Asylum seekers could be moved:

As many as 300 asylum seekers held in Pacific detention centres may be eligible to apply for medical transfers to Australia after hardline immigration laws were eased, media reports and a government official said on Thursday.

The transfers would be the first since the government suffered an embarrassing defeat in parliament on Tuesday when opposition and independent lawmakers voted to give doctors the right to move asylum seekers to Australia for medical treatment.

“Up to 300 could be sent to Australia if they can get two doctors to sign off on their transfer,” said a government official familiar with an assessment provided by the home affairs department. (RTRS)