Two dozen people have been charged with crimes after being released from immigration detention, but none have been jailed under emergency laws.
Among those released from custody were seven murderers and 37 sex offenders, it was revealed on Monday.
Powers rushed through parliament in December 2023 allowed the responsible minister to apply for community safety or supervision orders.
Under the orders, freed detainees could be locked up or subject to strict surveillance.
But as of January 31, no applications had been made to enforce the powers.
A High Court ruling on indefinite immigration detention triggered the release of 149 people.
Seven had committed murder and attempted murder, 37 sexual-based offending, including child sex offending; 72 assault and violent offending, including kidnapping and armed robbery; 16 domestic violence and stalking and 13 serious drug offending.
Fewer than five were involved in people smuggling and fewer than five were involved in low level or no criminal offences.
Broader supervision measures that carried a prison sentence for breaching were also imposed by the legislation.
As of January 31, 113 released detainees had ankle monitoring bracelets.
None have been re-detained in immigration detention due to there being no prospect of them being resettled in another country.
Australia has been knocked back by Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Canada.
Discussions with the US are ongoing.
Six people have been re-arrested and charged for breaching visa conditions under the new laws, while an additional 18 have been charged by state and territory police forces for other offences as of February 1.
Opposition spokesman James Paterson questioned whether preventative detention could have stopped some of the alleged re-offending.
“This is a shocking failure on community safety and national security,” he told reporters in Canberra.
Asked why there was a difference between this cohort and the thousands of people routinely released around the country for serious offences, Senator Paterson said the released detainees were not citizens.
“They don’t have a valid visa to be in Australia except for a High Court decision, which is found that they can’t be deported,” he said.
Immigration Minister Andrew Giles was peppered with questions after the figures were released.
Mr Giles defended his record, saying community safety was paramount and the government had brought together highly respected law enforcement officers to provide advice on combating the threat.
“We also have now four layers of protection including stringent visa conditions, electronic monitoring and curfew arrangements as well as preventative arrangements,” he told parliament.
“We have been working around the clock to ensure the community is kept safe.”
He pointed to comments from Senator Paterson saying there was a high legal threshold for a court to agree to a detention order and applications needed to be cautious and determined.
A parliamentary committee chaired by Labor MP Josh Burns slammed the prevention detention laws as a potential overreach concerning the infringement of human rights.
More than $13 million had been spent managing the caseload following the High Court decision as of December 31.
This post was originally published on Michael West.
