Measures to further strengthen the protection of Australia's borders figure strongly in the immigration portfolio in this year's federal budget.
There is also extra funding to improve the processing of asylum claims by the Immigration Department and funding for citizenship programs.
The Treasurer, Peter Costello, has announced an extra $389m will be spent over the next four years to combat illegal fishing off northern Australia.
"This will fund increased surface and air surveillance and patrol capability.
"We expect to double the number of fishing vessels apprehended in Australia's northern waters each year.
"We will engage rangers from Indigenous communities in Northern Australia to assist in locating vessels hiding in inland waters.
"We will detain and prosecute illegal fishermen."
An extra $64m will be spent on the construction of five new centres which would be responsible for destroying boats deemed to be in Australian waters illegally.
The government has acted in the budget on concerns identified in the Palmer and Comrie reports which uncovered a significant number of cases of unlawful detention.
$10.9m will be spent over the next four years on improving the Immigration Department's client services and $7.9m will be spent over four years on improving health services for detainees.
In the multicultural affairs area, an extra $4m will be spent on a campaign to encourage more overseas-born residents to become Australian citizens.
Under the campaign, new citizens would be encouraged to acquire a working knowledge of English and would be reminded of their rights, responsibilities and values associated with Australian citizenship.
The government says it will save $78m over four years through its new plan to process all new asylum claims at offshore detention facilities, rather than at Australian detention centres.