A former immigration detainee will sue the Commonwealth for false imprisonment after being released following a landmark High Court ruling.
The 46-year-old Iranian had been jailed and held for 18 months because he could not be deported to his home country after serving his prison sentence.
Just days after the federal budget was passed, an injunction was filed in the Supreme Court of Western Australia, in which the government allocated $5.6 million to cover legal costs arising from the High Court decision.
Attorney General Stephen Donaghue said that if indefinite detention is ruled illegal, lawsuits by detainees would be inevitable.
Former immigration detainee to sue Commonwealth for false imprisonment (pictured, Villawood Immigration Detention Center)
The issue has become a burden for the federal government, which has faced increased scrutiny after one of the detainees released following the High Court ruling was involved in a violent home invasion.
Majid Jamshidi Doukoshkan, 43, born in Kuwait, was recently charged for his alleged involvement in the brutal beating and robbery of an elderly Perth couple, Ninette and Philip Simons.
Jamshidi Doukoshkan has been remanded in custody and will appear in court again in June for a series of offenses resulting from the incident.
The 43-year-old was also accused of violating his curfew, one of the strict visa conditions imposed on the cohort, and was not wearing an ankle monitor at the time.
Majid Jamshidi Doukoshkan (pictured) was one of the detained immigrants released following the NZYQ High Court ruling. He is not the man suing the Commonwealth.