Number of crims released following landmark NZYQ ruling revealed

Documents tabled on Monday morning revealed the 149 detainees released also include 16 domestic violence offenders, 13 drug offenders, and five people convicted of people smuggling or other crimes of international significance.

Fewer than five with “low level or no criminality” were also released.

Six of those who have been released have been arrested and charged for breaching their visa conditions. Another 18 have been charged by state and territory police.

The release of the ruling last November caught the government by surprise, sparking a frenzied rush to legislate new laws to tighten visa conditions and enact preventive detention laws to re-detain non-citizens.

But the documents tabled in senate estimates revealed the government has yet to make an application to re-detain any of those released.

“As of 31 January 2024, nil individuals have been re-detained in an immigration detention facility on the basis that there is a real prospect of their removal from Australia being practicable in the reasonably foreseeable future,” the report said.

Sixty of the released detainees reside in NSW. Another 40 live in Victoria and Queensland and Western Australia have 20 each.

Less than 10 detainees reside in the ACT or South Australia, while none live in Tasmania.

Home Affairs secretary Stephanie Foster told senators the response was “ongoing”.

“With the Department managing current litigation and preparing for future cases, continuing to engage internationally on removals and working with the states and territories to further embed our community safety arrangements,” she said.

“There has been much media interest in individual cases and, as you would be aware, the Department will need to avoid disclosing information that could identify any individual person.”

Australia approached six countries – Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States – between August and September 2023 regarding the deportation of the Rohingya refugee known as NZYQ.

Home Affairs could not provide any further information about the ongoing discussions other than engagement with the US was “ongoing”.

“It is not appropriate to disclose information that could cause damage to Australia’s international relations by revealing private discussions with foreign states,” the documents said.

Meanwhile, Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson grilled Ms Foster about why the documents tabled were not provided prior to the hearing, as requested.

Ms Foster said it was “largely a question of resourcing” and she had not wanted to divert her staff from Senate estimates preparation.

Copies of Senator Paterson’s correspondence were also provided to Immigration Minister Andrew Giles’ office, he said.

“It certainly implies that there was political involvement in the responsive political stuff being copied on the response,” he said.

Ms Foster said it had been “an error”.