Children’s Healthcare Australia Position Statement On Children in Immigration Detention
As a community of more than 80 paediatric healthcare services across Australia, Children’s Healthcare Australasia wishes
to add its voice to concerns raised in the Australian and international communities about the harmful effects on both
physical and mental health of immigration detention on children and their families.
CHA recognises that indefinite detention of children seeking asylum has profound negative impacts on children’s health
and that of their families, and express our opposition to the detention of children seeking asylum in Australia.
CHA also acknowledges that healthcare professionals and managers of children’s services experience significant distress
when being obliged to discharge children admitted to their care back into an environment likely to cause significant
further harm to the child’s health.
CHA supports all children seeking asylum being treated in accordance with Australia’s undertaking to observe the
International Convention on the Rights of the Child.
References:
1. Robjant K, Hassan R, Katona C. Mental health implications of detaining asylum
seekers: systematic review. Br J Psychiatry 2009;194:306-12.
2. Sultan A, O'Sullivan K. Psychological disturbances in asylum seekers held in long term
detention: a participant-observer account. Med J Aust 2001;175:593-6.
3. Steel Z, Momartin S, Bateman C, et al. Psychiatric status of asylum seeker families
held for a protracted period in a remote detention centre in Australia. Aust NZ J
Public Health 2004;28:527-36.
4. Mares S, Jureidini J. Psychiatric assessment of children and families in immigration
detention - clinical, administrative and ethical issues. Aust NZ J Public Health
2004;28:520-6.
5. Young P, Gordon MS. Mental health screening in immigration detention: A fresh look
at Australian government data. Australasian Psychiatry 2016;24:19–22.