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

Many refugees and asylum seekers held in detention centers on Nauru say they cannot buy enough food or access clean drinking water, despite the Australian government spending the equivalent of more than $9 million per person last financial year.

The group of more than 100 people has been sent to the small Pacific island indefinitely while they wait for their asylum claims to be processed. According to the survey, most of the group say they skip meals to make ends meet. a new survey By advocacy group Asylum Seeker Resource Center (ASRC).

Unable to work or earn his own money in Nauru for over two years, Rakib* feels he is at breaking point.

“I think it would be better if they kill us or if we die,” says the man in his 20s, who Guardian Australia has chosen not to identify for his safety. “Because you know, when you die, you find peace.”

prohibitive costs

All but one of the 78 people the ASRC surveyed between February and April said the Australian government’s $260 fortnightly payment, intended to cover the purchase of food, drinking water, supplies, phone credit and internet service, was not enough to keep them from going hungry. (Minimum 28GB monthly data plan On Digicel, the country’s main internet and mobile provider, it costs $112, or about 20% of the monthly allowance provided.)

Nauru’s population of around 13,000 is heavily dependent on imported goods. More than 90% of food consumed is imported, and prices on the island can fluctuate depending on availability and trade disruptions. Vegetables such as tomatoes, capsicum and onions cost around $18 a kilo, three times more than similar produce in Australia.

Rakib has been on Nauru for 2.5 years after trying to reach Australia by boat. He says the situation has worsened in recent months: The cost of a single banana has gone from $1.50 to $4.

He says there has also been a recent shortage of rice, an affordable staple food for many Nauruans and refugees on the island.

“We were told it might take two to three months for the next ship carrying rice to arrive, so we don’t know how we’re going to survive in the meantime,” Rakib tells Guardian Australia through a translator.

The ASRC survey also includes reports of substandard accommodation facilities.

The majority of the refugee and asylum seeker group on the island comes from China, Bangladesh and Pakistan and is trying to reach Australia by boat after 2023. Under long-standing bipartisan government policy, they will never be permanently resettled in Australia even if they are found to be fleeing persecution.

If they are found to be genuine refugees, they must wait for Australia to make a deal with another country to accept them. Although the offshore processing center will be vacant by mid-2023, an influx of inflows since then means around 100 people remain on the island in limbo.

Australian government Spent $971.6 million on offshore management For those arriving by sea without permission in the 2025-26 financial year, according to the home affairs portfolio budget statement made public in May. This figure corresponds to approximately 9.6 million dollars per person.

US private prison operator MTC Australia will receive $791.2 million over five years to operate its offshore processing center on Nauru; Additionally, an additional $106.5 million over three years will be provided to International Health and Medical Services to provide medical services to people awaiting procedures.

Those awaiting refugee status determination are not allowed to work, so they can only rely on government wages. In December 2025, the government increased the fortnightly wage from $230 to $260.

One of the refugees named in the ASRC report claimed that some in the group resorted to fishing to supplement their meals, but their efforts were wasted by theft.

“We bought fishing nets to supplement our food supply but our nets were stolen and broken three times. We had put the net outside because of the smell and local Nauruans came and stole it,” the person said.

“We planted fruit, but unfortunately the fruits were stolen. Even my shoes were stolen.”

‘We want a peaceful life’

Access to any food for the group remains an issue due to supply and affordability, while safe drinking water is also an issue on the island.

ASRC’s report notes that the island has no rivers or freshwater lakes and relies primarily on rainwater harvesting and reverse osmosis desalination to meet its drinking water needs. 82 percent of those surveyed said they did not have access to clean drinking water.

Rakib says the accommodation has a rainwater tank used for showering, cooking and drinking. In order for water to be consumed safely, it must be boiled and stored in containers.

“The water tank was not clean for the last two and a half years,” says Rakib.

“We can’t buy quality water because we don’t have money.”

ASRC vice president Jana Favero said: The new report’s findings show the offshore detention system has “completely collapsed”.

“Even the most basic standards of safety and human dignity are not being met, and there is no excuse for this,” he said.

“We know we are responsible and that this system is destroying people’s physical and mental health, and now we have evidence that people are also being deprived of adequate food.”

A home affairs spokesman said the management of individuals, including refugee status determinations, was Nauru’s responsibility.

The spokesman said benefit payments were “regularly reviewed to ensure they remain fit for purpose” and were “based on the local cost of living and designed to promote self-sufficiency for those transferred while living in the community”.

“People transferred and housed under regional processing arrangements are treated with respect and dignity and in accordance with human rights standards,” the spokesman said.

*Name/s have been changed