Has the Government ended the policy of mandatory detention of children?

No. All asylum seekers including children, families and unaccompanied minors who arrive undocumented will still be mandatorily detained without the right for review. Only children and families who are considered not a risk to the community and assessed as unlikely to abscond will be released into community detention.

Will the Government release all children from detention?

No. The changes do not guarantee the release of all children and families currently detained, only an undefined "majority".

Will these changes ensure that children will no longer suffer from the detrimental effects of long-term detention?

No. There is no guarantee that children will not be detained for long periods of time while health and security checks are being made because the Government refuses to specify any conditions on the length of time that this process takes. Furthermore, there are no checks or balances to ensure that the Government's decision to detain is made on a reasonable and accurate assessment. The legal right to challenge one's deprivation of liberty, available to regular Australians, will still be unavailable to all asylum seekers.

Are children and families being released into the community?

No. They are being released into community detention. This means they will most likely be confined to a particular city or suburb and be required to check in regularly with authorities. Curfews may be applied and in some cases asylum seekers may need to be accompanied by another individual.

Is the Government working as fast as possible to get kids out of detention?

No. The government has said that it aims to have most children out of detention by June 2011. This is far too long for vulnerable children to wait for release from detention. The Immigration Minister, Chris Bowen, says that priority will be given to vulnerable families assessed to have experienced torture or trauma, or who are at risk of mental health problems, as well as to pregnant women. However, the Government knows full well that all asylum seekers in detention are at risk of mental health problems and therefore are equally deserving of release into the community as soon as possible.

Are these changes permanent?

No. The Government has not made an amendment to the law so the changes cannot be considered to be permanent. Chris Bowen will use his ministerial powers to remove children from detention on a case by case basis. No legislation will be introduced or amended under the new plan. This means that there is no accountability to ensure the Government maintains its promise. Effectively, the new policy announcement can be used or not used at the Government's convenience to suit the political purpose of the day.

Has the Government made a fundamental shift in its refugee policy?

No. In fact, in 2008, Chris Bowen stated that, "people will be mandatorily detained on arrival and once we've completed health, security and identity checks, if they're no threat to the community then they will be able to be moved into the community." As we know, that promise was never kept. There are currently more than 1000 children in detention and the new policy does not apply to single men or women as implied in the above statement.

Will these changes end the mental anguish caused by the detention of children and families?

No. Apart from those children and families who will continue to suffer the consequences of detention, those released into community detention will be offered "residence determinations" instead of bridging visas. This means they will not have the same rights or security provided to other asylum seekers living in the community to the detriment of their welfare and mental health. Asylum seekers on "residence determination" will be denied the right to work.

Is the Government finally taking responsibility for the needs of asylum seeker children and families?

Since coming to power, the Labor government has constantly denied that it had a policy of detaining children. The Immigration Minister told the ABC's Q&A audience that there were "no children in detention centres as such". Now the government has declared it is releasing (some) of the children from detention that it previously refused to admit even existed. Furthermore, it appears that the Immigration Department is planning to place the responsibility on caring for children and families on charities and churches rather than on the Government itself. Save the Children is in agreement with others in the refugee sector who are calling for support programs to be in place for asylum seekers in the community so that NGOs do not carry the main responsibility of providing material support.

Are the new changes a sustainable long term approach?

No, they are a band-aid solution. Similar to Howard's policy changes in 2005, they aim to reduce community pressure aroused by the inhumanity of detaining children. Instead, we must sustain this pressure to ensure that all children are removed from detention and into the community and impel the Government to make legislative changes to ensure that children will never suffer the consequences of detention in the future.

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