Australia spent more than $9m for each asylum seeker held on Nauru last year – so why can’t they afford to buy food?

Jul 20, 2026 - 04:55

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Australia spent more than $9m for each asylum seeker held on Nauru last year – so why can’t they afford to buy food?

Many of the more than 100 people awaiting processing on the tiny Pacific island are skipping meals to make ends meet, a new survey has found

Most refugees and asylum seekers held in Nauru’s detention centres says they cannot afford to buy enough food or access clean drinking water, despite the Australian government spending the equivalent of more than $9m per person last financial year.

The group of more than 100 people have been sent indefinitely to the tiny Pacific island while they wait for their asylum claims to be processed. Many of the cohort say they are skipping meals to make ends meet, according to a new survey by the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC) advocacy group.