relating to breaching curfew and monitoring conditions.
Under the law, breaking electronic monitoring restrictions or a curfew resulted in a mandatory one-year prison sentence.
Lawyers for the Eritrean man argued that the law was unconstitutional because the measures were a form of punishment, which can only be imposed by the courts, while the government said it was justified because it was needed to protect the community.
The seven justices of the High Court ruled 5-2 that the law was not valid.
Lawyers for the Eritrean man described the ruling as a major victory.
“This is an important ruling because it underscores the bedrock principle that for everyone, whether citizen or non-citizen, the government does not have the power to punish people by stripping them of their fundamental rights to freedom and dignity,” they told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
A representative from the Department of Home Affairs told a senate hearing on Monday that 65 of the 215 non-citizens have been charged with a criminal offense since their release from immigration detention. ■