Published: 18:16, August 31, 2025
Australian govt signs deal to deport foreign-born criminals to Nauru
By Xinhua

Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke attends a joint press conference with Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration, and Corrections Yusril Ihza Mahendra after their meeting in Jakarta on Dec 3, 2024. (PHOTO / AFP)

CANBERRA - The Australian government has signed a deal with Nauru to deport hundreds of foreign-born criminals to the small Pacific nation.

Tony Burke, Australia's Minister for Home Affairs, on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Nauru's President David Adeang that the country will take members of the NZYQ cohort from Australia.

The cohort refers to a group of more than 350 foreign-born convicted criminals, including violent offenders, who previously could not be deported from Australia because they face persecution, or because their country of birth refused to take them. While according to a press release from the Australian government, the NZYQ cohort consists of people who "broke Australian laws and in doing so surrendered their rights to stay in Australia."

ALSO READ: Australia government condemns anti-immigration rally in Sydney

The group was being held indefinitely in immigration detention by Australia until a landmark 2023 High Court ruling found the practice to be illegal for people with no reasonable prospects of deportation, triggering their immediate release.

A statement released by the Department of Home Affairs following Burke's visit to Nauru, which was not announced ahead of time by the government, said that the deal would allow for the "continued management" of the NZYQ cohort.

READ MORE: Aussie antisemitism report proposes deportations, university funding cuts

It said that the MoU contains undertakings for the proper treatment and long-term residence of the group and that Australia will provide funding to underpin the arrangement.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported on Saturday that Australia will pay an initial 408 million Australian dollars ($266.7 million) as well as 70 million Australian dollars ($45.7 million) per year to cover ongoing resettlement costs, to Nauru under the deal.