We knew offshore detention was bad for the mental health of people seeking asylum. Our new research shows exactly how bad

By Philippa Specker, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Refugee Trauma and Recovery Program, School of Psychology, UNSW Sydney
Angela Nickerson, Professor & Director, Refugee Trauma and Recovery Program, School of Psychology, UNSW Sydney
Belinda Liddell, Adjunct Professor, School of Psychology UNSW Sydney and Daphne Keats Chair in Cross-Cultural Psychology, University of Newcastle

For more than a decade, mandatory offshore detention has been a cornerstone of Australia’s strategy to deter people who arrive by boat to seek asylum. Then there’s onshore detention where people without a valid visa are held in centres and transit accommodation on mainland Australia.

Today, we show the human cost of these policies on the mental health of people seeking asylum who were once detained.

Our new study, the largest of its kind, shows high rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression…

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