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Submission to National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention from
Child & Family Welfare Association of Australia Inc.
3rd May 2002
Dr Sev Ozdowski
Human Rights Commissioner
Australian Human Rights & Equal Opportunities Commission
Dear Commissioner,
Re : National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention
The Child and Family Welfare Association of Australia is the national peak body representing non-government organisations working with children and young people experiencing abuse and neglect and their families. The Association represents more than 80 organisations across Australia engaged in child and family welfare service provision, including each State and Territory peak child welfare association. The Association of Children Welfare Agencies (ACWA) is a founding state based peak member of CAFWAA.
Promoting the safety and well being of all children and young people in Australia, particularly those at risk of harm and abuse, is CAFWAA's primary aim. To this end CAFWAA has watched with growing alarm the situation unfolding in immigration detention centres in Australia where children, both those as part of families together with children without parents or family, are being forcefully detained. To a limited degree some of CAFWAA's members across Australia have become involved in assisting families and unaccompanied children post their release from detention facilities, and this experience has served to strengthen CAFWAA's concerns about current immigration practice and policy.
Like much of the rest of the world Australian policy in child welfare has seen a consistent shift away from institutional models of care of children and young people for more than 20 years. This has resulted in a sharp decline in the number of children cared for in congregate care facilities and group homes. This shift has primarily been driven by evidence pointing to the often-damaging effects of institutional care on children and young people, both psychologically and at times physically.
In short, institutions, particularly those which rely on containment, have been proven in the main to be detrimental to the well being of children and young people and remain in use only for children with extremely challenging behaviours which may present a harm to themselves or others, or for young offenders.
In this context it remains untenable that children, who have committed no crime or have presented no discernable behaviours on their arrival in Australia which may suggest a secure environment is warranted, are detained for many months on end. Such incarceration is not only psychologically damaging in itself but the mixture of children and adults in the one institutional setting for lengthy periods is courting the risk of abuse being perpetrated on vulnerable members, most notably defenceless children. For the majority of children and family members who will be released in to the community at some point, the experience of incarceration in generally remote institutional facilities, is damaging to their health and well being and impairs their capacity to settle successfully into Australian society. This includes at best a disruptive and at worst a non existent educational experience throughout their detention. As such it is a counter-productive policy and a breach of children and young people's right to a safe and protective upbringing and environment.
The lack of clarity over the right and powers of State child welfare authorities to investigate and act on concerns arising from the forced detention of children in 'immigration' facilities only compounds the problems experienced and further denies their rights to protection. It is difficult to imagine such rights being denied to any other members of the community to this extent.
CAFWAA fully supports the position adopted by ACWA as outlined in its submission to the inquiry. Furthermore CAFWAA calls on the Australian Government to:
- Abolish the practice of mandatory detention for refugee children and families and immediately establish community based care programs. Community based care is widely accepted as being a necessary condition for children to attain normal development. The outcomes for children in terms of recovery from traumas are much higher when they are placed in caring community environments under the protective care of family members or with kinship and cultural groups the same as their own. Many CAFWAA member agencies have indicated a willingness to provide accommodation and support in the community for refugee children and families.
- As long as the detention centres remain, children and young people must be allowed to attend local schools, interact with local communities and have access to the full range of health and mental health services accorded the rest of the Australian community. This will necessitate the relocation of detention facilities from remote and generally poorly serviced communities.
- As long as detention centres remain State and Territory child protection authorities must also be given the same jurisdictional powers to intervene, assess and investigate any allegations of child abuse or neglect.
Chairperson
CAFWAA
