The Australian Offshore Detention System as a Flawed Model

Preamble

Offshore detention has been a significant component of Australian immigration policy since 2001. It has been mired in controversy since its inception, however the renewed implementation of offshoring in 2013 as a deterrent for 'unauthorised maritime arrivals' has drawn greater calls for transparency and accountability, as well as international criticism of systemic human rights violations.

In similar fashion, the proposed UK Nationality and Borders Bill seeks to reinforce the distinction between those people who arrive by regular means and those who arrive 'irregularly', by means of people smugglers and/or unauthorised arrival pathways. The Bill seeks to divert the latter cohort to an offshore destination for processing. This proposal begins to take on a deterrent or punitive flavour, especially when one considers the inherent difficulties with accessing the UK by 'acceptable' methods for those genuinely seeking asylum.

This study outlines the documented shortcomings of the Australian offshore detention model, and logically applies them to the prospects of the UK proposal.