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Timeline of development

The Manus Regional "Processing" Centre was one of a number of offshore Australian immigration detention facilities.

It was originally established in 2001 as an "offshore processing centre" (OPC) as part of the Pacific Solution policy created by the Howard government. After falling into disuse in 2003, it was formally closed by the first Rudd government in 2008, but reopened by the Gillard government in 2012. As part of the PNG Solution by the second Rudd government, it was announced in July 2013 that those sent to PNG would never be resettled in Australia.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees cited the centre as an "indictment of a policy meant to avoid Australia's international obligations". It was formally closed on 31 October 2017. Hundreds of detainees refused to leave the centre and a stand-off ensued.

This timeline gives a sense of how the site was never static and has evolved over time.