Australian Immigration Daily News

Migration (Daily Maintenance Amount for Persons in Detention) Determination 2026 – Explanatory Statement

This legislative instrument updates the daily detention cost amount used under section 262 of the Migration Act 1958 for certain people who are legally liable to reimburse the Commonwealth for immigration detention costs.

The instrument commences on 1 July 2026 and repeals the previous 2024 determination (LIN 24/017).

Key change

The daily maintenance amount increases from $538.79 per day to $702.31 per day.

That is an increase of approximately 30.4% per day.

Who does this apply to?

Importantly, this does not apply to ordinary immigration detainees generally.

Since the Migration Amendment (Abolishing Detention Debt) Act 2009, detention debt was abolished for most detainees.

This amount only applies to limited categories including:

• convicted people smugglers, and
• persons convicted of offences relating to illegal foreign fishing,

and associated liable third parties (such as owners/masters/agents/charterers of vessels in relevant circumstances).

What does the $702.31 cover?

The Department says the figure reflects the minimum direct cost to the Commonwealth of detention and includes:

• facility overheads;
• catering;
• cleaning;
• facilities management;
• security and escorting;
• visitor management;
• health services; and
• detainee activities and programs.

It expressly excludes broader indirect departmental costs and is stated to be no more than the actual cost of detention as required by the Act.

Period covered

The new rate applies for detention occurring between:
1 July 2026 – 30 June 2028 (inclusive).
If detention spans both periods:

• days before 1 July 2026 → charged at $538.79/day
• days from 1 July 2026 onward → charged at $702.31/day.

Detention centres covered

The determination applies to approved immigration detention places including:

• Adelaide IDC
• Brisbane IDC
• Melbourne IDC
• Christmas Island (North West Point) IDC
• Perth IDC
• Villawood IDC
• Yongah Hill IDC

Consultation

No public consultation was undertaken. The Department said the change simply updates costs using an existing methodology and does not materially change the detention framework. 

Source: Migration-Daily-Maintenance-Amount-for-Persons-in-Detention-Determination-2026.pdf  and

Migration-Daily-Maintenance-Amount-for-Persons-in-Detention-Determination-2026-EXPLANATORY-STATEMENT.pdf