After intercepting asylum seekers at sea, Australia is preparing to send to Nauru – a tiny Pacific island state – foreign nationals subject to expulsion orders who cannot be returned to their countries of origin. On Friday, August 29, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding, discreetly announced on the Australian Interior Ministry's website. Since then, the few details that have been released have sparked controversy, particularly because of the financial costs involved.

The agreement "includes commitments for the appropriate treatment and long-term stay of people who do not have the legal right to remain in Australia, who will be accommodated in Nauru," stated the seven-line press release published by the ministry, specifying that Canberra "will provide funding to support this arrangement and help Nauru strengthen its long-term economic resilience."

The agreement targeted more specifically what the country calls the "NZYQ cohort": about 350 foreign nationals whose visas were revoked on morality or conduct grounds, often following violent offenses. Coming from countries to which they could not be returned – either due to risk of persecution or because those states refused to take them back – they had been placed in detention centers. However, in November 2023, the High Court of Australia ruled that authorities could not detain people indefinitely without a reasonable prospect of expulsion. The court therefore ordered their release, to the dismay of public opinion, shocked that some released included criminals and sex offenders.

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