Asylum seekers sent to Nauru by Australia say they are going hungry on the island, prohibited from working to support themselves and given insufficient money to buy enough food.
Others say they fear the Nauru government will deport them to their home countries, from where they say they have fled persecution and violence.
More than 160 people have been sent to Nauru by the Australian government since the offshore processing regime restarted on the Pacific island in 2023.
Asylum seekers awaiting processing are given a $230 a fortnight stipend for food and supplies.
A public notice posted by Nauru’s justice secretary, Jay Udit, in late November warned that all asylum seekers are forbidden from working while their application is being processed.
“The law of Nauru does not allow a foreign person to work in Nauru unless he or she has a visa granted by the department of immigration to work. Any person who works without such a visa, commits and offence and is liable to be prosecuted or deported,” the notice, seen by Guardian Australia, says.
Asylum seekers could also have their living expenses cut, or cancelled, if they are caught working, the government’s decree warns.
The notice also warns Nauruan businesses not to employ asylum seekers.
Home affairs officials confirmed in Senate estimates on Tuesday that Nauru’s policy prevents asylum seekers from working. Those who are granted refugee status after a protection claim – so far, only eight people since 2023 – are able to apply to work legally.
Under the agreement between Nauru and Australia, the refugee status determination process has a target timeframe of 60 days.
But some asylum seekers have been held on Nauru for more than four months – double that time – without a decision on their protection claim, and say they are going hungry while they wait for a decision.
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The home affairs secretary, Stephanie Foster, told estimates on Tuesday “it’s one of the priorities in our new agreement around regional processing that that process be expedited”.
Asylum seekers’ accommodation and utilities are covered by the Australian government under its agreement with Nauru, and the three-quarters-of-a-billion dollar “reception, garrison and welfare” contract it has signed with private prisons operator MTC.
A monthly data plan with the country’s main internet and mobile provider Digicel costs $99. Nauru imports most of its fresh fruit and vegetables, raising the cost of everyday produce to prices far above a typical supermarket in Australia.
‘How is it possible to survive?’
The difficult situation means some asylum seekers work unlawfully at petrol stations and on construction sites to supplement their stipend and cover the rising living costs.
“We cannot survive on the $230 per fortnight allowance,” said one person, who wished to remain anonymous.
“The money is not enough because everything is expensive here – rice, fish, we cannot buy any fruit here, internet for $100 per month. How is it possible to survive?”
Another asylum seeker said he could not afford more than two meals a day, and skipped breakfast to make ends meet.
“Here food is so expensive, vegetables and fruit it’s impossible for me to buy,” the man said.
“Day by day I lose weight and my health condition is not good. I can’t support myself properly. It’s so difficult to survive in Nauru. When I see the doctor in IHMS they always say, ‘eat vegetables, fruits and milk’, but I can’t afford it.”
A bag of grapes can cost $20 on Nauru (the country uses Australian dollars), and a quarter-sliced watermelon $24. Small boxes of cereal retail for $15.
Another man told Guardian Australia the latest notice ramped up the pressure on an already vulnerable group.
“No one here cares about us, our mental health, our … difficulties which we going through here,” he said.
Asylum seekers say they have been told they could face forcible deportation to a hostile country of origin, including countries riven by violence and systemic persecution of minorities, if their protection claim is not accepted.
“If I go back to my country I can’t live because some people are waiting for me. If they find me they will kill me … I want to live and I want to start my life again,” one said.
“I have a family. If I die, my family [will] also die with me. Please help me find safety.”
Ogy Simic, the advocacy head of the Asylum Seekers Resource Centre, said it was “unconscionable” that asylum seekers were being punished “for doing what any of us would do in the same situation”.
“The measly allowance refugees receive on Nauru is so low that people cannot afford food or drinking water, and many have had no choice but to work to survive,” he said.
“We cannot outsource accountability. If Australia sends people to Nauru, then Australia must ensure they have the right to work, the means to survive and basic human dignity.”
Australia and Nauru are both parties to the refugees convention, which imposes a non-refoulement obligation: states cannot return a refugee to a place where they are at risk of irreparable harm, including persecution or torture.
The UN human rights committee earlier this year ruled Australia remained responsible for upholding the non-refoulement rights of asylum seekers it sends to Nauru for processing.
