



A baby was sent to the Australian-run detention centre on Nauru in defiance of advice given to the immigration department, Guardian Australia has learned.

Last week the immigration department began its first transfer of an infant born into detention in Australia – a five-month-old girl known as baby Asha – to Nauru, despite widespread concerns about the adequacy of conditions at the centre.



But high-level department sources have told Guardian Australia that several weeks ago Save the Children, which is contracted to provide welfare services on the island, conducted a detailed risk assessment for the planned transfer of up to 10 babies to area 9 of regional processing centre 3 at the Nauru detention centre.



The risk assessment outlined that the transfer of babies back to that part of the centre would be potentially catastrophic and recommended the transfer not occur.

Incident reports have previously detailed the presence of rats and mice in area 9, and recent pictures of the area obtained by Guardian Australia show the compound remains in poor conditions.

But the immigration department disputed the assessment and requested that it be changed, Guardian Australia was told. Instead it opted to rely on a Transfield risk assessment that outlines a slightly lower level of risk.

Following this, the first baby was sent to Nauru last week with more transfers imminent. The infant child has now developed gastroenteritis, while both parents are being monitored heavily due to concerns about their wellbeing.

Asylum seeker mothers are generally transferred from Nauru to the Australian mainland to give birth.

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young said she has written to the immigration minister, Peter Dutton, asking him to act immediately to remove the baby from Nauru.

“It is horrific that baby Asha, born in Australia, is now in detention in Nauru. The trauma being experienced by this family is cruel and the government should bring them back to Australia immediately,” Hanson-Young said.

“The parents of baby Asha are so desperate that they are considering suicide so she can be brought back to Australia. This is the human tragedy of Australia’s asylum seeker detention policies.

“This family were awaiting specialised trauma counselling and medical treatments when they were forcibly removed to Nauru last Thursday and their situation is now even more tenuous.”

Prior to the transfer, the mother and father of the infant were restrained using cable ties on their hands, and the atmosphere in the Melbourne detention centre remains highly charged after their removal.

The removal of the infant and her parents last week caused serious distress to other asylum seekers at the centre, a staff member said.

The group of infants facing removal back to Nauru with their families were all born in Australia after 4 December 2014. This date represents a cutoff point as part of a “one-off deal” made by then immigration minister Scott Morrison with crossbench senator Ricky Muir to pass the federal government’s temporary protection visa legislation.

As part of the deal, a group of 31 babies born into detention before this date, along with their families, were eligible to apply for protection visas in Australia. Those born after this date faced being sent offshore.

The immigration department has not responded to requests for comment.