Australia 's government should invest in community-based alternatives to immigration detention rather than spending millions of dollars per person each year on its abusive offshore regime, Human Rights Watch said in a recent submission to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee of the Australian Senate.
Since November 2025, the committee has been holding an inquiry into Australia's offshore processing and resettlement arrangements. Its focus has been on the payments that Australia has made to private contractors and subcontractors to run offshore processing on the Pacific island nation of Nauru and in Papua New Guinea. The committee is also considering the monetary "value" of such arrangements for Australian taxpayers.
"Australia has spent billions of dollars trying to offload its responsibilities onto poorer countries instead of upholding its international obligations to migrants and refugees," said Annabel Hennessy, Australia researcher at Human Rights Watch. "Australia's offshore processing regime has caused immeasurable harm to people seeking asylum and contributed to the global erosion of refugee law."
Recent Department of Home Affairs budget statements show that in 2024-2025 the department was estimated to have spent approximately A$560 million (US$390 million) on offshore processing in Nauru. During this period, about 100 people were living on Nauru, at an estimated cost equal to A$5.6 million (US$3.9 million) per person.
By comparison, it is estimated that the government spends about A$3,962 (US$2,750) per year for a person to live in the Australian community on a bridging visa while their asylum claim is being processed.
In 2021, Human Rights Watch conducted research on alternatives to immigration detention in six countries. Human Rights Watch found that community-based case management programs-which provide holistic support, including access to legal assistance and help securing necessities such as housing and employment-are more cost-effective than detention.
"While Australian politicians have been making unsubstantiated claims about immigration's impact on the Australian economy, far less scrutiny has been given to Australia's abusive offshore immigration regime," Hennessy said. "The government should stop using offshore detention and instead invest in programs in Australia that are cost-effective and rights-respecting."
