Australia's policy on asylum seekers has come under intense scrutiny. The BBC explains why.
Does Australia get a lot of asylum seekers?
UNHCR's Asylum Trends 2014 report said Australia received 8,960 asylum applications in 2014 - about 1% of all applications made globally in 2014.
That number was a drop from 2013, when Australia received 11,740 applications, according to UN figures.
Australia's policy towards asylum seekers arriving by boat has attracted the most attention.
Asylum seekers have attempted to reach Australia on boats from Indonesia, often paying large sums of money to people smugglers. Hundreds have died making the dangerous journey.
Australian government statistics show that between 2012 and 2013 more than 18,000 people arrived in Australia illegally by sea, compared to just 7,300 between 2011 and 2012.
However, the numbers arriving by sea plunged after the government introduced tough new policies, including the towing back of boats. The government says only one boat of asylum seekers reached Australia in 2014.
The asylum seekers mostly come from Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Iraq, Iran or Myanmar (Burma) where they say they risked violence or persecution.
So why does Australia have tough asylum policies?
Domestically, asylum is a hot political issue. Polls have shown that a significant number of Australians approve of taking a tougher stance.
The two biggest rival political groupings adopted tough policies ahead of the September 2013 polls. The Liberal-National coalition, which won, had campaigned in part on a "stop the boats" platform.
The government says the journey the asylum seekers make is dangerous and controlled by criminal gangs, and they have a duty to stop it.
However, critics say opposition to asylum is often racially motivated and is damaging Australia's reputation.
Australia granted close to 13,800 refugee visas between 2013 and 2014. It granted about 20,000 visas between 2012 and 2013.
What did the last government do?
The Labor government reintroduced offshore processing in Nauru and Papua New Guinea (PNG) - a policy it had ended in 2008.
The government pays outsourced contractors to operate and provide security at temporary detention camps for asylum seekers on the Pacific islands.
It also reached a deal with PNG that any asylum seekers judged to be genuine refugees would be resettled in PNG, not Australia.
What is the current government doing?
The Liberal-National government adopted Labor's policies and expanded them, introducing Operation Sovereign Borders, which put the military in control of asylum operations.
Under this policy military vessels patrol Australian waters and intercept migrant boats, towing them back to Indonesia or sending asylum seekers back in inflatable dinghies or lifeboats.
The government says at least 15 boats have been turned back so far.
Some of those turned back have been prosecuted in their home countries for illegally leaving the country.
On 5 December 2014, parliament approved changes to its immigration laws. It reintroduced controversial temporary visas for refugees, allowing them to work in Australia for three to five years, but denying them permanent protection.
Critics of the law said it meant asylum seekers could be returned home even if they faced persecution.
However, the government says its policies have restored the integrity of its borders, and helped prevent deaths at sea.
The government is also expanding efforts to resettle refugees in other countries. It reached a deal with Cambodia to send refugees there in exchange for millions of dollars.
What's so controversial about the offshore camps?
Rights group say conditions in the PNG and Nauru camps are totally inadequate, citing poor hygiene, cramped conditions, unrelenting heat and a lack of facilities.
They say these conditions are causing physical and mental health issues among detainees.
Two young Iranian men have died as a direct result of their detention in PNG. One,Reza Barati, was beaten to death by a mob comprising camp guards and PNG local residents who had broken into the centre.
Another, Hamid Khazaei, was declared brain dead in September following a severe infection of a cut foot. His life support was then turned off.
Allegations have also surfaced that the government has sought to cover up the extent of mental health problems among child detainees in Christmas Island, another offshore detention camp.
In November, the death of a detainee at the Christmas Island centre sparked a major disturbance at the site.
In 2015, the government passed legislation making it illegal for employees at detention centres to disclose information about the camps to the media. The law was criticised by workers and rights groups - although MPs said staff would still be protected by whistleblower protection laws.
It is extremely difficult for journalists to get visas to the detention centres. However, the BBC travelled undercover to Manus Island in June, and spoke to residents and a refugee on the island.
Is it just the camps?
No. The tow-back policy has annoyed Indonesia. Australia has apologised for multiple violations of its territorial waters.
Rights groups have criticised Australia for intercepting asylum seekers at sea and returning them.
They accused Australia of violating international law by returning possible refugees to the country where they were being persecuted.
In October, Amnesty International said in a report that it had evidence showing that Australian officials paid people smugglers to turn back boats and threatened asylum seekers. The government criticised the report as "a slur" on the border and defence forces.
Finally, the policy of resettling refugees offshore has also drawn strong criticism.
Rights groups accuse Australia of failing to meet its international obligations by sending refugees to impoverished nations ill-equipped to handle them, with potentially inadequate protections.
Many Cambodians have protested against the new plans to settle refugees there, arguing that Cambodia already struggles to provide basic services to its own people.
