Under the changes, only people who pose a risk to the community will be detained, according to The Melbourne Age. Others will be released into the community while their cases are assessed.
This is a significant departure from the laws introduced by the Keating government, and continued under John Howard, under which all unauthorized arrivals were detained.
The changes will be outlined in a speech by Immigration Minister Chris Evans.
At present there are approximately 380 people — mainly single men — detained in centers including Villawood in Sydney and Maribyrnong in Melbourne.
Under the Howard government, mandatory detention was expanded to include offshore centers on Nauru and Manus Island off Papua New Guinea — the so-called Pacific Solution — as well as the construction of a $350 million facility on Christmas Island. Under this strict regime, the number of asylum seekers arriving by boat slowed to a trickle.
Since coming to power, Labor has shut down Nauru and Manus Island. The policy shift also raises questions about the future use of the Christmas Island facility, which costs an estimated $32 million a year to run.
The facility, criticized by Labor as a white elephant, is currently empty.
The softening of the approach to mandatory detention will be welcomed by refugee and human rights advocates, who have criticized the psychological impact of indefinite detention on asylum seekers and their families. But it could expose the government to accusations of going soft on border security.
