The immigration department has appointed a non-doctor to advise it on the health issues of asylum seekers and refugees.
Its first assistant secretary Elizabeth Hampton has replaced Dr John Brayley as chief medical officer in an acting capacity.
Labor senator Kim Carr was flabbergasted when department secretary Michael Pezzullo revealed the arrangement during a Senate estimates hearing in Canberra on monday.
Mr Pezzullo insisted Ms Hampton receives expert advice from a panel of 12 medical practitioners.
He denied Dr Brayley had expressed reservations about changes to medical transfer approval processes, which prioritised treatment on Nauru and Manus Island rather than transferring patients to Australia.
Unless there was a threat to life or permanent physical impairment, any chronic, acute medical conditions could be treated locally with supplemented medical services, MrPezzullo said.
Otherwise, people could be transferred to a third country for medical treatment.
The department is considering how to fill the chief medical officer position in the context of the new home affairs department being established in mid-2018.
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