The changes will apply to 150 children being held in immigration detention centres who will be granted visas to settle in the community with their families, as well as 1547 children under 10 and their families in community detention housing or on bridging visas.

It only applies to asylum-seekers who arrived before July 19 last year,the so-called legacy backlog of immigration cases in Australia before the previous Rudd government announced new arrivals would be sent offshore and therefore does not affect asylum-seekers held on Nauru and Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island.

Speaking in Melbourne, Mr Morrison said that he wanted to stress that “getting children out of detention and putting them on bridging visas is something that has to be done properly’’.

He said the new model would ensure children had suitable accommodation, went to school, had access to English-language classes, and improved "casework management".

Children found to be refugees would get a temporary visa, but would not get a permanent visa under current Australian government policy.

SDF/KH