Under the changes, all asylum seekers who arrive by boat, regardless whether they reach the Australian mainland, will be sent to offshore detention centres.
The head of Anglican Sydney, Peter Kell, says the Government is trying to dodge the legal obligations of the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.
But he says, in doing so, Australia is dodging its moral obligations, too.
"We're dealing with some people who are genuinely traumatised. We know ourselves, as an agency, just how traumatised even genuine refugees who have been processed through the United Nations system are when they get here."
He says; "And the people that are coming in these boats now, and others who will be affected by this new law, many of them will be dreadfully traumatised people."
Mr Kell says; "And I think we have an obligation, as a free democracy who loves our democracy, to show some concern."