Offshore Processing

Australia to end offshore processing in Papua New Guinea

The federal government is ending offshore processing in Papua New Guinea for asylum seekers detained after trying to reach Australia by boat.

The arrangement was set up in 2013 under the then-Labor government and authorised regional processing in PNG.

Under a timeline announced on Wednesday, processing in PNG will permanently end on 31 December.

As of July this year, there were 124 asylum seekers in PNG, of whom 88 have been found to be refugees.