Asylum report 'a step forward, more to be done'

An expert from the asylum seekers panel has welcomed a report's recommendation that the yearly intake of refugees be increased, but says the current humanitarian visa program should be improved.

The government-appointed panel, led by former defence force chief Angus Houston, says the Howard government's processing centres on Nauru and Manus should be reopened "as soon as practical" but asylum seekers sent there would not be given any resettlement advantage over those who seek UNHCR regional assessment.

It said Labor's Malaysia deal was a very good arrangement that should be built upon but that its safeguards and accountability measures should be improved.

It recommends the government increase its annual humanitarian intake to about 20,000 - up from the current 13,750 - and up to 27,000 over the next five years.

Sharon Pickering from Monash University was one of the academics which consulted with the panel over the past few months.

"It's disappointing to see that we have returned to many of the core elements of the Pacific Solution," she said.

"(To have) some of the processing though regional collaboration is heartening, but unfortunately there is a lot of devil in the detail, particularly in relation to the time-limit of detention, of people that will be sent to Nauru, Manus Island on PNG and potentially Malaysia as well.

"We may have people languishing for some time, we may have families that are separated for indefinite periods of time".

Ms Pickering has welcomed the recommendation to increase of yearly intake of refugees to 20,000 now, and to 27,000 in five years, but called for the federal government to overhaul the current humanitarian visa system, to better process asylum seekers coming to Australia by plane.

"The very blunt regime of visas we have at the moment are actually preventing people from travelling to Australia, and then seeking asylum, which is a perfectly regular and sensible way to respond to people's protection needs".