The request was made by the widow of a man who died in late April after setting himself on fire on Nauru. The man's wife was flown to Brisbane with her husband so he could be given medical treatment for his burns. The man died a few days later.



Hanson-Young was hoping to visit four asylum seekers currently being held in immigration detention in Brisbane, including the widow.

But in an email to the senator's office a Border Force worker said the request "is not able to be facilitated during the caretaker period".

Caretaker conventions come into effect after an election has been called. They allow the functions of government to continue without any decision being made that could potentially affect an incoming government.



Senator Hanson-Young told BuzzFeed News she had followed the usual procedure for requests to visit detainees, but was told at the last minute that the request would be denied.