Paul Maley and Peter Alford – Failed asylum-seekers processed under Julia Gillard's East Timor plan would be transferred to partner countries who would then swap them for prospective refugees whose claims had yet to be processed.
Under complicated arrangements proposed by Canberra, asylum-seekers who make directly for the East Timor regional processing centre could be transferred back to transit countries as part of a basic queue system.
However, the confidential Australian proposal, sent in November, has not yet received close consideration from the Dili government.
East Timor's response is unlikely to be ready for a Bali Process ministerial meeting, if it goes ahead as tentatively scheduled next month, to consider a regional protection framework for asylum-seekers.
A senior official explained yesterday that ministers had been preoccupied by the budget, which passed on Friday.
East Timor has not yet formed a taskforce to study the Australian proposal, although the basic concept is already unpopular.
Canberra's concept document, containing details of the regional centre proposal, was leaked earlier this week.
Its publication came amid mounting criticism of the Timor plan, with Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young accusing the Gillard government of offloading its responsibilities. In the months leading up to the federal election, Julia Gillard announced her government would pursue an offshore processing centre in East Timor, in an effort to diffuse community anger at the rising tide of asylum boats, which was threatening a number of Labor-held marginal seats.
The leaked plan proposes a refugee assessment centre capable of holding between 1000 and 4000 people, with the job of assessing asylum claims likely to fall to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
The centre would be run by either the International Organisation for Migration or a commercial provider. One option canvassed is a "swap" arrangement.
"An agreement may state that for every asylum-seeker requiring processing at the (refugee assessment centre), the country currently housing that asylum-seeker must, in turn, allow for the readmission of failed asylum-seekers from the RAC into their territory," the document states.
The plan envisages that potential refugees staying in partner countries would register with local authorities, providing biometric data as proof of identity.
From there, participating countries could request that asylum-seekers be transferred to Dili for processing, before being resettled in third countries, if successful.
The processing centre plan is worthless unless Canberra can persuade partner countries to offer resettlement guarantees to successful asylum-seekers.