The Albanese government is aiming to offload convicted criminals it cannot deport by paying countries to accept them, under a package of laws it is trying to push through Parliament.
Last year in a landmark decision that overturned almost two decades of practice, the High Court ruled it unlawful to hold a person in immigration detention when there is no real prospect of them being removed from Australia in the foreseeable future.
The first part of the package allows Australia to pay countries to accept non-citizens who have refused deportation to their home country, and reinstates an ankle bracelet and curfew monitoring regime for former detainees that was struck down by the High Court earlier this month.
Another bill, which was previously rejected, is aiming to ban certain countries from visiting Australia, including Iran, Iraq, Russia and South Sudan if their governments refuse to accept citizens that are being deported to their home country.
But this bill was thrown out by the Coalition and Greens earlier in March amid humanitarian concerns, as individuals unwilling to cooperate with authorities for deportation can be jailed for up to five years.
The Government is also looking to confiscate mobile phones and other items from people in immigration detention, despite Labor rejecting a similar law under the previous Coalition government in 2020.
The Government came under fire last year from the Coalition following the release of 224 foreigners from immigration detention centres, most with serious criminal convictions but had all completed their prison sentences.