The cost to taxpayers of possible compensation for non-citizens held indefinitely in immigration detention is not yet known, the home affairs minister has conceded.
The High Court on Wednesday ruled detainees were able to sue the Commonwealth, creating a precedent for those held unlawfully to receive millions of dollars.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the impact of the decision to the federal government was still being examined.
"We’re still working through the decision that came down and came down yesterday, the courts have not yet made any orders with respect to compensation," he told reporters in Sydney on Thursday.
The case was brought by Austrian citizen Safwat Abdel-Hady, who was held in immigration detention and his visa was cancelled on character grounds.
He later sued for compensation for his time in detention following a November 2023 ruling by the High Court in the NZYQ case, which found it unlawful to detain non-citizens when it was impossible to deport them.
More than 300 people were released from detention as part of the NZYQ ruling.
Mr Burke said the situation would not be repeated, following a settlement agreement that was signed with Nauru.
Under the deal, non-citizens unable to return to their country of origin due to persecution risks can be taken to Nauru on a 30-year visa.
The deal is estimated to cost about $2.5 billion.
"What we have established now, which I wish had been established a decade ago, is a system where if someone won't go to any other country, we have an arrangement with Nauru, where people can go there," Mr Burke said.
