many released immigration detention in Melbourne Immigration Transit Accommodation and Sydney Villawood after government loses federal court case

Advocates welcome ‘significant’ number of releases but raise questions over ‘bizarre’ process

Up to 100 people held in immigration detention have been released over the Christmas period, a move welcomed by advocates calling on Labor to accelerate its commitment to free those who pose a low risk to the public.

Lawyers for asylum seekers and people whose visas were cancelled under the Migration Act’s character provisions reported that dozens had been released every day since 23 December from detention centres including Villawood in Sydney and Melbourne Immigration Transit Accommodation in Broadmeadows.