Amnesty International has welcomed the Government’s decision to start moving asylum seekers into the community for processing as a positive and long overdue step. The Government’s intention to release at least 100 people each month, prioritising those who've spent the longest time in detention, is a significant victory for refugee rights. The human rights organisation has recognised this move as an important first step, but with about 5,000 people remaining in detention, there needs to be legislation to back this up. “We need an assurance from the Australian Government that people who have fled persecution and violence, if detained, will only be held in detention for the absolute minimum necessary time to undertake basic checks. “Detention should only be used as a last resort,” said Amnesty International’s refugee spokesman Dr. Graham Thom. “This welcome move to community processing, where bridging visas will be used as claims are assessed, will finally put Australia in step with all other Western countries. “The system of indefinite mandatory detention is discriminatory and brings further suffering to people who had fled unimaginable circumstances. The evidence has been clear cut for far too long that indefinite detention is unsustainable and the physical and mental damage it has caused to refugees is a blemish on this country’s rights record. “All refugees & asylum seekers should be treated equally in Australia in a fair and transparent way. This move to one processing system couldn’t happen soon enough,” said Dr Thom.