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Person Seeking Asylum Exposed to Torture in Immigration Detention

The UN Committee against Torture (CAT) is a body of the United Nations that holds States accountable for human rights violations. It recently found that Australia failed to protect an Iranian asylum seeker from torture and ill-treatment during his years-long detention. The man had arrived on Christmas Island by boat in 2013 and was first sent to Manus Island in Papua New Guinea in offshore processing, and later detained in mainland Australia. He filed a complaint with CAT, reporting he was held in difficult conditions and subjected to violence, including an extremely serious attack by a security guard.

He was brought to Australia in 2019 for medical care but remained in immigration detention for nearly three years before being released into the community in 2022. This week, CAT concluded that Australia violated its international legal obligations by exposing him to torture in detention. It further recalled its longstanding concerns about Australia’s offshore processing policy, which has repeatedly exposed people seeking asylum to prolonged detention, uncertainty and conditions causing severe physical and mental suffering.

CARAD welcomes CAT’s findings and its call on the Australian government to provide the complainant with full redress, including compensation and rehabilitation, to afford him an opportunity to have his protection claims examined, and to adopt guarantees of non-repetition to prevent similar violations in the future.

Nauru Human Rights Review

On January 20, 2026, the UN Human Rights Council will review Nauru's human rights record in Geneva. This is the fourth such review (previous reviews occurred in 2011, 2015, and 2021).

The review examines reports from Nauru's government, UN human rights experts, and civil society groups. Countries are expected to report on their progress implementing previous recommendations and describe recent human rights developments.

The review conclusions will be adopted on January 30, 2026. To read more about the review follow: Nauru’s human rights record to be examined by Universal Periodic Review | OHCHR

CARAD welcomes the review and holds significant concerns regarding the recent deportations to Nauru under Australia’s secret offshore deal.

CARAD Fundraiser THIS Saturday!

Some of our wonderful supporters are hosting a CARAD fundraiser this Saturday and we’d love for you to join!

Come support Los Removalists’ single launch at Amplifier Bar, 10th January at 7:30pm and help provide food security and hygiene items for individuals and families seeking asylum in Western Australia. Your attendance not only supports a compassionate punk band but also provides life-changing support to those who are fleeing violence and persecution.

Learn more and purchase tickets here:

Los Removalists - Kingdom Single Launch Tickets, Sat, Jan 10, 2026 at 7:30 PM | Eventbrite

See you there!

We are hiring!

We are excited to announce there is a new position becoming available at CARAD: We are recruiting a new Office Manager in a full-time position.

Join our team to make a difference in supporting some of the most vulnerable people in our community.

In this role, you will be responsible for designing, implementing, and managing administrative systems and processes.

To read more about it and apply, please visit EthicalJobs.

We look forward to reading your application.

Happy New Year!

Human Rights Day 2025

CARAD was privileged to be invited to speak at last week's Human Rights Day event hosted by the United Nations Association of Australia (WA) and Amnesty International UWA.

Our colleague Ehsan Nazamyar generously shared his personal journey - from his early life in Afghanistan, through conflict and displacement, to finding a new beginning in Australia. It was a meaningful opportunity to speak openly about the experiences that drive our work and the profound fulfilment that comes from supporting CARAD clients seeking asylum in WA.

We were grateful to share the panel with Dr. Barbara Nattabi, Dr Fiona McGaughey, Gracia Mukiibi and our own Catherine Green, CARAD's Deputy Chairperson. The conversations highlighted the crucial role that empathy and understanding play in building inclusive communities here in WA.

Thank you to the organisers, volunteers, and everyone who attended - CARAD is grateful to have been part of such an important evening.

To request a CARAD representative to present at your next event please reach out to Office@carad.org.au .

Join CARAD's Legacy Circle

Leaving a gift in your Will is a generous way you can support the Centre for Asylum Seekers, Refugees and Detainees (CARAD) and the work it does. The power of a legacy gift to CARAD enables your values, your kindness and your belief in human dignity to continue long into the future, touching the lives of those seeking asylum who you may never meet but whose futures you've helped transform.

When you include a gift to CARAD in your Will, you're creating a lasting legacy of compassion that helps people seeking asylum in Western Australia access the support they need most.

Learn how your legacy could make a difference for generations to come in the information pack below.

CARAD Meets with United Nations Working Group

CARAD was deeply honoured to welcome the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention during their 12-day visit to Australia last week. Our discussions focused on critical concerns affecting clients in Western Australia's immigration detention facilities, including degrading treatment, inadequate healthcare, the use of physical and chemical restraints, deportations, and third-country transfers to Nauru. We affirmed our support for the recommendations in 'Immigration Detention in Australia: Civil Society Submission to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention', and our colleagues Associate Professor Mary Anne Kenny and Syaz Daud shared their valuable insights.

We were grateful to be joined by Associate Professor Hannah McGlade and Chloe Wood, who shared the harrowing experiences of Aboriginal children, women and men in police, detention and prison custody. We are grateful for this opportunity to amplify the voices of those seeking safety and advocate for the human rights and dignity of all people seeking asylum in Australia.

Thank you to Dr. Matthew Gillett, Vice Chair of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, and Clara Garcia Orozco, Human Rights Officer at the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, for their important work upholding human rights standards worldwide.

CARAD has moved!

CARAD has moved - we are no longer at 245 Stirling St

After almost 20 years at 245 Stirling Street, the Centre for Asylum Seekers, Refugees and Detainees has moved.

From Monday 20th October, you can find us at our temporary new homes, while we continue our search for our permanent home.

You can find us at Unit T3, 152 Great Eastern Highway, Ascot on Mondays to Fridays from 9am to 4pm.

Our temporary food pantry located at 43-45 Star St (corner Archer St), Carlisle, from 10am to 3pm on Mondays and Thursdays only.

We thank you for your ongoing support of CARAD.

If you know of any available spaces that might suit our needs, we’d love to hear from you. Our key requirements for a permanent place that is located in a central and accessible location (e.g. Perth, Victoria Park) for us to purchase includes:

  • A welcoming client meeting area

  • Plenty of room for the CARAD pantry

  • Office space for our amazing staff and volunteers

  • Close to public transport

  • Bonus points for car bays! 

We know how much our current location is valued by clients, volunteers, and staff for its accessibility and proximity to the city, public transport and a range of other services. Ideally, our new home will retain these benefits. So, if you know of any places, we are keen to hear from you. Get in touch by emailing us at office@carad.org.au.

CARAD is moving

A New Home for CARAD

The Centre for Asylum Seekers, Refugees and Detainees (CARAD) has some important news to share.
 
As we commemorate our 25th anniversary in 2025, the time has come for CARAD to find a new home.
 
Our office at 245 Stirling Street in Perth is no longer suitable for delivering on CARAD’s mission of creating a more welcoming Australia for people seeking asylum, refugees, and detainees. We are incredibly grateful to the Uniting Church in the City (UCIC) for their generous support over the years in allowing us to lease the building at a nominal rent.
 
However, the building is now in need of significant repairs, and our services—and the needs of our clients—have grown. This presents us with an opportunity to find a space that better meets the increasing demand for our vital work. If you’ve visited our office, you’ll know that a larger space will make a real difference in the support we can offer.
 
We will be closing our office on Stirling St on Wednesday 15th October 2025. CARAD will reopen at a new temporary location on Monday 20th October 2025 while we search for a permanent home that better supports our work.
 
From that date, you’ll find us at:
 
Temporary office:

  • Unit T3, 152 Great Eastern Highway, Ascot

Opening hours: 9am to 4pm, Monday to Friday
 
Temporary CARAD Pantry :

  • 43-45 Star Street, Carlisle (corner of Archer Street)

Opening hours for receiving donated food and hygiene items only: 10am to 3pm Monday and Thursday only.
 
Although we are moving location, all our emails and phone numbers will stay the same. CARAD will continue to provide the best service we can to our clients.
 
We’re also reaching out to our community—and beyond—for help. If you know of any available spaces that might suit our needs, we’d love to hear from you. Our key requirements for a permanent place that is located in a central and accessible location (e.g. Perth, Victoria Park) for us to purchase includes:

  • A welcoming client meeting area

  • Plenty of room for the CARAD pantry

  • Office space for our amazing staff and volunteers

  • Close to public transport

  • Bonus points for car bays! 

We know how much our current location is valued by clients, volunteers, and staff for its accessibility and proximity to the city, public transport and a range of other services. Ideally, our new home will retain these benefits. So, if you know of any places, we are keen to hear from you. Get in touch by emailing us at office@carad.org.au.
 
We understand that transitions like this can bring uncertainty and challenges. Please know that we are committed to keeping our community informed every step of the way. We’ll do everything we can to minimise disruption and ensure continuity of services for the people we support.
 
We are deeply grateful to all our supporters who are helping make this next chapter possible. If you have questions or would like more information about this process, please don’t hesitate to get in touch:

CARAD joins call opposing $400m Nauru deal

The Refugee Council of Australia has written to Parliamentarians to express opposition to the Home Affairs Legislation Amendment (2025 Measures No. 1) Bill 2025, introduced to Parliament last week.

If passed, this Bill would allow Australia to circumvent its own rules of natural justice and procedural fairness when deporting people from Australia to Nauru and other undisclosed third countries. 

CARAD joins the call urging Parliamentarians to oppose this Bill, and to find alternatives to this legislation and the arrangement with Nauru.

RCOA Letter to Parliamentarians

2025 Big Walk 4 Refugees

Throughout the month of June, everyone is invited to join the annual walk that symbolises the long, often invisible journeys of people displaced by conflict and crisis.

Here in Perth, Dr Siyat Abdi is walking for refugees on Saturday morning 28 June. He is also walking to raise funds for CARAD -the Centre for Ayslum Seekers, Refugees and Detainees.

He Invites you to walk with him and/or contribute to his CARAD Crowdraiser:

https://givenow.com.au/cr/bigwalk4refugees

When:   Saturday 28 June 2025 at 9am
Where:  Starting at Scarborough Beach Amphitheatre https://www.stirling.wa.gov.au/stirling-leisure/venue-and-facility-hire/scarborough-amphitheatre

Siyat will walk to City Beach and back (5 kms there and 5kms back.)  

You are welcome to join Siyat for the whole walk, or just part of it.

If you walk with Siyat, we will record your steps and add them to the Big Walk for Refugees, or you can register with the bigwalk4refugees and record your steps. To learn more visit www.bigwalk4refugees.au .

We would love to see our volunteers and supporters attend the walk! To learn more about this

 

Who is Dr Siyat Abdi

Dr Siyat Hillow Abdi is a Systemic Advocate for KIN Disability Advocacy and have been involved with supporting culturally and linguistically diverse people with disabilities from refugee and migrant backgrounds for over 25 years.

He has a PhD in Community Rehabilitation (Disability Studies) from Flinders University and has worked as a lecturer, policy researcher.  He was registered as the first blind teacher in South Australia. He is also an independent disability consultant for SAHILL DISABILITY CONSULTING and an advocate and Human Rights activist.

He is the author of  “The Journey and Voices of Refugees with Disabilities in the Dadaab Camps” and understands the difficulties and barriers faced by people with disability, migrants and refugee families when trying to navigate their way through difficult pathways, services and processes in their journey to integrate and settle in Australia.

Siyat is currently on various diversity groups and advisory committees here in Western Australia, including being a former member of Ministerial Advisory Council on Disability in WA 2022 to 2024.


Thank you for your support and we look forward to seeing you on the 28 June!

CARAD, T3, 152 Great Eastern Highway, Ascot, WA, 6104, Australia08 9227 7322office@carad.org.au

CARAD, 164 BURSWOOD ROAD, BURSWOOD WA 6100, AUSTRALIA 08 9227 7322 OFFICE@CARAD.ORG.AU

ABN: 97481185842

CARAD acknowledges that we are located on the land of the Whadjuk Noongar people and pay our respect to their Elders, past and present. Sovereignty was never ceded, and this always was and always will be Aboriginal land.  We acknowledge the First Nations people of the Stolen Generations and their families. We stand in solidarity with the ongoing struggles of First Nations Peoples for justice.

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