In a submission to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works, the Department says a permanent facility is urgently needed to replace the current temporary processing centre on Manus Island.
The Department's told the Committee the centre has no reliable power supply, limited drinking water and the buildings and tents are already deteriorating in the high humidity.
In addition, it says the site is in a low lying, swampy area subject to localised inundation which encourages mosquito breeding.
The submission also warns of the risk of the physical conditions leading to self harm, disruptive behaviour and mental health issues.
Labor Senator Doug Cameron has told the ABC it's just not good enough and the asylum seekers need to be processed in Australia while better arrangements are made.
"The expert panel didn't recommend that we put people in tents for extended periods of time when their health was in danger, where they were in danger of electrocution because of the humidity and unsafe electrical connections. These are issues we have to deal with in the context of the expert panel's approach. And the expert panel fundamentally argued for a regional framework."
The Greens are also calling for children and families to be removed from the detention centre.
Greens Immigration spokeswoman Senator Sarah Hanson Young says asylum-seekers should not be sent to Manus Island in its current state.
"The Department is quite right. The Manus Island detention centre is an absolute disgrace. It's inhumane, it's unsafe and it is making refugees, including children in particular, very, very sick."
Liberal MP Judith Moylan has also criticised offshore processing generally, calling it expensive, repulsive and repressive.
In April government adviser and refugee expert Paris Aristotle said the Manus Island processing centre should be shut down if the safeguards recommended by the expert panel were not put in place.
"When the expert panel made the recommendations to include Papua New Guinea and Nauru as part of the integrated package, we put in place a number of safeguards, very important safeguards, in order to avoid some of the harm or the mental health consequences that occurred last time round. They included compliance with international obligations, no arbitrary detention, the provision of legal assistance, review mechanisms, case management services, health and mental health programs. If they can't rectify that situation straight away, then my view is that children and their families should be returned and managed and processed here in Australia."
Prime Minister Julia Gillard says what is really needed is a proper regional solution.
She says in order to put that in place, the opposition needs to support the people-swap deal with Malaysia - amongst other options.
"Well what we would most want to see is that the opposition would join with us in enabling us to put into full operation all of the recommendations that Angus Houston, the former Chief of our Defence force, and his very expert panel recommended to the nation. That's really the key thing we need to do."
The Immigration Department says a new centre is being designed to accommodate 600 people, including families and other vulnerable groups, at an estimated cost of $171 million.
It will provide improved amenities, including a gym, sports fields, canteen, library and separate rooms for education, computer use and religious purposes.
There will also be purpose-built accommodation for 200 staff.
Construction is planned to begin in July and is expected to take about six months.
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