New amendments mean the Australian Government will be able to detain refugees indefinitely.

The Senate has passed a change to the Migration Act which prevents refugees who have been given an adverse security assessment from seeking a protection visa.

The security assessments are carried out by ASIO behind closed doors and cannot be reviewed, but those who are also found to be legitimate refugees cannot be sent back to their country of origin.

It means many could be classified as both a refugee and a security risk, and be permanently kept in detention centres.

Labor and the Coalition supported the bill but Greens members, human and legal rights advocates have already expressed their disturbance and dismay.

“With this bill, the Abbott government has guaranteed the permanent, indefinite detention of refugee families,” Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

“This cruel and unnecessary move from the Labor and Liberal parties will damage vulnerable people and Australia’s international reputation.”

“This bill will see dozens of refugees who have received secretive adverse ASIO assessments locked up on Australian soil, without charge and with no chance of release.”

The Human Rights Law Centre says safeguards have been destroyed, and there is virtually nothing left to work in favour of largely innocent victims of detention.

“A refugee who receives an adverse ASIO security assessment may be indefinitely detained. The proposed reforms do not contain adequate procedural checks and balances to ensure such detention is not arbitrary,” its submission said.

Legal rights and representation for asylum seekers continues to be diminished, as has the media’s access to detention centres or any useful information on them.

An urgent appeal was made recently, which pushed the United Nations human rights commissioner and special rapporteurs to do more on behalf of asylum seekers.

But ASIO secrecy abounds, even though its security assessment system has been slammed in thousands of complaints to the intelligence agency.

An independent review system is still in place, for now, and will hopefully continue overturning numerous inappropriate decisions made by ASIO.