<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The nation's top </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/courts" rel="" target="" title="court"><span>court</span></a><span> has struck down curfew and ankle-monitoring restrictions imposed on a </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/murder" rel="" target="" title="murderer"><span>murderer</span></a><span> in a fresh blow to attempts to place restrictions on ex-immigration detainees.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A Papua New Guinea citizen argued that unconstitutional conditions were imposed on him when he was granted a bridging visa after being released from detention.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The conditions included a requirement that the man wear a monitoring device at all times and remain at a designated address between 10pm and 6am each day.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/fuel-crisis-australia-how-rideshare-fares-may-increase-driver-wear-cost-of-petrol-explained/827f5cf7-6f6c-43eb-9672-e79a77459ec7" target="_blank"><strong><span>Rideshare giant DiDi increases fuel surcharge for passengers as drivers feel the squeeze</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The federal government maintained the measures were necessary to protect the Australian community from the man, who was convicted of murder as a minor and domestic violence offences as an adult.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But the High Court, by majority, found the conditions were invalid, in yet another blow to the federal government's attempts to monitor people released from indefinite immigration detention.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The government introduced the monitoring regime after a landmark 2023 ruling by the same court that indefinite detention was illegal if there was no reasonable prospect of the person's removal from Australia in the foreseeable future.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/monitoring-regime-voided-with-killers-high-court-win/82e51a34-9a4e-4520-b53f-b9e68aed3935" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The decision led to the release of 150 immigration detainees with criminal records, some of whom had convictions for serious offences such as murder and rape.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A number were arrested for allegedly reoffending after their release, sparking fierce public and political backlash.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The government reacted by introducing laws requiring some of the former detainees to wear ankle monitors and abide by a curfew, but those measures were struck down in 2024.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/redundancies-coming-for-about-one-in-five-organisations/7ce1e25d-2458-4131-9cca-2cb2ee81d58e" target="_blank"><strong><span>Nearly one in five employers planning to make staff redundant by end of March</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The High Court ruled the conditions were unconstitutional because they represented a punishment imposed by the government not the judiciary.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The regulations were amended to only apply under circumstances in which a person posed a substantial risk of committing a serious offence and the measures were deemed necessary for community safety.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The PNG man who succeeded in the latest High Court challenge had his visa cancelled in 2024 after being jailed for domestic violence offences.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He was subsequently taken into immigration detention before being released into the community on a bridging visa with curfew and monitoring conditions.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The conditions were still incompatible with Australia's constitution, the High Court found today.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said people with cancelled visas should leave the country when asked about the decision.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"While obviously the government would have preferred a different outcome, the government's ambition was never about ankle bracelets," he said in a statement.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Fortunately, we now have the agreement with Nauru, because the best thing for people who have had their visa cancelled is to not be in this country."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Some 43 people who have been on electronic monitoring in the community are expected to be immediately transferred to mandatory reporting conditions, requiring them to check in with authorities at a set time and place.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The cost of the High Court challenge will be paid by the federal government.</span></div></div>