The number of asylum-seekers registering in Indonesia has fallen from around 100 a day to 100 a week in recent months, the UN says, as Australia implements hardline policies aimed at deterring boatpeople.
However, the UNHCR's representative in Indonesia, Manuel Jordao, cautioned it was too early to say whether the fall in numbers was directly linked to Australia's military-led "Operation Sovereign Borders", which involves turning boats back to Indonesia.
He said that since late December, around the time Australia started implementing its hardline policies, to the end of March, the number of asylum-seeker registrations had fallen sharply.
Nevertheless, his comments on Thursday add to recent evidence that Canberra's hardline policies are putting off would-be refugees from making the perilous sea crossing from Indonesia to Australia.
The Abbott government has said that there have been no boat arrivals since December. The asylum-seekers come from numerous countries, but the bulk are from Iran and Afghanistan.
The policies have strained ties with Jakarta, which has warned they may breach Indonesian sovereignty, while Australia was forced to apologise after its navy inadvertently made incursions into Indonesian waters during Operation Sovereign Borders.
On Thursday, an Australian navy captain was relieved of his command following an investigation into the incursions.
The UN refugee agency has previously been critical of Australia's boat turn-back policy, warning it could be in breach of international law.
Mr Jordao's comments came ahead of a workshop on people-smuggling in Jakarta next week, involving senior officials from several countries, including Australia.
Tensions over asylum-seekers between Jakarta and Canberra come at a time of already strained relations caused by allegations that Australian spies attempted to tap the phone of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
