Nauru

Australia is on the brink of a deal to send hundreds of refugees held on Manus Island and Nauru to the United States.

The Australian Senate is today beginning an inquiry into serious allegations of abuse, self harm and neglect at the country's Pacific detention camps for asylum seekers.

Australia has secretly flown a sixth refugee from Nauru to Phnom Penh under Australia's controversial US$42 million dollar agreement with the Cambodian government.

The opposition Labor party in Australia will oppose the government's bill that blocks boat people from ever returning there.

Nauru has a new primary school built with Australian Government funding.

A Supreme Court application for the resettlement of refugees detained on Papua New Guinea's Manus Island has been re-filed.

In the middle of the night on Thursday, the Australian government secretly deported a refugee to Nauru from a Melbourne detention centre, according to human rights lawyers.

An Iranian refugee says his family has no future on Nauru and he'd happily go to North America under an Australian plan. Audio

Prime Minister John Key flatly denies New Zealand is about to sign a deal with Australia to resettle refugees detained on Manus Island and Nauru.

The UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants arrives in Australia today to assess the country's migration programmes and policies.

The Australian government is being accused of turning its back on refugees as it plans to introduce legislation to ban asylum seekers who arrive by boat from ever being allowed into the country. Audio

Police on Nauru have charged a person with the indecent assault of a six-year-old child last year.

Asylum seekers sent to Manus Island and Nauru by Australia could be permanently banned from applying to enter the country under a proposed new law.

Many Australians are deeply ashamed of how their government treats asylum seekers, a social agency says.

The Australian Medical Association is calling for independent oversight of healthcare provided to detainees on Papua New Guinea's Manus Island and Nauru.

A refugee advocacy group says teachers should also be exempt from the threat of imprisonment for speaking out on Australia's detention centres.

Australia has lifted the ban on doctors to make public observations about the country's detention centres.

New Zealand needs to step up and help the hundreds of people detained in Australia's camps on Nauru, Amnesty International says.