Ned Kelly Emeralds wins High Court case that could transform detention
NEWS | Migration Justice
Ned Kelly Emeralds launched a series of legal challenges that could see people who have sought safety housed in the community, rather than in oppressive detention centres. Ned won the first appeal in the High Court – an important step to securing his freedom.
Eleven years ago, Ned Kelly Emeralds fled Iran and sought safety in Australia. Due to a series of cruel laws, policies and interference from politicians, he has been detained ever since.
We have been assisting Ned in a series of legal challenges that could see people who have sought safety housed in the community, rather than in oppressive detention centres. Today, Ned won his appeal in the High Court – an important step to securing his freedom.
Ned’s story
Ned arrived in Australia by boat in 2013 and has been detained since that time. Because of the date of his arrival, Ned should have been taken to a Regional Processing Country. Instead, he was shipped around different detention centres in Australia while his protection visa application was processed.
In 2016, Ned was found to be owed protection by an officer of the Department of Home Affairs. But instead of issuing him with a visa, a second officer refused his application in 2018. Since then, Ned has been navigating the broken “fast track” protection process.
In 2021, the Federal Court ordered that Ned be released from Perth detention centre and transferred to the home of friends in Perth, until his immigration status was resolved. But in the final moments before being released, former Minister Karen Andrews exercised her personal powers to prevent him from being removed from Australia or housed with his friends.
This meant that the Court’s orders could not come into effect and Ned remained trapped in detention. The Australian Government then appealed against the court’s original judgment, despite it being rendered moot by the Minister’s actions.
On September 6 2023, the High Court found that the Full Court of the Federal Court did not have jurisdiction to hear the government’s appeal. The question of whether ‘home detention’ orders could be made in cases such as Ned’s will be decided in another challenge.
For now, Ned remains in immigration detention and will continue his fight, with the support of the Human Rights Law Centre. Next week, the Federal Court will hear his next challenge to his ongoing detention.
“My case shows the unacceptable powers that Ministers have over the hopes, dreams and possibilities for our lives – if the Minister wants it, you can be locked up for a decade, sent to Nauru or given a permanent visa. But everyone deserves an equal chance to make a life in freedom.”
– Ned Kelly Emeralds
People like Ned should not be trapped in detention for years on end. The average detention period is now 711 days. 135 people have been detained for over 5 years. The Human Rights Law Centre will continue fighting against the laws and policies that keep people locked up, so people like Ned can finally rebuild their lives in freedom and safety.