detention centre noun3 •A facility in which people are detained (held in custody); a jail.All jurisdictions have their own prison systems, although the Australia Capital Territory (ACT) has only one remand centre and one periodic detention centre. — 2002 •(Australia) An immigration detention facility; a facility in which people who have attempted to enter Australia without prior authorisation are detained, pending a decision on whether they are to be accepted as refugees or returned to their country of origin.New detention centres were opened, all in remote areas — at Woomera in the South Australian desert in November 1999, and the Curtin Detention Centre at Derby in Western Australia in February 2000. — 2004 •A concentration camp. formsdetention centres
