More than 200 illegal immigrant criminals, including murderers, rapists and paedophiles, are getting up to $2,000 a month from the government.
Out of the 291 convicted criminals released from immigration detention since a controversial High Court ruling in November 2023, 219 are receiving a “special benefits payment”, The Daily Telegraph reported.
The fortnightly cash transfer ranges from about $700 for a single person to $1,000 for a single principal carer, paid by Services Australia, and the released detainees are eligible since they are now on Bridging Visas.
The illegal immigrant criminals were released after a High Court ruled that a “stateless” Rohingya child rapist who was refusing to be deported after completing his jail sentence could not be kept in detention indefinitely.
Opposition government services minister Claire Chandler responded to the revelations by saying the Albanese government was failing to protect Australians.
“The NZYQ cohort are criminals including murderers, rapists and child sex offenders, yet now we find out that 219 of them are getting cash “special benefits payments” from the government,” said Ms Chandler said.
“Not only has the Albanese Government failed to protect Australians from these criminals, they’ve been paying them in cash to be out in the community.”
A spokesperson for Home Affairs said the government was working on trying to remove each released detainee, but in the meantime the criminal cohort were able to get cash benefits.
“BVR holders are eligible for Special Benefit and matters regarding Special Benefit are a matter for Services Australia,” the spokesperson said.
As of October last year, 150 of the group were required to abide by curfew conditions, and 150 were subject to electronic monitoring as part of their visa conditions, but there have been multiple alleged breaches in recent weeks.
So for this year eight Sudanese criminals have been charged with alleged visa breaches along with three Iranians, an Afghanistan-born man, an Iraqi man, and a man from Myanmar.
