8 | Treatment of people in detention The role of status resolution is to assist people in resolving their immigration status. Status resolution provide different levels of service to different groups of people in detention based on assessment of the cohort type and achievable practical outcomes. Status resolution options may include applying for a substantive visa, appealing a visa cancellation, or voluntarily returning to one’s country of citizenship. Status resolution officers also refer people for possible release from detention into alternative community arrangements. Status resolution staff previously provided assistance with resolving welfare concerns for people in detention, but no longer fulfil this role. Almost everyone spoken to said that they would prefer to have more face-to-face interactions with their status resolution officer. Other centre staff from Serco, IHMS and ABF also consistently told the Commission that they were repeatedly asked visa related questions due to the lack of a visible presence of status resolution staff. They were also significantly concerned that the remote management model that is currently in place, was not conducive to developing positive relationships with people in detention. Status resolution management told the Commission that there are 3 to 4 staff onsite every day (at the time of the 2019 inspection, there were 9 onsite every day)95 though most staff worked remotely and across the two centres within Western Australia and Christmas Island. Status resolution management also expressed concern about staff personal safety during interviews with the high-risk cohort and wanting non-contact rooms or the presence of ERT staff. The Commission notes that this issue was being addressed during the inspection, with the installation of partitions in two interview rooms (see general security section). Notwithstanding these 54 concerns, some individual status resolution officers told the Commission that they wanted to conduct more face-to-face interviews. Many other centre staff also said that they interacted with people in detention daily, were subject to the same safety concerns, and could not understand the reluctance of the status resolution service staff. In the 2019 inspection, the Commission made the following observation which, given the above observations, requires repeating: People in immigration detention are a particularly vulnerable cohort, and many face difficulties articulating their needs or understanding complex processes. As a result, the Commission considers that unnecessary barriers to the delivery of services should be eliminated. This includes ensuring that all people in immigration detention have the opportunity for regular, face-to-face contact, initiated by a status resolution officer. This would assist individuals understand their options, reduce some uncertainty and ensure status resolution officers are aware of a person’s individual circumstances. This should occur irrespective of any legal developments in a person’s case.96 RECOMMENDATION 30: The Department should ensure that all people in immigration detention have the opportunity for regular, face-to-face contact with status resolution officers, including provision of adequate resourcing for this.