Labor to confiscate phones from non-citizens in immigration detention in new bill

Greens and legal advocates say bill will make it harder to hold authorities accountable for conditions in detention facilities

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Labor has introduced a bill that would allow drugs and mobile phones to be confiscated from non-citizens in immigration detention, despite opposing a phone ban when attempted by Peter Dutton in 2020.

The Albanese government is proposing greater safeguards than the Coalition’s attempts to ban phones, but the move has already outraged the Greens and legal advocates who warn it will make it harder to hold authorities accountable for conditions in detention.

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