The Wire

Maurice Blackburn Lawyers and the National Justice Project have slammed the Department of Home Affairs for delaying and refusing to grant medical transfers for asylum seekers held on indefinite off-shore detention on Manus Island and Nauru.

The Federal Court yesterday made its ruling on four cases, rejecting claims that it had no power or jurisdiction to facilitate transfers of refugees and people seeking asylum to Australia so that they can receive urgent, life-saving medical care.

But the Coalition Government’s proposed changes to the Medevac Bill could defer future health and medical decisions of refugees in the hands of bureaucrats instead of medical professionals.