Implications for Offshore Processing in Australia: The Case of Plaintiff M70/2011

Abstract

In August 2012, the Migration Legislation Amendment (Regional Processing and Other Measures) Act 2012 (Cth) (‘Migration Amendment Act 2012’) was passed by Parliament to enable the regional processing of the protection claims of offshore entry persons. A significant catalyst for these amendments was the High Court’s decision in Plaintiff M70/2011 v Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, which removed the legal basis for the Malaysian Solution, the government’s former offshore processing arrangement that would have facilitated the transfer of irregular maritime arrivals to Malaysia for the determination of their claims.

This article analyses the implications of the Migration Amendment Act 2012 for offshore processing and considers possible challenges to this legislation. It also examines the decision of the High Court in Plaintiff M70 to explore why the amendments were considered necessary in order to enable the government to pursue its revised offshore processing regime.

Keywords: immigration, refugees, asylum seekers, offshore processing, Pacific Solution, Migration Act 1958 (Cth), human rights, jurisdictional facts

JEL Classification: K10, K30