Australia to pay Nauru to resettle foreign-born criminals after High Court ruling

Australia will pay the Pacific island nation of Nauru to resettle foreign-born criminals who Australian courts have ruled cannot be imprisoned indefinitely, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Monday.

Albanese said the government needed to find a place for noncitizens who have exhausted legal avenues to be detained and who cannot be returned to their countries of origin because of international obligations. "People who have no right to be here need to be found somewhere to go, if they can’t go home," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. "If they can’t be sent back to their country-of-origin because of refoulement provisions and obligations that we have, then we need to find another country for them to go to."

Albanese did not confirm media reports that Canberra would pay the tiny island nation an initial AU$400 million (about US$262 million) and then AU$70 million (roughly US$46 million) a year to support the arrangement. The government has referred to Nauru as a political solution after a 2023 High Court ruling that held noncitizens with no realistic prospect of resettlement outside Australia could not be detained indefinitely under immigration laws.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke surprised Australian media last week by traveling to Nauru, where he signed a memorandum of understanding with Nauruan authorities. The visit underscored the government's urgency in finding a durable option for people who have completed criminal sentences but cannot be lawfully detained in Australia nor safely returned to their countries of origin.

Nauru, a remote island republic with a population of about 13,000, has previously hosted offshore processing facilities and taken part in arrangements with Australia related to asylum seekers and immigration detention. The use of third countries to accommodate noncitizens has long been politically sensitive in Australia and internationally, touching on legal, humanitarian and diplomatic considerations.

The High Court decision in 2023 prompted renewed pressure on successive governments to devise alternatives to indefinite immigration detention. Australian officials have argued that international obligations, including protections against refoulement — the return of individuals to countries where they would face serious harm — limit the ability to deport some noncitizens. The government says it must therefore secure other countries willing to accept such people.

Critics of offshore arrangements have warned about human rights, transparency and the welfare of those transferred, while supporters say third-country resettlement can resolve complex legal stalemates and uphold both public safety and international law obligations. Albanese’s government faces the dual task of addressing the High Court ruling and responding to domestic concerns about public safety and the management of noncitizen offenders.

The details of any agreement with Nauru, including the number of people to be transferred, safeguards, and legal protections, have not been publicly disclosed. Australian officials said further information would be provided as arrangements are finalised and relevant legislation or administrative measures are put in place.

The announcement marks a significant development in Australia’s approach to immigration detention and the treatment of noncitizen offenders, and it is likely to provoke debate in parliament and among legal and human rights organisations as more specifics emerge.