title: A Community Standard: Equivalency of Healthcare in Australian Immigration Detention.
abstract: The Australian government has long maintained that the standard of healthcare provided in its immigration detention centres is broadly comparable with health services available within the Australian community. Drawing on the literature from prison healthcare, this article examines (1) whether the principle of equivalency is being applied in Australian immigration detention and (2) whether this standard of care is achievable given Australia's current policies. This article argues that the principle of equivalency is not being applied and that this standard of health and healthcare will remain unachievable in Australian immigration detention without significant reform. Alternate approaches to addressing the well documented issues related to health and healthcare in Australian immigration detention are discussed.
authors.affiliation: The Centre for Values, Ethics and the Law in Medicine, School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, Medical Foundation Building K25, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia. ryan.essex@sydney.edu.au.
authors.forename: Ryan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Essex
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia; D003219:Confidentiality; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants; D004641:Emigration and Immigration / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D054625:Healthcare Disparities / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D011330:Prisons / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000592:standards*; D012036:Refugees
keywords: Asylum seekers; Clinical ethics; Equivalency; Healthcare; Immigration detention; Refugees