REPORT BY THE COMMONWEALTH AND
IMMIGRATION OMBUDSMAN FOR TABLING IN PARLIAMENT
Under s 486O of the Migration Act 1958
This is the second s 486O report on Mr X. The first report 1456/13 was tabled in Parliament on 13 November 2013. This report updates the material in that report and should be read in conjunction with the previous report.
Name Mr X
Citizenship Country A Year of birth 1991 Ombudsman ID 1001259
Date of DIBP’s report 16 October 2013
Total days in detention 892 (at date of DIBP’s latest report) Recent detention history
24 September 2013 Since the Ombudsman’s previous report (1456/13), Mr X was apprehended and taken into criminal custody at Yatala Labour Prison.
25 September 2013 Community detention placement was revoked.
26 November 2013 Transferred from Yatala Labour Prison to Facility E.
27 November 2013 Transferred to Facility F.
Recent visa applications/case progression
25 September 2013 Found not to meet the guidelines for referral to the Minister under s 195A of the Migration Act 1958 for the consideration of the grant of a Bridging visa.
13 March 2014 Further information provided by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) advised that investigations into Mr X’s identity were ongoing.
Criminal history
17 September 2013 Mr X’s case, in relation to his involvement in an incident of theft, was adjourned.
24 September 2013 Arrested for alleged sexual assault of a minor and taken into custody by police. At a court hearing on 25 September 2013 Mr X was remanded into criminal custody. Police advised DIBP that charges against Mr X, including one count of ‘Persistent Exploitation of a Child’ and two counts of ‘Indecently Assault a Person’ were dismissed with no convictions recorded.
20 February 2014 Convicted of ‘Dishonestly Taking Property Without Owner’s Consent’ and ordered to pay court costs and compensation.
2 Health and welfare
3 April 2013 Attended appointment with a general practitioner (GP) and
disclosed substance abuse. Examination revealed bruising on his arms. He was referred to the State B Drug and Alcohol Services and attended an appointment for assessment but declined any treatment. During the same GP appointment, Mr X also advised that he had been attending specialist torture and trauma
counselling.
9 April 2013 Advised a GP that he was no longer taking his antidepressant medication.
17 July 2013 Transferred to hospital due to seizure activity. He was assessed and referred to the neurology clinic before being discharged on the same day. No neurology appointment date was provided in the report from International Health and Medical Services.
8 September 2013 Transferred to hospital for treatment following burning his hand whilst repairing a car. He was scheduled for a follow up
appointment with a GP on 12 September 2013.
Recent detention incidents
18 July 2013 Mr X’s housemate claimed that he had allegedly been offered illegal substances by Mr X.
2 September 2013 A welfare and safety check was undertaken at Mr X’s community detention address as Mr X’s case worker was unable to contact him after numerous attempts. Upon arrival at the community detention address, the case worker noted that many household items were missing and there was no sign of forced entry. This incident was reported to the police.
Information provided by Mr X
During an interview with Ombudsman staff on 11 December 2013 at Facility F Mr X stated that he was facing criminal charges but considered that he was not guilty. He was awaiting a court decision on the matter.
He advised he had back and chest pain. Previously he had gone to the gym but experienced chest pains when he exercised so had been advised not to go. He was sharing a room with six people but wanted to be on his own and had applied for his own room.
Mr X advised that he wanted to be transferred to City C to be able to see his wife who is an Australian citizen. He was sad about being separated from her and was worried because she needs somebody to look after her as she is pregnant.
3 Other matters
In response to an inquiry from the Ombudsman’s office about Mr X’s immigration status while in criminal detention, DIBP confirmed that Mr X was ‘discharged’ from immigration detention into criminal detention for a period of two months from 24 September 2013 to
26 November 2013, thus delaying the provision of his 36 month s 486N review.
DIBP confirmed that this was an exceptional circumstance and further information about why this occurred will be provided in its subsequent report, expected in July 2014.
Case status
Mr X has been found not to be owed protection under the Refugee Convention. DIBP has advised that it is conducting further investigations into Mr X’s identity.
