Australia's agreement with Malaysia in relation to asylum seekers, with particular
reference to:
(a) the consistency of the agreement to transfer asylum seekers to Malaysia
with Australia's international obligations;
(b) the extent to which the above agreement complies with Australian human
rights standards, as defined by law;
(c) the practical implementation of the agreement, including:
(i) oversight and monitoring,
(ii) pre-transfer arrangements, in particular, processes for assessing the
vulnerability of asylum seekers,
(iii) mechanisms for appeal of removal decisions,
(iv) access to independent legal advice and advocacy,
(v) implications for unaccompanied minors, in particular, whether there
are any guarantees with respect to their treatment, and
(vi) the obligations of the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship
(Mr Bowen) as the legal guardian of any unaccompanied minors
arriving in Australia, and his duty of care to protect their best
interests;
(d) the costs associated with the agreement;
(e) the potential liability of parties with respect to breaches of terms of the
agreement or future litigation;
(f) the adequacy of services and support provided to asylum seekers
transferred to Malaysia, particularly with respect to access to health and
education, industrial protections, accommodation and support for special
needs and vulnerable groups;
(g) mechanisms to enable the consideration of claims for protection from
Malaysia and compliance of these mechanisms with non-refoulement
principles;
(h) a comparison of this agreement with other policy alternatives for processing
irregular maritime arrivals; and
(i) any other related matters.
The Australia-Malaysia transfer arrangement is available online.
See:
Arrangement between the Government of Australia and the Government of Malaysia on transfer and resettlement