Providing mental health services and psychiatric care to immigration detainees : what tort law requires

There is increasing evidence that the provision of mental health services is inadequate for immigration detainees. In S v Secretary, Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs [2005] FCA 549, Justice Paul Finn held that the Commonwealth had breached its duty to ensure that reasonable care was taken of two Iranian detainees, ‘S’ and ‘M’, in relation to the treatment of their respective mental health problems. The lack of proper psychiatric care at Baxter Detention Centre was also highlighted in the Palmer Inquiry into the detention of Cornelia Rau. This article analyses the Commonwealth Government’s legal duty to provide adequate levels of mental health services and psychiatric care to immigration detainees as well as the implications of the cases brought on behalf of a child refugee, Shayan Badraie and an Iranian man, Parvis Yousefi against the Department of Immigration and Citizenship and the detention centre operators.