Nauru Deportation Deal Could Cost $2.5 Billion

Australia's agreement to resettle former immigration detainees in Nauru may cost taxpayers up to $2.5 billion over 30 years.

The deal, signed last week by Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, covers up to 354 members of the so-called NZYQ cohort - released after a 2023 High Court ruling that indefinite detention was unlawful. Many in the group have criminal histories but have served their sentences.

Key details include:

• $408m upfront payment to Nauru, with most placed in a trust fund.
• $70m annual payments for three decades, bringing the total to about $2.5b.
• Around $20m in direct support to Nauru once the first deportee arrives.
• Funds can be reclaimed if the agreement collapses, but no minimum intake of deportees has been guaranteed.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has refused to confirm the total cost, citing "complexities." Independent senator David Pocock labelled the deal "totally bonkers," while Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said the figure was "huge," but signalled the Coalition would back the government to keep the cohort out of Australia.

The revelation coincides with debate over new laws that would expand deportation powers by removing the requirement to provide procedural fairness in third-country resettlement cases. The proposal has drawn criticism from human rights advocates but is likely to pass with Coalition support.

A trial arrangement announced in February to deport three men to Nauru remains stalled by legal challenges.