The nun, Sister Patricia Fox, aged 71, who has worked in the Philippines for almost 30 years, had exhausted all legal means to fight her expulsion from the Philippines. She attended her last Mass at St. Joseph's Church in Manila before leaving for the airport, accompanied by a motorcade of supporters.
She landed in Melbourne on Sunday morning, where she told ABC News: "The human rights abuses are just increasing. It's a reign of terror."
From Manila before her departure, Sister Fox said, "I will continue to seek justice for the victims and do all I can to support the people's struggle for true peace based on justice."
She added that she bore Mr. Duterte no ill will, but wished that he would consider the plight of the "poor and the small people, not just the military and business people."
Sister Fox has long been involved in political and social activism in the Philippines, and since Mr. Duterte took office in 2016 she has spoken out repeatedly against his drug war, which has left thousands of mostly poor Filipinos dead at the hands of police officers or vigilantes.