Hazara Nation

ABC,net AU

The Commonwealth Ombudsman has questioned the value of making asylum seekers pay for their time in detention.

The latest report by the Ombudsman has found that in the last financial year, the cost of detaining asylum seekers was $28 million, but that the way the Department of Immigration handles the debt recovery is unsatisfactory.

Refugee advocacy groups say the report adds weight to their call for the policy of forcing people to pay detention costs to be scrapped.

A 45-year-old Sri Lankan man - who would liked to be known as Sam - arrived in Australia by boat in 2001 and was detained for four and a half years.

While the other people he arrived with were all granted temporary protection visas, he was refused entry and forced to leave Australia.

Two years later, Sam was granted a Skilled Migrants Visa, and he is now working as an electrician at a mine in Western Australia.

But he has to repay $271,000 for the cost of his detention. Sam estimates that at $300 a month, it will take him 67 years to pay off his debt.

"It's really unfair. It's totally unfair because it is not my fault," he said.

"I came here as an asylum seeker because Australia needed skilled people... so I am working here and then why I should have to pay this money?

"I want to build up my life even now so how can I buy a house? How can I do the things with so much debt behind me? It is killing me."

Debt probe

After a number of complaints about people unable to pay back their debts, the Commonwealth Ombudsman, Professor John McMillan, launched an investigation.

"Some of the complaints we had were from people who'd received notice of a detention debt and asked for it to be removed and months later, nothing had occurred," he said.

"Sometimes that was because it was a complex issue and some of the debts are in excess of one quarter of a million dollars, so anxiety and tension quickly develops."

Professor McMillan says while the Immigration Department was found to have dealt with debt waivers and write-offs in line with policy and legal requirements, there were some problems.

"The main recommendation has just been to sharpen up the administrative processes - better information to people, better referral of cases for waver to the Department of Finance, quicker response," he said.

But refugee advocacy groups say asking people to pay back their detention costs is inherently unfair.

Refugee Council of Australia CEO Paul Power says it is a question of natural justice.

"It's really akin to UNHCR [UN High Commissioner for Refugees] charging refugees for the time they spend in refugee camps," he said.

The Ombudsman report also shows that most of the applications to have debts cancelled or written off have been approved.

Professor McMillan says this means the Government will carry most of the debt burden.

"It is a legitimate topic for analysis as to whether detention debts should be imposed," he said.

"They are imposed by the Migration Act and so ultimately that is a question for the Parliament. Any inquiry into whether governments should not impose debts immediately raises much larger issues.

"But the topic of detention debts is a controversial issue and public discussion."

Mr Power says the report highlights that the entire process of debt recovery is a waste of time and money.

"The detention debt policy really is one of a number of failed policies that were introduced at a time when the Australian Government was introducing punitive policies to deter asylum seekers, in particular, from seeking refuge in Australia," he said.

"And really, it is time that the underlying policy is reviewed - not just the administrative aspects of it."

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship has released a statement saying it has accepted all the recommendations on the administration of the detention debt waiver, adding that some of the suggested improvements had already been made.