in Australia, but human rights organisations including HREOC have called upon the Australian Government to allow detainees to release detainees into the community to better protect themselves against COVID-19, as social distancing is not possible in the centre. In 2023 another man detained at the centre died in what is believed to be a suicide. The man, originally from Iraq, was found lifeless in his cell after living at the centre for five years. Description Villawood Detention Centre is located at 15 Birmingham Avenue, Villawood. It houses a mix of asylum seekers, people who have overstayed their visas and Section 501 detainees who have had their visas cancelled following criminal convictions and are awaiting deportation after serving prison sentences. At 31 May 2021 it held 485 people including 278 Section 501 visa cancellations, 74 asylum seekers who arrived by boat, and 133 detainees in other categories. People refused entry into the country at international airports and seaports may also be detained there. The centre has been the focus of much controversy, with accusations of human rights abuses. Since 2009 the centre has been managed by private prison company Serco. with the Australian Border Force, an agency of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, responsible for the welfare of the detainees. See also List of Australian immigration detention facilities ChilOut We Can Be Heroes: Finding The Australian of the Year References Further reading </ref> External links 1976 establishments in Australia Prisons in Sydney Immigration detention centres and prisons of Australia Migrant hostels in Australia Private prisons in Australia Serco