Description
Villawood Immigration Detention Centre is an Australian immigration detention facility located in the suburb of Villawood in Sydney, Australia. It mainly caters for people who have overstayed their visa permit or those who had their visa cancelled because they have failed to comply with their visa conditions, and some adult male and female asylum seekers who have arrived by boat without visas, whom the Australian government refer to as " Illegal Maritime Arrivals". People refused entry into the country at international airports and seaports may also be detained there.The centre has been the focus of much controversy, with accusations of human rights abuses. As of April 2016 it was managed by a private prison company Serco Group.HistoryVillawood Migrant HostelThe site of the Detention Centre was previously known as the Villawood Migrant Hostel, built in 1949 to house migrants from post-war Europe to work in local industries. The centre was run by Commonwealth Hostels Ltd, a non-profit company. By 1964 the centre housed 1,425 people, mainly from Britain and Europe. By 1969 it was the largest migrant hostel in Australia, and was at that time housing migrants from Britain, The Netherlands, Denmark, West Germany, France, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Turkey. In 1968 the centre was divided into two sections, one named the Villawood Migrant Hostel and the other named the Westbridge Migrant Hostel, which operated until 1984.Conversion to a Detention CentreIn 1976 a small section of the hostel was converted to provide security accommodation for persons awaiting deportation. This new section was named the Villawood Immigration Detention Centre.
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