The Wire

The accountability of Australia’s department of immigration is once again under attack, over concerns it is abusing its powers to deport residents to their home countries. Section 501 of the Immigration Act, allows DIMIA to cancel visas for non-residents if they have a criminal background, or if they have failed in the department’s test of ‘good character’. More than 100 cases of deportation have been executed each year, since 2003. These statistics are amongst other alarming findings about the culture of DIMIA’s detention regime, revealed in the Ombudsman’s latest report. The Law Council of Australia is now urging the Federal government to re-think its immigration detention policies. President John North spoke to The Wire.