asked the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, in writing, on 2 June 2011:

In respect of irregular maritime arrivals detained at RAAF Base Scherger, does Defence monitor the (a) phone calls that detainees make, (b) and (c) emails that detainees send; if so, does Defence keep a log of what is monitored; if so, have detainees visited pornographic websites, and/or websites considered to be violent in nature; if so, can he provide a list of those websites that are considered to be violent in nature.

The answer to the honourable member’s question is as follows:

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship and its Detention Service Provider do not monitor phone calls, websites or emails of Irregular Maritime Arrivals detained at RAAF Base Scherger; due to the requirements of the Privacy Act (2001).

However, clients are supervised when accessing the internet to ensure appropriate behaviour, age-appropriate material and equitable access is maintained.

Furthermore, computers at all Immigration Detention Centres have content filters, which block access to inappropriate websites.