The Commonwealth Ombudsman also noted in 2018 that Home Affairs has relied on paper records for historical citizenship information, which contributed to unlawful detention cases.
Bradley said the fact that unlawful detention was ongoing demonstrated Home Affairs had not sufficiently invested in technology and management systems, which he said was symptomatic of a departmental culture that did not prioritise the wellbeing of detainees.
“It’s a department that became progressively more adversarial in outlook and approach to the people who fall under its control,” he said.