Refugees: Mandatory detention horror ends

The Government today announced it would use detention only as a last resort, giving refugees the right to live in the community while their claim is being processed.

The majority of asylum seekers will no longer be detained under major immigration reforms described by Immigration Minister Chris Evans as a more compassionate approach.

"A person who poses no danger to the community will be able to remain in the community while their visa status is resolved," Senator Evans said.

Senator Evans says indefinite detention is not acceptable.

"Labor rejects the notion that dehumanising and punishing unauthorised arrivals with long-term detention is an effective or civilised response," he said.

"Desperate people are not deterred by the threat of harsh detention - they are often fleeing much worse circumstances."

Refugee groups say the Federal Government's decision to soften its policy on the mandatory detention of asylum seekers will put an end to a sad chapter of Australia's history.

The director of the Australian Refugee Association, Kevin Liston, says while the changes are welcome, the previous treatment of asylum seekers will not easily be forgotten.

"So many people who have already come through that asylum seeker process, having spent time in places like Woomera and Baxter, have been damaged for life and they have huge problems in terms of integrating in the community and becoming citizens as a result of the experiences they have endured," he said.

GetUp, which has been campaigning for an end to mandatory detention, called for firm legislation to set the new policy in stone.

"This Government must ensure that no change of heart or government can turn this policy around," executive director Brett Solomon said.

"Only by amending the Migration Act itself will the presumption of detention be reversed."