Curfew and ankle monitoring restrictions imposed on a convicted murderer after his release from immigration detention have been declared invalid by the nation’s highest court.
A Papua New Guinea citizen argued that unconstitutional conditions were imposed on him when he was granted a bridging visa after being released from detention.
The conditions included a requirement that the man wear a monitoring device at all times and remain at a designated address between the hours of 10pm and 6am each day.
The federal government maintained the measures were necessary to protect the Australian community from the man, who was convicted of murder as a minor and domestic violence offences as an adult.
But the High Court, by majority, found the conditions were invalid, in yet another blow to the federal government’s attempts to monitor people released from immigration detention.
The government introduced the monitoring regime after a landmark 2023 High Court ruling that indefinite immigration detention is illegal if there is no reasonable prospect of the person’s removal from Australia in the foreseeable future.
The decision led to the release of 150 immigration detainees with criminal records, some of whom had serious criminal convictions, including for murder and rape.
A number were arrested for allegedly reoffending after their release, sparking fierce public and political backlash.
The government reacted by introducing laws requiring some of the former detainees to wear ankle monitors and abide by a curfew, but those measures were struck down in 2024.
The High Court ruled the conditions were unconstitutional because they represented a punishment imposed by the government, instead of the courts.
The man who succeeded in the latest High Court challenge was taken into immigration detention after being released on parole for domestic violence offences.
The conditions imposed upon him when he was released into the community were incompatible with the country’s constitution, the High Court found.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke forecast the PNG man and others in the NZYQ group being moved to a small Pacific island.
“Fortunately, we now have the agreement with Nauru, because the best thing for people who have had their visa cancelled is to not be in this country,” he said in a statement.
“While obviously the government would have preferred a different outcome, the government’s ambition was never about ankle bracelets.”