After NZYQ – Community Safety Orders

In-person and online event 

Date: Wednesday 3 April 2024 
Time: 6pm – 7.15pm AEDT with light refreshments offered after the event

NZYQ v Minister for Immigration (NZYQ) changed the landscape for immigration detainees in Australia. It led to the release of at least 149 people from indefinite immigration detention where there was no real prospect of removing them from Australia in the 'reasonably foreseeable future’. It also led to the rapid passage of new legislative provisions that could be used to restrict the freedom of those released. Under this legislation, the Commonwealth can seek Community Safety Orders if those released are considered to pose an ‘unacceptable risk of seriously harming the community by committing a serious violent or sexual offence’, allowing re-detention or the imposition of other restrictive conditions. 

Continuing detention orders have been accepted by the High Court of Australia as valid for people convicted of serious violent, sex or terrorism crimes in Australia. Community Safety Orders, however, differ from continuing detention orders in important ways, and they have not yet been tested in Australian courts. 

This event is primarily designed for legal practitioners and scholars. It seeks to examine Community Safety Orders in detail, explaining what they are and what you should do if the Commonwealth seeks to issue one to your client. It will also examine the broader ramifications of NZYQ, including the conditions that people are being released under.

Please join us for an essential and timely panel discussion with some pre-eminent practitioners and scholars who can explain the changes, what they could mean for your clients and how you might respond to them: 

• Scientia Professor George Williams, UNSW Law, leading Australian constitutional scholar, who can advise on the possible constitutional ramifications of NZYQ and follow up cases; 
• Paul Coady, NSW Public Defender, who has ample experience responding to continuing detention orders under state and territory legislation and can provide insight into how the existing system operates;  
• Sanmati Verma, Acting Legal Director at the Human Rights Law Centre, who represents a number of clients in immigration detention and, along with the Kaldor Centre, intervened as amicus curiae in NZYQ v the Minister for Immigration. Sanmati will explain how NZYQ has impacted on immigration detainees since it was determined and what the future might hold for them.

Event information:

This hybrid event will take place under the auspices of the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law’s Strategic Litigation Network, a network of academics and practitioners working on legal issues relevant to refugees and asylum seekers.  

Make sure you book early as in person places are strictly limited. 

We would like to express our sincere thanks to Baker McKenzie for hosting this event.

Image credit: Andy Wang/Unsplash