And we're able to provide others with assistance to return to their country of origin if they're found not to be owed protection and that's a very important step," Dutton told reporters on Friday.There have been several protests by asylum seekers at the Manus facility, including a riot in February 2014 when Iranian man Reza Barati died and 69 people were injured.
Canberra has also been under pressure in the past few weeks over the treatment of female asylum seekers held at the Nauru camp who were allegedly raped, according to Australian media reports.
At the same time, medical professionals and refugee advocates have voiced fears a new Australian whistle-blower law could block colleagues working at the detention facilities from reporting abuse allegations.
The PNG announcement came a day after Nauruan police raided the offices of international charity Save the Children for the second time this month, reportedly looking for the source of leaks to Australian media about the plight of asylum seekers.