A class action seeking compensation for 1900 Manus Island detainees may be settled before Australia's largest trial concerning immigration detention begins.
The six-month trial is due to begin in the Victorian Supreme Court on Wednesday but there is speculation a settlement may be reached.
A settlement could potentially lead to the withdrawal of a separate legal action in Papua New Guinea that lawyers hope could be worth at least $150 million.
The Australian class action is seeking damages on behalf of 1905 group members who, legal firm Slater and Gordon says, cover the majority of people detained on Manus Island since 2012.
The detainees want compensation from the Australian government and the detention centre managers for alleged physical and psychological injuries they argue they suffered as a result of the conditions in which they were held.
Like the separate mass plaintiff claim against the PNG government, the class action also seeks damages for false imprisonment after the PNG Supreme Court ruled the detention of asylum seekers on Manus Island was unconstitutional.
The PNG government and lawyers for Manus Island detainees in the PNG case, who currently number 731 but could reach 1000 men, have been in court-ordered negotiations since early May.
Lawyer Greg Toop says the PNG action may be withdrawn if the Australian class action settles, as the detainees could not receive double compensation.
"We are looking at the possibility of withdrawing our proceedings so they can get their compensation through Slater and Gordon's action," Mr Toop told AAP on Tuesday.
Mr Toop and PNG lawyer Ben Lomai estimate the men in their case could each receive more than 400,000 PNG kina ($A150,000-$A175,000).
Watch: Human rights law centre on Manus Island
Mr Toop said there were similarities in the potential damages calculations in the Australian and PNG cases, but the detainees would get a lot less in the PNG context.
"Our claim is massive anyway - 400 million kina upwards. So it's a pretty large claim whoever is going to resolve it, whether it's resolved in Australia through Slater and Gordon or resolved in PNG through us," Mr Toop said.
Slater and Gordon would not comment beyond confirming its matter is before the court on Wednesday.
The firm has previously said the class action, which was being live streamed, would shine a light on the conditions experienced by Manus Island detainees.
Maurice Blackburn social justice lawyer Jennifer Kanis, whose firm recently reached a settlement with the Australian government over a child detainee on Christmas Island, said the Commonwealth ran such cases aggressively.
"Then they settle when there's any chance of scrutiny as to what actually happened to cause the injuries," she said.
Any settlement in the Manus Island class action would be confidential and would have to be approved by the court.
Watch: Manus detention centre to close on October 31 - Dutton
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