The Pacific island will resettle up to 354 former detainees Canberra says have ‘no legal right to remain in Australia’.Published On 4 Sep 20254 Sep 2025The Australian government has agreed to pay the small Pacific island nation of Nauru some $1.6bn over three decades to resettle former detainees who have “no legal right to remain in Australia”, in the latest iteration of Australia’s controversial offshore detention policies.Both governments signed a secretive deal last week under which Nauru will resettle up to 354 people who have no legal right to stay in Australia in exchange for an initial 408 million Australian dollar payment ($267m) and about 70 million Australian dollars ($46m) each year thereafter.Independent Senator David Pocock said a “snap Senate hearing” on Wednesday night revealed that the “agreement with Nauru to send asylum seekers there” could cost the Australian government up to 2.5 billion Australian dollars ($1.6bn) over 30 years.The Senate hearing came after Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke announced last week that he had signed a memorandum with Nauru’s president “for the proper treatment and long-term residence of people who have no legal right to stay in Australia, to be received in Nauru”.“It’s in both nations’ interest to move through this as efficiently as we can,” said Clare Sharp, head of immigration from the Department of Home Affairs.“It’s in Nauru’s interest, because money doesn’t flow until people arrive,” she said.With an estimated populati …
