(Transcript from World News Radio)
The federal government has expressed disappointment that an inquiry into children in immigration detention was not launched under the previous Labor government.
However, refugee advocacy groups are welcoming the inquiry, saying it's time to put politics aside and put children first.
The Australian Human Rights Commission will conduct the national inquiry into the ways in which life in immigration detention affects the health, well-being and development of children.
Aileen Phillips reports.
Ten years ago, the Australian Human Rights Commission released a previous report into children in immigration detention, when there were around 700 children in detention.
Today, there are over 1000 children in Australian detention centres.
The inquiry will assess the impact of detention on children.
The Commission's President Gillian Triggs will look at whether laws, policies and practices relating to children in immigration detention meet Australia's international human rights obligations.
Particular attention will be given to areas including the appropriateness of the facilities; the impact of the length of detention and assessments conducted prior to transferring children to be detained in off-shore centres.
The Commission's President, Professor Triggs says there are two key parts to the inquiry.
"Carers, professionals, medical professions, nurses, all the people that have come into contact with this policy of detaining children we'd like to hear from. We are very much hoping for a strong public response. The other element to the inquiry is that I will with two members of the commission staff be going to all of the detention centres in which children are held, with the single exception of Nauru, where I do not have jurisdiction."
Sophie Peer is from the group Chilout, which advocates for the rights of children in detention and campaigns for the removal of children out of detention.
She says the methods of evidence gathering for the inquiry is appropriate and critical.
"It is essential that the voices of these children and their families are heard within this inquiry process and it is of course essential that an independent body go and see first hand the conditions that children are living in and speak not only to service providers but to children and understand that the reality of operating in that daily environment is all well and good to read a report back from a service provider, but to see how that service delivery works in practice every day is very different."
But the timing of the inquiry has not been to the satisfaction of all parties.
Speaking to Macquarie Radio, Immigration Minister Scott Morrison questioned why the inquiry was not conducted during the previous government's time in power.
"There were no children in detention when the Coalition lost office in 2007. There were over a thousand when Labor lost office. The last time that the Human Rights Commission decided to do an inquiry into children in detention was when the Howard was in office, and now they're doing one now that the Abbott government is in office."
Paul Power is the Chief Executive of the Refugee Council of Australia.
He says it's crucial that government policies and procedures are scrutinised.
"Unfortunately, we have seen both persuasions in office trying to blur the issues and cover up the issues. This process of immigration detention is being carried out by the Australian government, supposedly in the name of the Australian people and massive amounts, hundreds of millions and often billions of dollars are being spent locking people up while they are going through a visa determination process. So it's important that the Australian public, in whose name this is being done, actually has clear information about what is occurring."
The Commission's President Gillian Triggs says it's an appropriate time to conduct another inquiry.
"The government was elected in September. We are now in February. It's long enough for a government to have reconsidered the way in which children are actually being treated. So one can use that political argument for just so long and then it starts to look a little faded."
The Commission is due to report on its findings by the end of the year.
