18 July 2020

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[...] [M]ore than 180 refugees and asylum seekers being held in hotels in Brisbane and Melbourne after coming to Australia from Manus Island and Nauru under medevac legislation.

Recent protests inside and outside the Kangaroo Point and Melbourne Mantra hotels have put the spotlight on the makeshift detention centres, referred to as “alternative places of detention” or APODs by the Department of Home Affairs.

Many of those people, including women and children, are now living in community detention in Australia while they undergo medical treatment or wait for their visa or settlement application to be finalised.

Madeline Gleeson, a senior research associate at the University of NSW’s Andrew & Renata Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, said there is no reason why the men in hotels couldn’t also be released into community detention while they await their next steps. 

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At Kangaroo Point, the Department of Home Affairs has now taken over the entire private facility to house detainees, recently erecting a fence around the property. But despite pressure from the public, it is still unclear whether the government sees the hotels as a permanent solution. 

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Many human rights advocates have expressed concerns about the use of hotels and motels in this capacity, as they are not built with long-term detention in mind.

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“They are confined to a small room for up to 20 hours a day,” Dr [Bari] Phatarfod said. “If you do leave your room, you get patted down, frequent checks … it’s an incredibly oppressive environment to live in for 12 months.”