The remaining five members of the Bali Nine have returned to Australia after spending two decades in Indonesian prisons, saying they are “immensely grateful” to the country's new president for making it happen.
Australians Scott Rush, Matthew Norman, Si-Yi Chen, Martin Stephens and Michael Czugaj were serving life sentences in Indonesia for their roles in the botched 2005 drug smuggling plot.
The two ringleaders of the plot, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, were executed in 2015; Renae Lawrence's 20-year sentence was commuted in 2018 and Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen died of stomach cancer in that same year.
The men arrived in Australia on Sunday and have been provided temporary accommodation while they resettle.
In a statement released on their behalf, the group of convicted drug smugglers also expressed their sincere thanks to successive Australian foreign ministers and governments who have advocated to them.
The men returned to Australian on a commercial Jetstar flight to Darwin from Bali's international airport on Sunday, accompanied by several Australian officials.
Wearing face masks and civilian clothes, the men were made to pause at the base of the steps on the tarmac while Indonesian officials posed for photos with Australian counterparts.
They then boarded the plane, the last time ever they'll step foot in Indonesia, having now been added to the list of people banned from ever returning.
"They look forward, in time, to reintegrating back into and contributing to society," the statement issued by lawyer Julian McMahon, who previously represented the two members of the group who were executed, Myuran Sukamaran and Andrew Chan, said.
"The welfare of the men is a priority, they will need time and support, and we hope the trust our media and community will make allowance for this."
The ABC has been told the men are effectively free to live unhindered in Australian society.
'Time to come home' Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the men had committed serious offences "but it was time for them to come home".
"I am pleased to confirm that Australian citizens Matthew Norman, Scott Rush, Martin Stephens, Si Yi Chen, and Michael Czugaj have returned to Australia this afternoon," Mr Albanese said in a statement.
"I have conveyed my personal appreciation to President Prabowo [Subianto] for his act of compassion."
In a joint statement with Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, Mr Albanese also thanked the Indonesian government for its cooperation in facilitating the men's return to Australia "on humanitarian grounds".
"This reflects the strong bilateral relationship and mutual respect between Indonesia and Australia," the ministers said in a statement.
"The men will have the opportunity to continue their personal rehabilitation and reintegration in Australia."
The men are understood to have returned together on a commercial flight, but it is not known whether they have been reunited with their families, or where they are staying.
The remaining five were variously from Queensland and New South Wales.
Messages of gratitude The statement released on behalf of the men and their families on Sunday said they were "relieved and happy to be back in Australia".
"The men and their families are immensely grateful to president Prabowo and the Indonesian government for allowing them to return to Australia, and sincerely thank them," the statement said.
"Over the years of their imprisonment, successive Australian foreign ministers and governments have advocated for the men. The men and their families sincerely thank them.
"The men and their families thank all those who have assisted them to reach this point.
"In particular, they thank their Indonesian lawyers, friends in Indonesia, academics and others in Australia, and numerous friends in Australia. This support has been essential and invaluable."
Indonesia says no clemency for the Bali Nine Indonesia's top law minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra said the five men were transferred to Australia as prisoners, and said they were not granted clemency by President Prabowo Subianto.
Ever since news of the proposed transfer broke in November, legal experts in both countries have said a prisoner transfer wouldn't be possible because the relevant laws to do it don't exist.
It's understood a condition Indonesia had previously demanded in recent weeks — the ability to monitor the men once back in Australia — cannot be imposed because they're now free.
Mr Mahendra had previously said that Indonesia would send them home as prisoners but would respect any decision by Australian authorities to release them once home.
He did however confirm that the men will be barred from ever returning to Indonesia.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on the sidelines of APEC in Lima, Peru, last month when the pair discussed the return of the remaining Bali Nine members.
But the result is the consequence of years of prolonged advocacy by Australia from the prime minister down.
Mr Subianto is understood to have wanted the men home by Christmas, aware of the lengthy sentences they had already served and their aging families
While Jakarta's wish to avoid perceptions of an early release suggests sensitivity, the Indonesian government is planning to transfer home another convicted drug smuggler in the coming days under a similar deal.
Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipino mother who was arrested in 2010 and given a last minute reprieve from the same firing squad that executed Sukamaran and Chan in 2015, is due to be sent home to the Philippines before Christmas.
The Bali Nine were caught attempting to smuggle heroin out of Bali after a tip-off from Australian Federal Police.
Their high-profile trials were closely followed by the media, and the decision to hand down death sentences for drug trafficking, an Indonesian first, was controversial and shocking.
When Chan and Sukumaran were sentenced to death, then-prime minister John Howard pleaded for other Australians not to take "terrible risks".
Their sentences were consistently opposed by the federal government, repeatedly delayed and put on hold, but the pair were executed by firing squad in 2015.
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