Another 25 asylum seekers freed in Qld

AAP
Camera IconAnother 25 asylum seekers are set to be released from detention in Brisbane on Tuesday.

Another 25 asylum seekers are set to be released from detention in Brisbane, advocates say.

The Refugee Action Coalition says the people, brought to Australia for medical treatment under now-repealed medical evacuation laws, will be released on Tuesday.

Twenty-three are being held at the Kangaroo Point Central Hotel and two are at the Brisbane Immigration Transit Accommodation Centre.

All will be released on six-month bridging visas, like the 25 detainees who were released on Monday.

Those released on Tuesday will be provided with three weeks accommodation, like those released on Monday.

Read more...

The RAC expects another 45 asylum seekers will be released later this week, leaving about 175 still in detention.

It has labelled the government's approach "chaotic" and says a number of refugees will be released from Nauru who were transferred following the repeal of Medevac laws.

A family of four in Darwin, who arrived for medical treatment in February 2020, will be flown to Brisbane and freed on bridging visas on Tuesday afternoon, according to an RAC statement.

In Sydney, 15 refugees transferred from Nauru in January 2021 have also been released on bridging visas, it states.

The "selective releases" add to the anxiety for those left behind, says RAC spokesman Ian Rintoul.

"What possible reason can there be to continue to hold any ex-Nauru refugees in Darwin?" he said.

"The government knows that they cannot send the refugees to their home countries and they cannot send them back to Nauru or PNG.

"They are effectively being settled in the Australian community but are being deprived of the certainty and support they need."

The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre has previously warned those being freed were in precarious situations and need government support while they sought work to support themselves on the bridging visas.

Detainees freed earlier this year from facilities in Melbourne received up to six weeks of support, including motel accommodation and income support payments, but that support is due to soon run out.

"It is uncertain what support people now being released will receive. People on bridging visas are excluded from government safety nets of JobKeeper and JobSeeker," the ASRC said on Monday.

The Department of Home Affairs said final departure bridging visas issued to released detainees included the right to work and access Medicare.

The department said "short-term support", including help to link former detainees with essential services and accommodation, was on offer but didn't say for how long.

The bridging visas are being issued to allow detainees to finalise their medical care and not - the government says - as a pathway to settle in Australia.

Detainees will have to "continue on their resettlement pathway to the United States, return to Nauru or PNG, or return to their home country", the department says.

Get the latest news from thewest.com.au in your inbox.

Sign up for our emails