Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has dismissed claims the federal government re-classified parts of a Sydney facility to support its claim no children remain in immigration detention.
Mr Dutton announced over the weekend children have been released from Australia's mainland detention centres but refugee advocates argue 10 remain at the Villawood centre in western Sydney after their status was changed to "community detention".
The minister on Monday told ABC radio there was a family living in a townhouse adjacent to the centre who could come and go during the day, and visit a male relative still in "held detention".
Mr Dutton denied they were being held behind bars.
"We've been able to make a modification to the arrangement so the children aren't detained, they can have friends over, they can go out into the community," he said.
They weren't being accompanied by guards when they went to school, the minister added.
Mr Dutton also reiterated the 267 asylum seekers - including children - who were part of an unsuccessful High Court challenge to stop their return to Nauru would eventually be removed from Australia.
"(They) are all subject to go back to Nauru once the medical support has been provided," he said.
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