Released detainees accused of 27 crimes

Former detainees released into the community have been accused of committing 27 crimes, with more than 100 of the dangerous non-citizens receiving special welfare benefits.

Immigration Minister Andrew Giles. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Dangerous non-citizens released into the community after the High Court’s landmark “NZYQ” ruling in November have since been accused of committing 27 crimes, with more than 100 of the former detainees receiving special welfare benefits.

Australian Federal Police said acting deputy commissioner Grant Nicholls told a senate estimates committee on Tuesday night that, as of last Friday, the AFP had received 27 reports of crimes involving the former detainees.

Seven were commonwealth prosecutions, 18 were state and territory prosecutions and one matter was under consideration. Of the commonwealth prosecutions, seven individuals had been charged with Migration Act offences for breaching their visas.

Three of those former detainees were in custody and the other four were on bail.

All offences for which the AFP were responsible involved breaches of provisions imposing a curfew on the former detainees between 10pm and 6am. “Three of the seven that I referred to have been rearrested for subsequent breaches,” Mr Nicholls said.

The Coalition continued to press Immigration Minister Andrew Giles in parliament over his handling of the release of the 149 detainees, which included seven individuals convicted of murder or attempted murder, 37 sex offenders – including pedophiles – and another 72 individuals convicted of assault and violent offending, kidnapping or armed robbery.

Opposition immigration spokesman Dan Tehan asked how all detainees released could be “continuously monitored” if at least 18 had been arrested by state and territory police. Mr Giles said the “location of every individual in this cohort is known”, and defended the government for not yet requesting preventative detention orders to lock up any former detainees under the special laws rushed through parliament last December. He told parliament it was in “no-one’s interest to have a half-baked application that does not succeed”.

In a senate estimates committee hearing, Services Australia ­officials said the agency was ­making welfare payments to about 103 former detainees on a fortnightly basis. But they would not reveal how much was being paid, saying the rates were set by the Department of Home Affairs.

They said the Special Benefit program was designed for people who were no longer eligible for other welfare programs, with funding previously given to Afghan refugees and Ukrainian humanitarian assistance programs.

Former detainees were also receiving Status Resolution Support Services payments, but it was unclear how many were eligible.

The Coalition on Wednesday accused the government of prioritising the distribution of welfare payments to former detainees.

Liberal senator Maria Kovacic said people eligible for a SRSS payments – to help pay living costs while resolving their immigration status – received help within 14 days, compared with aged care, carers and people on disability support who were waiting 63 days.

“The wait time of this cohort of people I describe is 63 days versus 14 days for the special benefit payment, which is extraordinarily variant,” Senator Kovacic said.

A secondary crisis payment is also paid within two days for 97 per cent of recipients.

Additional reporting:
Joe Kelly