Refugee advocates are outraged by the proposal and human rights lawyers say it may not even be legal.
Thea Cowie reports.
Under the proposal, non-citizens would be deported if they're convicted of certain crimes that carry a penalty of a year or more in jail.
That's regardless of whether or not they are actually sentenced to a year in prison.
So in theory, a non-citizen in Queensland could be deported if they're found guilty of carrying a spray-can that police suspect has been used for graffiti - because that crime carries a maximum 12 month penalty.
The Opposition's legal affairs spokesman, Senator George Brandis, says refugees could also be deported, regardless of any danger they may face once they leave the country.
Refugee Action Coalition spokesman Ian Rintoul says the proposal is shameful.
"It's really just some extrajudicial punishment for no crime at all, for the crime of being an asylum-seeker. It's really one more shameful attempt I think by the Coalition to position themselves for the election."
The Opposition's plan is outlined in a booklet called "The Coalition's policy to protect our streets and our communities from foreign criminals."
The booklet says people who commit a limited number of public order and miscellaneous offences may be exempt from deportation.
But Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison is not elaborating on what those exemptions are.
"What we've said is the matter would be dealt with on a case-by-case basis and there is nothing that prevents us under the (refugee) convention from deporting people in the situation where public order or serious criminal offences are at stake. But here's our message: if you come to Australia and you're a guest and you're on a visa and you commit a crime, then the Coalition is not going to look kindly on that and will certainly take a tougher approach than the government."
The Opposition is putting up the proposal despite March Bureau of Statistics figures showing asylum-seekers living in the community on bridging visas are about 45 times less likely to be charged with a crime than other members of the general public.
Currently, the government only deports foreigners if they're actually sentenced to 12 months or more in jail.
And a statement from the Australian Greens says sending asylum-seekers back to countries where they may be persecuted is illegal.
Scott Morrison continues to defend the proposal, saying guests of Australia should respect its laws.
"The policy understands completely Articles 32 and 33 of the refugee convention which does provide for people to be deported and not offered protection where there are matters of public order or serious criminal offences."
But the Opposition says that's not the only problem with the status quo.
Its policy document also says "non-citizens should not be able to exploit taxpayer-funded legal processes in order to remain in Australia."
Instead, under a Coalition government, non-citizens would not have any right to appeal deportation orders.
The Refugee Action Coalition's Ian Rintoul says that would be discriminatory.
"If it implements this, it is taking a step towards the kind of dictatorships and the phoney legal systems that exist in places like Pakistan or Iraq and if they want to be seen to be upholding the kind of justice which normally applies in Australia, then the idea that systematically discriminating against asylum-seekers or refugees in the way that they're proposing really should be put aside."
The Coalition also plans to double the amount of time foreigners have to wait to return to Australia - bringing the waiting period to 20 years.
