Immigration Minister Chris Bowen has ruled out establishing a maximum period in detention for asylum seekers.
It comes as the federal government on Thursday forecast a possible surge in boat arrival numbers because of the failure to revive its scuttled Malaysia people swap deal.
The government says it will stick with existing policies, such as bridging visas and community detention to meet demand, rather than building new detention centres.
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Mr Bowen rejected a fresh suggestion the government should implement a set period to have claims processed, with concerns that longer stays in detention often result in cases of self-harm.
"Even when people move into the community, when they're given that bad news (that they're not considered a refugee) ... we still have instances of self-harm," he told ABC television on Thursday.
"It's not as simple as suggesting that simply moving them into the community solves all their problems, that because they're not in detention they won't self harm."
The government has steadfastly refused to take credit for the demise of the Malaysia plan, instead levelling blame at the coalition for having rejected legislation that could have saved it.
Asked again if the government was at all responsible, Mr Bowen replied that it had achieved an agreement with Malaysia when most said it couldn't be done.
He would not put any figures on how many more boats are expected over the coming months, or how many people will be fast-tracked into community detention because of it.
He also rejected a possible boost to the budget's bottom line because the Malaysia plan has been sunk, saying there would only be savings if there were fewer people to process, either onshore or offshore.
