News & Updates
Crayon debacle
12-01-2012 
Kids were turned away from Darwin Airport Lodge on Christmas Day because they tried to give gifts of crayons and textas to those in detention. 

Minister sends kids back to detention
16-12-2011 
ChilOut is appalled the Minister has revoked the community placement of 8 kids and sent them back to adult detention.

No hidden benefit in detaining children
16-11-2011 
Independent children's body critical of Inverbrackie detention centre. Access to health care and play is seriously questioned. ChilOut speaks out.

Online donations
15-11-2011 
ChilOut now has an online donation facility. Click here to make a donation.

Deterring People Smuggling Bill. Senate Inquiry
10-11-2011 
ChilOut has met the super tight timeframe on this one. If passed, this Bill could see refugees and asylum seekers suffer further. There is no international precedence for this.

The Recent High Court Ruling
13-09-2011 

We congratulate David Manne and the RILC team for bringing this case for two Afghan plaintiffs, one adult and one 16 year old, before the High Court.



CLICK HERE for more information

A New Approach. Breaking the Stalemate on Refugees and Asylum Seekers
06-09-2011 
ChilOut Chair, Kate Gauthier has contributed to a major report strongly supporting calls to reframe the debate around refugee issues.


Click here for the full report

ChilOut flyer and E-card
14-03-2011 
Chilout has produced a flyer and e-card.  Click here to get the PDF to print or e-card to email around

Archive
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ChilOut is hiring a campaign Coordinator!
06-10-2011 
Go to the 'Be Involved' page for information on how to contribute or apply for this position.

ChilOut Information Night
24-09-2011 
Mandatory Detention: The Realistic Alternatives
Thursday October 13th. 6.30 sharp - 8pm
Sydney Town Hall.

Mandatory Detention will be abolished. 
Join former Department of Immigration Secretary, John Menadue AO as he suggests how, in a clear-headed discussion of the recommendations made in the recent CPD paper, A New Approach: Breaking the Stalemate on Refugees & Asylum Seekers. 
CLICK for more details

Geelong Rally Against Offshore Processing
21-09-2011 
11am on October 8th 2011 at Johnstone Park, Geelong.   
The Refugee Advocacy Group is comprised of several dedicated high school students from Geelong who advocate for the abolition of mandatory detention and offshore processing of asylum seekers in Australia.
Click HERE for more information!!

Report on children on Christmas Island
23-06-2011 
Judi Moylan lauches ChilOut report - No Place for Children. An investigation into conditions of detention on Christmas Island. Get the report here

ChilOut blocked from visits
14-05-2011 
Dianne Hiles and Jo Hind were initially blocked from visiting Christmas Island. Read this account of how they tried to gain permission to visit.



Ministers response re sanitary pads
08-03-2011 

Women reported problems with getting sanitary pads ... Serco says they are doing their job... Minister says good enough for me! Investigation closed. Read more....

Minister admits hotels are detention
08-03-2011 

For example, the Darwin Airport Lodge consists of demountable buildings and they have security around them, they have security guards...They are, for all intents and purposes, detention centres, detention facilities at least.

Help free orphan from detention
17-02-2011 
8 year old Seena lost both parents in the recent asylum boat sinking. Minister Bowen has sent him back to detention on Christmas island. Click here to find out more and help free him.

Asylum Seeker Policy in Australia: rights and wrongs
15-10-2011 
It is said that any civilized society can be measured by how it treats its most vulnerable people. Asylum seekers, vilified by the media and feared by the public, make an excellent target for unscrupulous public figures who seek to gain power or position through a culture of fear.

A better approach to asylum seeker policy in Australia
01.11.2010 
The approach adopted for the past two decades has been punitive, punishing people for seeking protection. There is no clear evidence to suggest that those policies have actually worked. There is evidence however, that policies for community-based processing of asylum seekers, taking a more humane and constructive approach, results in greater compliance with the system

Bring Out yer Dead Policies - Coalition Asylum Strategy
10-08-2011 
Abbott has pledged to stop the boats at all costs, but his policies have been tested by previous Coalition Governments - and failed. Real questions remain about the effectiveness and implementation of the Coalition'sw line on asylum seekers, writes Kate Gauthier

Election promises on boats will not pass parliament
30-08-2011 

In the lead up to the election, we saw both major parties making policy pledges to stop asylum boats. Kate Gauthier looks at the numbers in a hung parliament and considers whether either major party can live up to their election promises.

Dictionaries for Detainees
10-02-2011 
Thanks to donations, RRAN have been able to provide dual language dictionaries to over 70 people in Leonora, Curtin and Perth detention centres. Read more about the project.

Abuse Allegations Ignored
03-02-2011 

Refugee Rights Action Network activists reveal complaints about the behaviour of a particular guard towards detainees and fellow staff.

letter from Leonora
03-02-2011 
Click here to read this letter from an asylum seeker detained in Leonora.

ChilOut opinion piece in SMH
03-02-2011 
ChilOut's Jessica Perini wrote this opinion piece on the Christmas Toy drive

Submission to senate inquiry
17-12-2010 
ChilOut made a submisison to the inquiry for the Bill to establish a federal Commissioner for Children and Young People. Read it online here.

856 Children in detention
19-11-2010 
Over 400 children are unaccompanied minors aged as young as 13 years. 5  are unaccompanied teenage girls at risk in Darwin and Christmas Island. 

Nov newsletter
17-11-2010 
The govt announced they will release kids from detention in 2011 - but what are the real facts?

ChilOut reactivates
01-08-2010 
 It is with great regret that ChilOut finds it necessary to reactivate. As of August 2010 628 children are being detained in inappropriate conditions on Christmas Island, at Leonora, a mining compound near Kalgoorlie, in Darwin and Port Augusta.

ChilOut ambassador in The Age
15-10-2010 
ChilOut ambassador Najeeba is interviewed in an indepth article in the Age about the detention of children.

October Newsletter
14-10-2010 

ChilOut has reactivated the campaign. Read on for more details.

Suffer the little children
30-09-2010 
There are 628 children in immigration detention. The Government claims that kids are not held behind razor wire. But does that mean it is humane? ChilOut unpacks the language vs the reality of asylum seeking kids in detention. (First published in CPDs Thinking Points)

Chilout on SBS radio World View
21-09-2010 

ChilOut told Aileen Phillips keeping children in any kind of detention is a breach of the United Nations convention on the rights of a child. Listen online