An aid group whose workers were kicked off Nauru after the federal government wrongly claimed they were coaching asylum seekers to self harm has been compensated and received an apology.
On October 2, 2014, the immigration department directed Save the Children to remove 10 of its staff from the Nauru regional processing centre.
Nine of them were then deported by the Nauru government.
The department was acting on allegations the staff had orchestrated protests, coached and encouraged self-harm of detainees, criticised the regional processing system and leaked confidential information.
The department did not provide Save the Children or any of the employees with detailed reasons for the removal.
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Two independent reviews found the information available to the department at the time of the removal direction did not warrant issuing the direction.
The department said on Friday it had reached a confidential financial settlement with Save the Children (SCA), but admitted this was not enough.
"In this regard, the department regrets the way in which ... the allegations relied on by the department to issue the removal direction may have led other NGOs and members of the public to question the integrity of SCA.
"The department affirms SCA's good standing with it and acknowledges that at the time of the removal direction and subsequently, it had no reason to cause doubt to be cast on SCA's reputation."
Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young said the government's claims were baseless.
"The shameful practice of the government, which is to blame the victims and those advocating for them, has backfired," she said.
Save the Children policy director Mat Tinkler told AAP it had been a difficult chapter in the organisation's history.
He was pleased the department had recognised the misstep and expressed its regret, as well as confirmed it had no reason to cast doubt on the organisation's reputation.
"It's been a very difficult experience for individual staff members and they have struggled ever since," he said.
The staff are making their own individual claims against the government.
Poppy Browne, who has spent a decade in the child protection field, told ABC TV in February having her name associated with the allegations "broke her heart".
