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Australia & Oceania·Migration·Human Rights

Australia spends $9m per person on Nauru detention while asylum seekers go hungry, survey finds

Monday, 20 July 2026, 06:25 · 1 min read

More than 100 asylum seekers held on Nauru (a tiny Pacific island nation used by Australia as an offshore immigration detention site) are struggling to afford food and clean drinking water, even as Australia spends the equivalent of $9.6 million per person annually on offshore processing, according to a new survey by the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre. The survey of 78 detainees found that nearly all said the government's fortnightly allowance of $260 — intended to cover food, water, phone and internet costs — was wholly inadequate, with highly inflated local prices meaning even basic staples like rice and vegetables are often out of reach. Australia's home affairs department defended the arrangements, saying payments are reviewed regularly and that detainees are treated with dignity, but advocacy groups say the findings expose an offshore detention system that is, in their words, "completely broken."

Sources
The GuardianAustralia spent more than $9m for each asylum seeker held on Nauru last year – so why can’t they afford to buy food? ↗︎
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