The ACT's Chief Minister has joined the Victorian Premier and Queensland in offering sanctuary for asylum seekers facing deportation to Nauru.
The offers come after the High Court ruled offshore detention on Nauru and Manus Island is lawful.
But the Prime Minister says his government won't budge on asylum seeker policy - with plans to return hundreds of asylum seekers to Nauru.
An offer to settle Australian-born refugee children and their families in Victoria from the state's premier has set off a chain reaction of support.
Daniel Andrews has written a letter to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and also spoken with him, stressing that sending refugee children offshore is morally wrong, and against the advice of medical and humanitarian agencies.
Mr Andrews has offered to provide housing, health, education and welfare services for the 267 asylum seekers, including 37 Australian-born infants.
"I spoke with the Prime Minister this morning and I reiterated to him that Victoria stands ready to provide all the services and support to those children and their families. I take the view that this is the right thing to do."
Now, the ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr and Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk have also pledged to house and support the asylum seeker group rather than see them returned to Nauru.
Advocacy groups have been quick to react to these offers of support, particularly from the instigating state.
Asylum Seeker Resource Centre spokeswoman Pamela Curr has told SBS Radio News, Daniel Andrew's pioneering stand is a real breakthrough.
"This is the most fantastic news. Since the High Court decision, we've seen the churches, the grandmothers, community groups, the schools, the universities, the unions all coming out - but this is big, and God bless him. We are just so thrilled. It's quite overwhelming to see that level of support from a politician. We haven't seen a lot of strength from our politicians but this is fantastic."
Doctors for Refugees spokeswoman Dr Barri Phatarfod says ensuring families are incorporated into mainstream Australia is crucial.
"The best chance that we'll have that they'll have a normal life and become a productive member of the community is actually by early integration. So, this is the best thing we can possibly do and I just hope that Premier Andrews message gets listened to".
Co-founder of Grandmothers against Detention of Refugee Children, Clare Forbes has told SBS, she hopes the prime minister will make the right decision.
"Please prime minister, please listen. Please do not send these children and families back to Nauru. It is unconscionable. Please have compassion. We have hope in you. Please be a leader. And Daniel Andrews - thank you."
Mr Andrews says he wants these children and their families to call Victoria home.
He says given Victoria stands ready to provide a safe, secure and welcoming environment, there's no justification for their removal.
But the prime minister says he won't budge on asylum seeker policy.
Mr Turnbull has refused to answer questions about possible exemptions for the Australian-born infants or a boy who was allegedly raped, telling the ABC he doesn't want to give people smugglers hope.
"The approach that we took in the Howard era worked, when it was unpicked, it was a colossal failure in humanitarian terms and what we are doing now is working through the case load that we inherited from Labor. There were two thousand children in detention when Kevin Rudd lost office. Now there's less than 100. We're working through that. But the critical thing is to maintain the security at the border."
Meanwhile, the Refugee Action Collective has criticised federal Labor for not taking a similar stance to the Victorian premier.
Collective spokesman Chris Breen says Opposition Leader Bill Shorten should take note and abandon support for offshore processing.
Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young says it's fallen to the states to the stand up for asylum seekers in the absence of leadership from the federal parties.
Immigration Department officials have rejected claims a five-year-old boy was raped while being held offshore on Nauru.
