AT WHAT COST?

Each of the costs in this table is described in more detail in what follows. Other costs are also discussed but not included
in our overall estimate due to uncertainty over their magnitude, underscoring the importance of greater transparency and
accountability for the policies. Hence, the cost reported here is likely to be lower than the true cost to taxpayers.
The operation of the offshore processing system, and the onshore immigration detention network, account for most of
the cost associated with Australia’s deterrence policies. Budget documents reveal that in the last three years (ie July 2013
to June 2016) the Government has spent around $9.2 billion for offshore processing and immigration detention of ‘illegal
maritime arrivals’ (IMAs), and expects to spend between $3.9 and $5.5 billion over the next four years.
The costs incurred depend partly on the structural settings of the policies – how mandatory detention directs people
claiming asylum to one of the four categories of offshore processing, onshore detention, community detention or Bridging
Visa-E; and partly on the numbers of people in each of these categories – both those that are already in the system in
each of the components and those new arrivals attempting to seek asylum. Since the latter are influenced by the structural
settings, there is a transition between the old policy of onshore processing and permanent protection visas to the new
settings which has resulted in around 1,500 people who set out to seek asylum in Australia relocated to Manus Island or
Nauru, and several boats turned around at the border.
In what follows we look at the trends in the numbers of people in processing and detention, and the structural factors and
activities that contribute towards the cost. First an overview is obtained by examining trends in total IMA and the current
cross section, and the relative average costs across the categories of detention. Then we examine the cost of key policy
elements in more detail.
The cohort of around 32,000 men, women and children that are in the immigration detention and processing system are
currently distributed across the categories according to the table below:
IMMIGRATION DETENTION AND PROCESSING – MARCH 2016
Men Women Children Total
Immigration detention
Christmas Island 183 0 0 183
On-shore 1,320 159 17 1,496
In community
Community under Residence Determination 184 154 317 655
Community in Bridging Visa E 21,190 3,381 4,050 28,621
Regional Processing Centre
Republic of Nauru 363 55 50 468
Manus Island, PNG 905 0 0 905
Total offshore 1,451 55 50 1,556
Total onshore 22,694 3,694 4,384 30,772
Source: Compiled from Immigration Detention Statistics, DIBP 225
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