Migration Amendment (Prohibiting Items in Immigration Detention Facilities) Bill 2020

The majority voted in favour of a motion to agree with the main idea of the bill. In parliamentary jargon, they voted to read the bill for a second time.

What does this bill do?

The bill was introduced in order to:

allow the Minister to determine, via a disallowable legislative instrument, that an item is a ‘prohibited thing’ in relation to immigration detention facilities and immigration detainees.

The Government has indicated that items that will be prohibited will include things such as mobile phones and SIM cards, internet capable devices, and illegal drugs. While a broad range of items are likely to be prohibited, the Bill appears to be a reaction to an attempt by the Government in 2017 to seize mobile phones from people held in immigration detention centres, which was found by the Federal Court to be invalid.