Lorraine Finlay Human Rights Commissioner Australian Human Rights Commission Commissioner’s Foreword The vast majority of observations and recommendations made in this Inspection Report will come as no surprise to anybody who has been to an immigration detention centre, or read previous inspection reports published by the Australian Human Rights Commission. The same key concerns have been raised repeatedly for many years. This inspection report is no different in that respect. For example, key recommendations regarding the use of closed detention as a last resort, use of force policies, the need for an independent review of healthcare, increased contact with status resolution officers, and access to educational opportunities were all issues raised by the Commission following our 2017 inspection of the Yongah Hill Immigration Detention Centre (YHIDC) – a full six years before this inspection visit. A key observation that was made following the 2017 inspection was that while asylum seekers who arrived by boat had previously comprised the majority of people in detention, this was shifting with an increasing proportion of those detained being people whose visas had been cancelled on character grounds. At the time of the current inspection in May 2023, almost 60% of the people detained at the YHIDC had been detained for this reason. The changing nature of the cohort detained in immigration detention centres is significant for a number of reasons. The Department of Home Affairs (Department) has repeatedly described an increase in critical incidents across the whole immigration detention network in recent years, and there has also been an increase in behaviours frequently associated with the prison system, including trafficking of drugs and other contraband, bullying and standover tactics, and violence. A majority of the people interviewed during this inspection of the YHIDC told us that they felt unsafe in detention. We have made a number of observations and recommendations that relate directly to the safety concerns that were raised with us during our visit to the YHIDC. The most important of these is our conclusion that parts of the YHIDC are no longer fit for purpose, that staffing numbers need to be increased, and that search powers need to be reformed to ensure detention staff are able to effectively deal with the reportedly widespread drug and alcohol use. Yongah Hill Immigration Detention Centre Inspection Report • 2024 • 5