Nauru detention centre operator makes $101m profit - at least $500,000 for each detainee

The company behind Australia's offshore processing regime on Nauru made a $101m profit last financial year - more than $500,000 for each of the fewer than 200 people held on the island.

Rard No 3, the holding company for Canstruct International, which has the government contract to run the Nauru offshore processing centre, has more than $340m in cash and investments, according to its most recent accounts filed with the corporate regulator.

When Canstruct International was initially awarded the Nauru contract in 2017 the company had $8 in assets.

Its only significant contract is with the federal government to provide "garrison and welfare services" for refugees and asylum seekers held by Australia on the Pacific island.

The construction revenue Rard No 3 earned in 2020-21 - $333m - was commensurate with Canstruct International's Nauru contracts for the period. The company signed two contract extensions worth $303m during the financial year, with other extensions worth hundreds of millions in preceding and future years.

Rard No 3 now holds $236m in financial investments and owns three investment properties worth more than $14m. The company also reaped $6m in interest and dividends from its investment portfolio. It made an after-tax profit of $69.5m in 2018-19 and $101m in 2019-20 and again in 2020-21.

The number of refugees and asylum seekers held by Australia on Nauru diminished steadily over the course of 2020-21, from 185 to 108 by the end of the financial year.