Immigration Minister Tony Burke admits not all ex-detainees will be fitted with bracelets under new regime

Immigration Minister Tony Burke admits not all the ex-detainees previously fitted with ankle bracelets will be subject to the condition under the new regime to manage the cohort.

The Federal Government last week rushed through a trio of tough migration bills to deal with non-citizens like those released after the NZYQ High Court case, including provisions to pay other countries to accept them.

Mr Burke said the Government wasn’t planning “mass deportations” after the Greens suggested up to 80,000 people could be at risk, although he couldn’t say how many could be forced out and to which third countries.

The minister has also signed off on regulations to reapply ankle bracelets and curfews to the NZYQ cohort after the High Court last month found laws imposing the conditions were unconstitutional.

Before that judgment, 150 of the 224 freed detainees were fitted with ankle bracelets and 130 were subject to curfews.

In an interview with Sky News on Sunday, Mr Burke revealed the revised regime included a new test to determine if a detainee should be subject to the conditions, which focused on the risk they posed to community safety rather than past conduct.

“Not everybody who was previously on an ankle bracelet is likely to qualify under the new test,” Mr Burke said.

“But there are people who are now going on to it and certainly the people where there’s the greatest risk to the community.”

Mr Burke refused to speculate how many ex-detainees would be subject to the new regime, claiming that disclosing a specific number could risk another court challenge.

But he said it would apply to “as many as the High Court allows”.

In a separate interview on Sunday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also refused to speculate on which third countries might be paid to accept the ex-detainees.

“What this does is give the government power to engage with third countries to make sure that we protect Australia’s national interest,” Mr Albanese told ABC’s Insiders program.

The Prime Minister defended another harsh feature of the bills passed last week that allows immigration officials to confiscate mobile phones in detention centres.

“Before the last election, there was some questioning of our resolve. What we’ve been determined to do is to show our strong commitment to keep Australians safe,” he said.