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'Real and tragic consequences': asylum seekers left untreated for hepatitis C
The doctors who examined Wissam Jadiri when he came to Australia by boat in 2013 detected his elevated liver enzymes right away. But it took more than four years, countless flights and threats of a federal court case for the 41-year-old Feyli Kurdish asylum seeker to get treatment for hepatitis C.
"They told me because you don’t have visa, because you detainee, we can’t give you medication," he says. "This is not fair [that] they treat me like that, in a country like Australia."
Feyli Kurdish asylum seeker Wissam Jadiri, who is on Christmas Island, now receives hepatitis C medication.
Mr Jadiri is far from alone. A new report by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre has identified the "routine denial" of antiviral treatment to people in immigration detention, and accused the federal government of failing to fulfil its common law duty of care.
It also identified a "failure to properly physically and psychologically treat suicidal asylum seekers" and the misuse and overuse of handcuffs and mechanical constraints, particularly on mentally ill asylum seekers.
Of the 60 referrals it received since September 2016, the centre agreed to help 24 people with high-level needs, including eight who were initially refused treatment for hepatitis C. In four cases, the prisoners were ultimately given medication: one through a decision of the contracted healthcare provider, another courtesy of a pharmaceutical company and two through the centre's legal efforts.
Mr Jadiri, who remains on Christmas Island as his asylum claim progresses, only started receiving medication in March following a letter of demand by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre to the federal government.
"The hepatitis C cases are just absolutely stark," said the centre's chief executive Jonathon Hunyor. "There’s a treatment available, it’s provided to others, it’s recommended, it’s needed and it isn’t being delivered."
The broader problem identified in the report was the "legislative vacuum" around healthcare inside immigration detention. Unlike most laws governing state prisons, the federal Migration Act does not mandate the right to reasonable medical care and treatment.
In the case of hepatitis C, the general prison population is a priority group for receiving treatment, due to the prevalence of infection.
The Department of Home Affairs and its contractor, International Health and Medical Services, argue detainees in Australian immigration detention have access to healthcare that is "broadly comparable" with the general public health system, under a long-running agreement.
Mr Hunyor recommended this be enforced by enshrining the minimum standards in law, and noted "the Federal Court has on a number of occasions expressed concern about this legislative vacuum".
"The case studies ... confirm people in held and community detention are not receiving the same standard of health care that is provided to Australian community members," the report concluded.
"The failure to provide this care has real, often tragic, consequences. The Australian government is not fulfilling its common law duty of care to people in immigration detention, many of whom have already experienced high levels of trauma prior to arriving in Australia."
The report, In Poor Health: Health Care in Australian Immigration Detention, covers only onshore immigration detention, not the offshore centres established by Australia in Papua New Guinea and Nauru. There were 1369 people in onshore immigration detention, excluding community detention, at the end of April, according to government statistics.
Human Rights Commissioner Ed Santow, a former Public Interest Advocacy Centre chief executive, will launch the report in Sydney on Wednesday.