A vigil was held in Queen Victoria Square on Wednesday, marking the 10th anniversary of the resumption of Australia's offshore detention policy.
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Refugee advocates gathered in the centre of town at 12 noon, bearing signs, and rang the town hall's bell 10 times in commemoration of the date.
"I'm grateful that the City of Ballarat's going to ring the bells 10 times. It'll represent the 10 years since then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made the announcement," member Margaret O'Donnell said.
"We had to get permission from the mayor to do this.
"Support for refugees stranded in Papua New Guinea and in Nauru has really increased over the years.
"We're asking the Albanese government to grant permanent visas to all refugees, remove the ban on resettlement and end off-shore detention once and for all."
According to data from the Refugee Council of Australia, 3127 people were transferred to their Papua New Guinea or Nauru since July 19, 2013.
The Refugee Action Network said it cost $350 million a year to keep the Nauru facility going. That's more than three times the construction cost of Ballarat's GovHub.
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