Standards for health services in Australian immigration detention centres

Appropriate health care is a basic human right in any civil society, and the RACGP has long advocated that all people living in Australia should have access to high quality primary health care. 

In 2006, the Australian Government Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) sought the RACGP’s assistance to develop standards for health services in immigration detention centres.

The Standards, for health services in Australian immigration detention centres which mirror the principles of safety and quality underpinning the RACGP Standards for general practices, were released in 2007.  They incorporate reforms stemming from the Inquiry into the circumstances of the immigration detention of Cornelia Rau (the Palmer report) and the Inquiry into the circumstances of the Vivian Alvarez matter (the Comrie report).

Acknowledgments

The RACGP acknowledges all those individuals who contributed to the development of the RACGP Standards for health services in Australian immigration centres, in particular Dr Leanne Rowe, the National Expert Committee on Standards for General Practices and the DIAC Detention Health Advisory Group.