PROHIBITED IMMIGRANT
LIABILITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF PROHIBITED IMMIGRANT PENDING DEPORTATION: WHETHER LIABILITY IS LIMITED TO AMOUNT OF BOND TAKEN AS CONDITION OF PERMISSION TO LAND
IMMIGRATION ACT 1901-1912, s. 13A
The Secretary, Department of Home and Territories, has forwarded, for advice, the following memorandum:
A prohibited immigrant, a member of the crew of an overseas ship, who was suffering from feeblemindedness, was landed at Fremantle some time ago for treatment in a hospital for the insane.
- A certificate of exemption was issued in the man's favour and the agents were required to furnish a bond in the sum of £500 in the attached form (Form No. 29).
- Owing to the possibility that the hospital expenses in this case may exceed £500 before the man is fit to be discharged or deported, and as they have only so far received that sum from the shipowner to meet the expenses in this case, the agents desire to know whether their liability (including expenses for deportation as well as for maintenance) would, under any circumstances, exceed £500.
- Your attention is invited to section 13A of the Immigration Act 1901-1912, which reads:
The master, owners, agents, or charterers of a vessel in which a prohibited immigrant, or a person who under section three or section five of this Act becomes a prohibited immigrant, comes to the Commonwealth, shall, on being required in writing by any Collector of Customs so to do, without charge to the Commonwealth, provide a passage for the prohibited immigrant to the place whence he came, and shall also be liable to pay to the Commonwealth for the State a fair sum to recoup the State for the cost of keeping and maintaining the prohibited immigrant while awaiting his deportation from Australia,
but in view of the fact of our having accepted a bond in the attached form from the ship's agents, will you kindly advise me whether we could only call on them to pay maintenance and deportation expenses up to the amount of the bond.
In my opinion section 13A, quoted above, clearly imposes a liability on the master, owners, agents, or charterers of the vessel to pay reasonable maintenance and deportation expenses, irrespective of the amount of the bond entered into in the terms of Form 29.
[Vol.17, p.133]