Mr G’s case is one of some 200 cases involving immigration detention matters previously referred to the Palmer Inquiry by the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs in May 2005. In July 2005, the federal government asked me to complete the investigation of these cases. I accepted the government’s request and advised that...

In 2005 and 2006 the Australian government referred to the Commonwealth Ombudsman the cases of 247 persons who had been detained by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (DIMA) and later released on the basis that they could not be detained any longer as an unlawful non-citizen. This office agreed to investigate and report...

The Ombudsman has provided a further seven assessments of the circumstances of people who have remained in immigration detention for two years or more to the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, and these were tabled in parliament on 10 May. The reports and the minister’s tabling statement are available online.

The report identifies numerous failures in DIMIA processes that adversely affected Ms Alvarez. These include the failure by DIMIA officers to properly identify Ms Alvarez, the decision to detain her under the Migration Act, the subsequent decision to remove her from Australia, the level of health care provided to her while in detention, and DIMIA's...