Labor Scrambles After High Court Decision Bans Monitoring of Migrant Detainees With Criminal Past

The Australian government has scrambled to put forward new laws in response to a High Court decision outlawing ankle monitoring and curfew restrictions for migrant detainees.
The judgement was handed down on Nov. 6 and affects those released into the community after a contentious 2023 High Court decision ruled that “indefinite detention” for illegal detainees unlawful.
In October last year, 215 individuals were released into the community with 126 of them subject to curfews from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., and 143 of them forced to wear ankle bracelets.
On Nov. 7, Labor Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke told Parliament the court decision was one the government was “prepared for.”
The minister will have the power to deport individuals,while adhering to international non-refoulement obligations.
The 36-year-old stateless man, identified as YBFZ, was born in Eritrea and fled to Australia as a refugee in 2002,.
After his refugee visa was revoked in 2017 due to criminal convictions, including burglary, he was detained until the 2023 ruling.
David Manne, YBFZ’s lawyer, hailed the verdict as a win for freedom.
Initially, the minister had imposed stringent conditions on the NZYQ cohort of detainees in the interest of public safety, and argued strongly in court for the monitoring measures to continue.
However, five out of seven High Court judges found the measures unconstitutional, stating that they amounted to punishment—a role that constitutionally rests with the judiciary, not lawmakers.