Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran will be executed as soon as possible to show the world Indonesia is "trying very hard to combat drugs".
Indonesia's Attorney-General HM Prasetyo hadn't set a date for the Australians to meet the firing squad, after they were taken without a hitch to Nusakambangan island on Wednesday.
The Bali Nine pair went calmly from their cells at Bali's Kerobokan prison before dawn, and didn't say a word as they were handcuffed and loaded on armoured vehicles.
They shook hands and thanked the authorities for their care over the decade past since they were arrested trying to take heroin out of Indonesia with seven others.
Their polite demeanour contrasted with the enormous security operation deployed by Indonesian authorities for the transfer.
There were more than 100 police outside the jail, a water canon and military vehicles.
Two Sukhoi fighter jets flew ahead of the chartered plane to Cilacap, Central Java, the departure point for Nusakambangan.
But the men said barely a word. Before boarding the flight, Chan was heard saying: "Goodbye, Bali".
In Canberra, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said millions of Australians would be "feeling sick in their guts" about what's to come.
"We, frankly, are revolted by the prospect of these executions," he said.
Australia was continuing its efforts to seek clemency for the men.
"Whatever might happen in the next few days, the relationship with Indonesia must endure," he added.
The men would be executed "as soon as possible", Mr Prasetyo told reporters in Jakarta.
A date won't be set until a number of issues were resolved, including the number of drug offenders to be executed with Chan and Sukumaran.
"Many things are still being considered so that there's no impression of recklessness," Mr Prasetyo said.
"It doesn't mean that we're doubtful or afraid, but this is a matter of life."
Several of the 10 prisoners slated for execution - including Chan and Sukumaran - have legal appeals pending.
But the Attorney-General said all legal avenues where exhausted President Joko Widodo denied clemency.
"We want to show the world that Indonesia is trying very hard to combat drugs," he said.
Two of the 10 prisoners - a Filipina woman and a Nigerian man - had not yet arrived on the island as of noon local time Wednesday.
The firing squads were still practising.
Critically, Mr Prasetyo said family members could still visit the prisoners on Nusakambangan up until when they were isolated "hours" before their execution, and at the discretion of prison staff.
Sukumaran's mother Raji was due to travel to Nusakambangan on Thursday while other family members departed Sydney on Wednesday.
Chan's mother, Helen, is also on her way, while his brother Michael is expected to make his way from Bali.
Michael Chan had tried to see his brother as authorities were taking him from Kerobokan prison but - in heart-wrenching scenes - was turned away.
He walked from the prison holding the hand of Andrew's girlfriend, who was in tears.
Nyoman Putra Surya, Head of the Corrections Division at Bali Provincial Law and Human Rights Office, defended the decision, saying the families had been given many chances to spend time with the men in the past week.
Chan and Sukumaran thanked authorities for their care while they were in Bali.
"They were ready," Mr Nyoman said.
"They even said thank you."
The men smiled and shook their hands before they were searched and handcuffed.
Sukumaran, who recently obtained a degree in fine arts, took a drawing book and pencils to the island, while Chan, recently ordained as a Christian minister, took a bible.
Friends inside the prison, where they led rehabilitation programs, were distressed and saddened by their departure.
But authorities said there was no commotion among the inmates, amid the noise from the massive police operation outside.
From Cilacap, the men are believed to have been sent to Nusakambangan in two armoured vehicles.
Asked about condemned Brazilian prisoner Rodrigo Gularte, who had been promised a second opinion on his mental health status before being sent for execution, Mr Prasetyo said "he's fine" and brushed aside concerns as "the usual efforts to delay execution".
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