Over the past 5 years: (a) how many asylum seekers have been in detention for more than 3 months; (b) what has been the total cost to Australian taxpayers of detaining asylum seekers; and (c) what percentage of the total number of asylum seekers has been accepted as genuine refugees.

(a)   Between 1 July 2001 and 4 November 2005, departmental records indicate that 4,758 people had applied for a protection visa and were detained for more than three months.

(b)   For the purpose of identifying the cost of immigration detention, the Department does not differentiate between detainees who apply for protection and those who do not.

(c)   In the five year period from 1 July 2000 to 30 June 2005, 33,720 initial protection visa applications were lodged. In 26 per cent of these applications the applicant was found to be a refugee and was granted a protection visa.