the consistently high average length of detention ‘have primary traumatic experiences of refugee in recent years, and the large number of people torture and trauma prior to arrival in Australia, being held in closed facilities for prolonged which may be the initial cause of symptoms, it is 39 periods. the secondary trauma caused by the detention Hotel detention has a serious and significant impact on an individual’s human rights. The Commission has previously observed that ‘almost every human rights problem in closed immigration detention is made worse the longer an individual is detained’.40 Individuals that were interviewed as part of these inspections consistently stated that the length of time spent in detention, and the continuing uncertainty of their situation, was contributing substantially to a worsening of both their physical and mental health. For example, one individual detained in a hotel APOD explained: ‘The sole purpose of being here seems to be to torture. To be made to suffer like this it is not possible for them to be human, they must be aliens. Two or three years ago I could think about life outside but now I am not capable of envisaging outside at all. I have no imagination; everything is blurry and now can’t see anything’. Another simply said ‘I am deeply sad and tired and stay in silence, my heart is full of pain and anxiety. I am shaky and hopeless and don’t know what a normal life is’. The significant impact of lengthy detention in hotel APODs was reinforced by the community service organisations that engaged with the Commission during the course of these inspections. For example, one organisation that works directly with current and former detainees observed that while many of their clients: environment and related systemic issues that has further exacerbated, perpetuated and prolonged clients’ psychiatric presentations and lack of treatment responsiveness’. A consistent observation made by community service organisations was that the individuals who had been detained for extended periods in hotel APODs exhibited complex and concerning medical issues, including significant deteriorations in mental health that were observed to occur during that detention. In particular, they emphasised the difference they had observed between the individuals who were part of the initial releases from hotel APODs in 2021 and those released later in 2022, suggesting that many in the latter group had been ‘broken beyond repair’. Using hotels as alternative places of detention is also not a cost-effective option. The average administered cost per annum of detaining a person in hotel accommodation was estimated by ABF at approximately $471,493 per person in 2019-20.41 This contrasts to the average costs per annum of the Status Resolution Support Services (SRSS) program (including income support) for a person residing in the community being between $16,652 – $46,490.42 While a full comparison is not possible based on the costs captured by the ABF, the disparity between these estimates is sufficiently stark to lead to the conclusion that the use of hotel APODs is a comparatively more expensive option than community-based alternatives. The Use of Hotels as Alternative Places of Detention (APODs) • 2023 • 19