Mental harm as an instrument of public policy

Since 1992, several thousand children and adults have been held in Australia's immigration detention centres. The detention environment has created a quagmire of human tragedy. It has exacerbated pre-existing trauma and precipitated preventable mental illness. I will argue in this article that Australia's treatment of vulnerable people who have sought its protection as refugees is contrary to the international prohibition on torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. I will then consider the extent to which Australian law has addressed the effect of immigration detention on mental health and comment on the ramifications of the policy