Kaye Bernard

Bernard first became involved with refugee issues on Christmas Island around 2003.^[1] Based in Perth, she began visiting the island to help those held at the major detention center there.^[2] Bernard went on to spend many years working to help support and release Southeast Asian refugee families being detained there.^[3][4][5] Her activism included campaigning, connecting refugees with legal services, visiting detainees, and writing about their situations in publications such as the Islander.^[6][7]

Bernard's increasing involvement with issues on Christmas Island led her, in November 2010, to become general secretary of the Union of Christmas Island Workers (UCIW), settling full time on the island.^{[1][8][9][10]} The union at the time was focused on representing the guards, cleaners, drivers, and administrative staff at the detention center, which at the time had a growing population of well over 2,000 detainees.^[11][12]

In 2011, as general secretary of the union, Bernard led criticism of overcrowding, understaffing, and lack of access to medical care for detainees at the center.^[13] She condemned privatization of the detention centers, which she argued had exacerbated poor conditions for both detainees and staff.^[11]

She continued to lead the UCIW until March 2012.^[8]