Free legal aid for asylum seekers will cost taxpayers more than $60 million this year, an analysis shows.
Since July, $32 million has been paid to 22 law firms representing asylum seekers, News Limited reports.
On top of that, it reports running the migration review tribunal will cost $30 million as the number of unauthorised boat arrivals surges.
David Manne, the human rights lawyer who successfully led the appeal against the federal government's Malaysia solution, is also a big winner, with his Melbourne-based Refugee and Immigration Legal Centre receiving $4.13 million since his High Court victory in August.
The revelations come as Immigration Minister Chris Bowen urges the Labor caucus to support independent MP Rob Oakeshott's private member's bill to reinstate offshore processing.
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