Deter, Detain, Deport & Demonise: Applying the 4D model to Australia’s removal of non-citizens to Nauru
Meg Randolph, Lorena Rivas and Henrietta McNeill-Stowers
October 2025
Earlier this year, we questioned the future of Australia’s border control model, positing that future legislation will likely continue to entrench and intensify the current ‘crimmigration’ model—that is, the merging of criminal and immigration law. In that time, we have seen Australia enter a new AUD$2.5bn deal with Nauru, to resettle a cohort of non-citizens whose indefinite detention was found to be illegal by the High Court in late 2023. Australia’s current crimmigration model is structured around what we term the 4Ds: deterrence to prevent irregular maritime arrivals, detention (both onshore and offshore), and deportation; all of which is underpinned by the final “D”, demonisation of non-citizens (see Figure 1). This model has evolved through the progressive introduction of increasingly restrictive and punitive policies targeting non-citizens, including irregular migrants. Applying our 4Ds framework, we briefly examine the current developments in Nauru to illustrate the deepening convergence of criminal and immigration law (crimmigration) and the ongoing erosion of human rights.
Deterrence and Nauru
Operation Sovereign Borders (OSB) is a militarised operation tasked with identifying and intercepting irregular maritime arrivals prior to their arrival in Australia. This approach epitomises deterrence, as it criminalises irregular migrants based on their method of arrival—specifically by boat. Offshore detention, including on Nauru, has been used to process irregular maritime arrivals since the establishment of the Pacific Solution (OSB’s predecessor) in 2001. Over the past 24 years, the Australian government has spent approximately AUD$13 billion on both iterations of its offshore detention regime (2001-2008, and 2012 onwards). As of July 2025, 100 individuals remain detained on Nauru, with no access to resettlement in Australia, and an additional 37 are held in Papua New Guinea
Detention and Nauru
The use of Nauru as a site for offshore detention began under the Pacific Solution in 2001 and has continued since the facility’s reopening in 2012. In 2021 a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Australia and Nauru was signed, ensuring that a detention centre remains operational in Nauru, and that any irregular maritime arrival will be permanently barred from resettling in Australia. In the official media release for this MOU, this agreement was described as an “enduring form of offshore processing”. As of July 2025, there were 15 individuals being held in the detention centre, with an additional 90 residing in the wider community. More recently, on 1 October 2025, the detention regime expanded further, with Australia signing a AUD$790 million dollar agreement with US private prison operator Management and Training Corporation (MTC) to manage the detention of approximately 100 people on Nauru until 2027. MTC has faced serious allegations, including gross negligence and serious security failures that have resulted in significant harm to those detained under its care.
Deportation and Nauru
A new agreement has been furtively signed between Australia and Nauru that will facilitate the deportation of the NZYQ cohort from Australia to Nauru. These individuals had been detained due to a violation of the character grounds of their visa conditions but could not be deported to their country of origin due to fears of persecution, being stateless, or as the country would not accept them. The High Court found in 2023 that their indefinite detention was illegal, so the government sought other ways of managing this ‘problem’— aka the Nauru solution. Since the judgement, the group of individuals eligible to be deported to Nauru has expanded to 358 non-citizens, with 280 expected to be granted visas by the Nauruan Government. This is a 30-year agreement in which Nauru will receive an upfront payment of AUD$408 million in the first year, followed by annual payments of AUD$70 million. Over the full term, the total amount paid will reach AUD$2.5 billion. After 30 years, it is unclear what will happen to these individuals as they will be effectively stateless: without a Nauruan visa, without the ability to travel to Australia, and without the ability to return to their country of citizenship. Concerns have also been raised surrounding the possible refoulement of those sent to Nauru. Under the new MoU, Nauru is only required to consult Australia on any amendments to the law that would permit for these non-citizens to be sent back to their countries of origin.
Demonising and Nauru
At the core of these developments is the fourth “D” of Australia’s crimmigration model: demonisation. Non-citizens—especially those with criminal records, like some in the NZYQ cohort—are increasingly portrayed as undesirable, unworthy, and threatening, reinforcing narratives that justify their exclusion. This rhetoric intensified in September 2025, when the Migration Act was amended to remove the right to procedural fairness for individuals on a removal pathway. This amendment by the government, which applies retrospectively, has been criticised for lacking a “legitimate objective”. Overall, this legislative shift bolsters the Australian government’s deportation powers and reflects a broader strategy of dehumanising and vilifying non-citizens. Such a strategy serves to garner political support for increasingly punitive measures and reinforces the exclusionary logic underpinning Australia’s crimmigration regime.
What’s Next?
The latest agreement with Nauru is deeply concerning, and the imminent prospect of more individuals - beyond the NYZQ cohort - being deported to Nauru makes it more so. The lack of consideration given to the local Nauruan population is also troubling as they are seemingly overlooked, despite the implications of this agreement extending to them as well. Consequently, Australia continues to lead by (poor) example, with these long-term, high-cost agreements between Australia and Nauru concerning non-citizens illustrating a broader commitment to an approach steeped in the 4Ds: deterrence, detention, deportation, and demonisation.
Meg Randolph is a PhD candidate at the School of Social Sciences, Monash University. Her PhD research explores the spread of Australia’s offshore detention policies to other states in the Global North—specifically the United Kingdom and Denmark. This exploration has been through the application of the policy transfer framework.
Dr Lorena Rivas is a Research Fellow in the Griffith Criminology Institute, Griffith University. Her research primarily focuses on the intersections of systemic structures and vulnerable populations- particularly women- in the contexts of immigration detention and incarceration. She also has research interests in the areas of human rights and atrocity crimes.
Dr Henrietta McNeill-Stowers is a Research Fellow (Pacific Security, Geopolitics, Regionalism) in the Department of Pacific Affairs at the ANU. Her research focus is Pacific regional security and the security-migration nexus, particularly transnational crime, criminal deportations, border security, citizenship, and security cooperation.
Acknowledgement:
This piece is drawn from the following journal article:
Rivas, L., McNeill, H., & Randolph, M. (2025). Deter, detain, deport and demonise: should others follow the Australian crimmigration model? Australian Journal of International Affairs, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1080/10357718.2025.2515388
It can be found here.