The High Court has today upheld the visa cancellation of a man who has been fighting the threat of permanent deportation to Nauru.

The man, represented by the Human Rights Law Centre, is one of three people the Albanese Government sought to deport in February in the first exercise of its new third country deportation powers. The High Court’s decision means the man’s protection visa will not be reinstated, but it does not determine the Government’s ability to remove the man to Nauru.

The man, who has lived in Australia for over a decade, has further legal processes still underway, including a case with the United Nations Human Rights Committee. Recently, the Committee ordered the Australian Government not to deport the man to Nauru while his case is under consideration. At no stage has the Australian Government considered the man’s personal circumstances or the risk of harm he may face if deported to Nauru.

The High Court’s decision comes just days after the Albanese Government announced a broader deal with Nauru to deport hundreds of migrants and refugees, and in the same week it is attempting to rush legislation through Parliament that would strip people of critical legal rights during the deportation process.

Laura John, Associate Legal Director at the Human Rights Law Centre said: 

“Our client has lived through untold horrors in the Iraq wars. In Australia he has faced homelessness and destitution, and indefinite separation from his wife and children. He is now in his 60s and has health conditions that threaten his life. Yet this is who the Albanese Government believes must be relentlessly pursued into lifelong exile in Nauru.

“The High Court’s decision means our client’s protection visa will not be reinstated, but this does not determine his future. Like every person, our client has a right to live in safety and dignity. The Government has refused at every stage of this process to consider the lifelong consequences of permanently exiling an elderly man to Nauru.

“Now the Albanese Government is trying to pass legislation that would allow them to carry out the mass deportation of migrants and refugees to Nauru, without ever having to confront the risks of persecution, medical neglect or permanent family separation. Migrants and refugees are being stripped of fundamental rights and protections so the Government does not have to answer for what is being done to them.

“Regardless of the Court’s decision, the Albanese Government must abandon its plans for the mass deportation of migrants and refugees. It wants to set a new baseline for how we treat migrants and refugees in this country. But our rights should be the same, regardless of visa status. We need real solutions that allow people to rebuild their lives.”