A mother and her 10-month-old baby, terrified of being returned to immigration detention on Nauru, would be free to roam the island, the High Court has been told.
Like other asylum seekers there, she would not be detained.
That contention is the basis of the Australian government's fresh defence against a Bangladeshi woman who was brought to Australia a year ago for medical treatment during her pregnancy.
The High Court case is testing the government's ability to fund and control offshore detention centres.
Commonwealth Solicitor-General Justin Gleeson amended the government's case on Wednesday to include a three-day-old policy change on Nauru to allow detainees to freely leave the detention centre at any time.
The Nauru government on Monday announced it would open the doors of the facility 24 hours each day, seven days a week - a relaxation of the 12 hour, five day a week policy.
The Human Rights Law Centre, which has brought the case to the High Court, says the timing of that decision is suspicious.
"This case has clearly prompted a range of actions," the centre's director of legal advocacy Daniel Webb told reporters in Canberra.
The federal government, with Labor's support, in June retrospectively changed laws to shore up the Commonwealth's ability to pay for the offshore facilities.
The constitutionality of those laws will also be tested during the two-day hearing in Canberra.
It's the plaintiff's case that because the new mother is protected by the constitution on Australian soil, but won't be when returned to the government-controlled centre on Nauru, she cannot be moved to the foreign country.
Her counsel Ron Merkel argues the Commonwealth detained her for a period of several months in 2014 and would do so again if she was returned.
However, Mr Gleeson's amended case states because the centre is now open, she would not be detained when sent back - a point rebutted by the fact the arrangements could be withdrawn.
The case could affect the future of 200 others who have been transferred to Australia for medical treatment or been victims of assault and violence.
They have been allowed to stay in Australia temporarily while the case is before the High Court.
Former immigration minister Scott Morrison has warned there could be consequences from putting at risk Australia's border protection policies.
The coalition says since it introduced tougher rules on asylum seekers arriving in Australia, the boats have stopped and people are no longer dying at sea.
"They are all important outcomes and anything that puts that at risk would greatly concern me and I think would greatly concern many Australians," Mr Morrison said.
But Mr Webb said the mother was terrified to return to an unsafe, unsuitable place with a child.
"Australia should not be warehousing anyone on remote Pacific Islands, let alone newborn babies," he said.
Another asylum seeker on Nauru has been refused a trip to Australia for treatment after she was allegedly raped outside the centre.
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