Australia deporting 15-year-old Kiwi 'won't be the last' say advocates warning of escalation in 'notoriously retrograde' policy

A 15-year-old boy sent back from Australia "won't be the last" warns a human rights advocate working on the Gold Coast with Kiwi youth she says are currently being threatened with deportation.

And legal experts are calling what is believed be the first case of a minor sent back across the Tasman a "disturbing escalation of a notoriously retrograde immigration policy" - one that likely breaches international human rights obligations.

Little is known about the situation of the teenager, with Australia's Department of Home Affairs declining to comment.

Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta said she was notified by the Australian Government "some weeks ago".

But she has warned people not to assume the 15-year old minor was a 501 deportee.

Both she and Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson wouldn't elaborate much on the situation other than to say it was "complex".

The youth was not on a plane of deportees filmed by Australian journalists and referred to as "trash" by Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton last week, but the situation has added to already inflamed tensions between the two countries.

Green Party foreign affairs spokeswoman Golriz Ghahraman said Australia was behaving like a "rogue nation", and National leader Judith Collins said: "I've never seen Australia and New Zealand relations at such a low ebb".

Gold Coast-based New Zealand rights advocate Vicky Rose told the Herald while this was the youngest person deported to New Zealand they were aware of, it would likely not be for long.

"There are a lot of New Zealand youth in detention centres, and I know of much younger ones where threats have been made about deportation," said Rose, a resident in Australia for 12 years where she advocates for the rights of other New Zealanders, including pathways to citizenship.

Many had come from New Zealand as toddlers, and hence neither they nor their parents were citizens, Rose said.

Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta said she was notified by the Australian Government "some weeks ago". Photo / Mark Mitchell

The current problems had roots in 2001, when legislation changed to allow only permanent residents and citizens social security, she said.

"So when families get into crisis there is no financial support. These situations facing youth are products of those changes, and will only get worse."

A Department of Home Affairs spokeswoman refused to comment on the case, nor say if the child was deported under the Migration Act 2014, which allows for the deportation of a foreigner who "is or may be a risk to the health, safety or good order of the Australian community" or is "not of good character".

In a statement she said: "A non-citizen's visa must be cancelled if they are serving a full-time term of imprisonment for an offence committed in Australia and they have, at any time, been sentenced to a period of 12 months or more imprisonment, regardless of their age or nationality.

"Non-citizens who do not hold a valid visa will be liable for detention and removal from Australia.

"The Department approaches visa cancellation of minors with a high degree of caution and consultation, to ensure all relevant factors are considered and the approach is consistent with community and Government expectations."

The Department complied with international obligations including the Convention on the Rights of the Child, she said.

More than 2000 people have been deported to New Zealand under the Act, and the numbers have been increasing with nearly 500 arriving in the 2019-2020 financial year alone.

While 15 is believed to be the youngest, it is not the first time Australia has attempted to deport a minor.

Immigration lawyer Greg Barns SC has successfully helped a 17-year-old in Australia appeal against their deportation.

Barns told Newstalk ZB Australia following through with the recent deportation was likely a breach of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

"Under the convention the best interests of the child has to be first and foremost of any decision, also a duty of care is owed when it comes dealing with children, and this clearly breaches both obligations."

Australian Catholic University Dean of Law Professor Patrick Keyzer, who has conducted extensive research on 501 deportees to New Zealand, told the Herald the latest situation was "deeply concerning".

"It represents a disturbing escalation of a notoriously retrograde immigration policy that has had a devastating effect on many Australian and New Zealand families."

Along with "ripping families apart", Keyzer said the action would likely do little to address offending.

Research among adult deportees to New Zealand found over 40 per cent reoffended after they arrived here.

"If a person has paid their debt to society then deportation can be a type of additional punishment, particularly for people with weak family ties and connections in New Zealand," Keyzer said.

"These protective factors are highly significant in preventing recidivism.

"This policy seems to be designed to do exactly the opposite of what is required: rebuilding of family and community ties for successful reintegration into the community."

Aimee Reardon, who works with returnees in her role with Prisoners' Aid and Rehabilitation Society (PARS), told the Herald reintegrating into a new society alone was hard enough for adults, let alone children.

"It is really concerning, even just practical aspects like setting up a bank account or signing a tenancy, it is ludicrous. They are going to need a family here."

A spokesman for Oranga Tamariki said the agency was providing support to the child, but declined to comment further.