Australia's extradition laws could save a former bodyguard of the Malaysian prime minister from being sent home to face the death penalty.
Detained in Queensland on Tuesday night, Sirul Azhar Umar was sentenced to death by hanging in 2009 for the murder of 28-year-old Altantuya Shaariibuu.
The Mongolian woman was shot twice before her body was blown up with plastic explosives in suburban Kuala Lumpur.
She allegedly had connections to high-ranking Malaysian government officials and was pregnant at the time of her death.
Sirul, 43, and fellow accused Azilah Hadri were members of an elite unit that guards top ministers.
The pair were later released when an appeals court overturned their convictions in 2013 after raising questions about how their trial was conducted.
But last week, Malaysia's highest court upheld their death sentences over the killing.
Sirul was taken into custody by immigration officials in Brisbane on Tuesday night after Interpol issued a notice for his arrest.
He is believed to have been living in Australia since November.
The Department of Immigration and Border Protection said on Wednesday an "unlawful non-citizen" had been detained in the Queensland capital.
"The department is aware of the Malaysian authorities' interest in this individual," a department spokesperson told AAP.
But it's unlikely Sirul will be extradited to face his death sentence given Australia's extradition laws.
The legislation does not allow for an individual to be surrendered to another country for an offence punishable by death unless the country has given an undertaking the penalty will not be carried out.
However, Malaysian Deputy Home Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar has said Australia should respect the extradition treaty between the two countries and the decision of the Malaysian justice system.
Speaking in Washington, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop was "not in position to give any details in relation to that matter", or how it would affect the relationship between the two countries.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has repeatedly denied any knowledge of the model's killing.
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