Under section 486N of the Migration Act 1958, the Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs must give the Commonwealth Ombudsman a report relating to the circumstances of a person’s detention.

The Department of Home Affairs must provide this report within 21 days of a person having been in detention for two years, and then every six months for as long as they remain in immigration detention.

Under section 486O of the Migration Act 1958, the Commonwealth Ombudsman is required, as soon as practicable, to prepare an assessment on the appropriateness of the arrangements for people who have been in immigration detention for two years, and then every 6 months, for as long as they remain in detention.

The Ombudsman provides these assessments to the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs (the Minister).

The Minister must table the Ombudsman’s assessments (A de‑identified version) within 15 sitting days after the Minister receives the assessment. Links to the de-identified assessments and the Minister’s responses are available here.