Home affairs wrongfully detained Australian citizen for four days because of paperwork bungle, ombudsman reveals

Department denies a culture of ‘act first, check later’ after report shows the Australian citizen was moved to immigration detention – despite them providing their birth certificate

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Home affairs wrongfully detained an Australian citizen because of an administration error, the commonwealth ombudsman has revealed, while another person with a valid visa was incorrectly held for 18 months in immigration detention.

The Australian citizen, known as Mx C, was born in Australia to New Zealand parents in 1989, automatically granting them citizenship on their 10th birthday – but it was not recorded in departmental records.