The body of an Iranian asylum seeker killed during riots on Manus Island has reached Port Moresby for an autopsy amid questions over the timing of the process.
Reza Berati, 23, died after suffering a fatal head injury during riots at an Australian-operated detention centre on February 17.
"(The body) arrived at Port Moresby some time over the weekend ... I believe the autopsy was due some time today," Immigration and Border Protection Department secretary Martin Bowles told a Senate estimates hearing on Tuesday.
Australian Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young asked why it was happening eight days after Mr Berati's death.
"Autopsies generally need to happen quite quickly to have the most accurate information," Senator Hanson-Young said.
Mr Bowles said that was in the hands of Papua New Guinea authorities and the department does not know when it will get results from the autopsy.
Department deputy secretary Mark Cormack said it was a police matter in PNG.
"So our role has been to support the PNG police in the investigation of a crime and any matters that follow in relation to an autopsy or a coronial inquest are matters for the PNG government," he said.
Mr Berati's body is due to be returned to his family in Iran.
