A/HRC/35/25/Add.3 from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as well as 641 people from various other countries.1 56. Australia has reduced the number of people in detention by developing alternatives to detention and providing detainees with bridging visas. According to international standards, an individual assessment mechanism is required in order to determine the necessity, proportionality and reasonableness of detention in each individual case. A policy of mandatory detention leaves no space for considering the particular circumstances of each detainee’s case or for applying all procedural safeguards applicable to persons deprived of their liberty. 57. The average time in immigration detention is 454 days. The Special Rapporteur met people who had been in detention for over seven years. Prolonged and indefinite detention has a profound effect on migrants’ mental well-being, with many cases reported of selfharm, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression. It is not the right environment for often already traumatized people. Those who leave detention after a prolonged period often continue to suffer from low self-esteem, which takes from them the opportunity to rebuild their lives. The Special Rapporteur joins the voices of other United Nations human rights mechanisms in saying that such conditions amount to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. 58. The Special Rapporteur also met with detainees who had been given indefinite detention because they were refugees who had failed either their adverse security assessment or their character assessment, or stateless persons whose asylum claims had been refused. A judicial review process is important for these groups of detainees, and wherever possible, options for non-custodial measures and alternatives to detention should be offered. 59. The Special Rapporteur commends the increased use of alternatives to onshore detention, through placement in “community detention”. However, more alternatives to detention could be explored in order to reduce the time in detention. Placing detainees in centres near family or friends should also be prioritized. The uncertainty regarding the immigration status of those in “community detention” or released on temporary protection visas continues to affect their mental state and many have limited access to medical services — including emergency care — and social support. 60. There is also a financial cost to keeping persons in detention. Australian taxpayers pay the equivalent of over US$400,000 per person per year to keep them in regional processing centres in Nauru and on Manus Island, and US$240,000 per person per year to keep them in onshore detention.2 The cost of keeping people in “community detention” is estimated at US$90,000 per person per year, whereas keeping a person on bridging visas costs US$33,000 per person per year. 3 61. The release of unauthorized maritime arrivals into “community detention” or with bridging visas or temporary protection visas should be meaningful in terms of work rights and duration of visas. Visas without work rights or visas issued for only a limited period, which need to be renewed every few months, lead to deteriorating mental health, homelessness and destitution. “Permanent temporary” situations should be avoided at all costs. 62. The Special Rapporteur observed that, in many cases, migrants are redetained from the community for a breach of the “code of behaviour”. This constant fear about status, but also the possibility of being returned, leads to an increased level of instability, which further reflects in migrants’ mental health. Due to its discriminatory nature, the code’s 1 2 3 12 See www.border.gov.au/ReportsandPublications/Documents/statistics/immigration-detentionstatistics-31-aug-2016.pdf. See www.anao.gov.au/work/performance-audit/offshore-processing-centres-nauru-and-papua-newguinea-procurement. National Commission of Audit, 10.14 Illegal Maritime Arrivals, appendix volume 2, 2014, Government of Australia (available from www.ncoa.gov.au/report/appendix-vol-2/10-14-illegalmaritime-arrival-costs.html).