Stephen Fitzpatrick, Jakarta – Five Australians jailed in Papua for illegally flying into the Indonesian province without visas last year have won their freedom in the country's Supreme Court.

The group – pilot William Scott-Bloxam; his wife, Vera; and friends Hubert Hofer, Keith Mortimer and Karen Burke – is expected home within days, once paperwork is done.

The chief judge on the three-member panel hearing the application, Djoko Sarwoko, confirmed the ruling to The Australian yesterday. "Yes, it's been decided," Justice Sarwoko said.

The five would have been "having beer and prawns to celebrate" after receiving the news last night, Brisbane-based friend Vicki Sparks said, warning they would be drained and "mentally fragile" after their nine-month ordeal.

The quintet had already had their convictions and sentences of three years for Mr Scott-Bloxam, and two years for each of the other four, overturned in March in the Jayapura High Court, in Papua.

However, under Indonesia's labyrinthine legal system, they were then forced to wait while the Supreme Court in Jakarta considered an extra appeal by local prosecutors against the acquittals.

That prosecution appeal was partly a result of poor communication between the local prosecutors and the Attorney-General's Department in Jakarta, where there had already been agreement at senior levels that the five would be allowed to return to Australia without challenge.

News reporting of their acquittal, and public criticisms by members of the group of the local prosecutor's office, has since been cited as the key reason why officials in the Papuan town of Merauke acted so quickly at the time to rearrest the group.

But the Supreme Court has refused to consider the prosecution appeal in the case of the four passengers, and threw out that in Mr Scott-Bloxam's case after judging it wanting, The Australian has learned.

There has been a sense of urgency at the highest levels of the Indonesian judiciary to have the case dealt with quickly, lest it turn into a public issue, with Australians claiming unfair treatment under Jakarta's court system.

"The biggest thing was not to upset the Indonesians – or it could become another Schapelle Corby case," Ms Sparks said.

Lawyer Efrem Fangohoy said yesterday Mr Scott-Bloxam had already been able to inspect his twin-engined light aircraft to determine that it was ready to leave.

The group arrived in Papua on September 12 last year from Horn Island in far north Queensland, claiming they planned a weekend investigating tourism opportunities.

They said they did not realise they were required to get a visa before arriving in the country.