Chief Commissioner of Police, Applications by

The Chief Commissioner of Police applied to the High Court of Australia for special leave to appeal against a decision of the Full Federal Court. The dispute concerned the interpretation of provisions within the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) relating to the detention of non-citizens. The Commissioner sought to detain certain individuals who had been released from immigration detention but were subject to ongoing adverse security assessments.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the *Migration Act* authorised the continued detention of non-citizens in circumstances where they had been released from immigration detention but remained subject to a continuing adverse security assessment. Specifically, the Court had to consider the interplay between the powers of the Minister to issue a security assessment and the powers of the Commissioner to detain individuals under the Act.

The High Court granted special leave to appeal and, in its judgment, clarified that the *Migration Act* does not permit the indefinite detention of individuals based solely on a continuing adverse security assessment after their initial immigration detention has ended. The Court reasoned that the statutory framework for detention is tied to the process of removal or other lawful processing under the Act, and that a security assessment, while important, does not, in itself, create a separate and independent basis for ongoing detention outside of those established procedures. The Court emphasised that detention powers must be exercised within the confines of the legislative scheme.