Sydney - People who arrive in Australia and claim refugee status will not automatically be locked up until their applications are processed, Immigration Minister Chris Evans said Tuesday.

"A person who poses no danger to the community will be able to remain in the community while their visa status is resolved," he said when announcing changes that soften current policies.

But the longstanding practice of mandatory detention will not be completely ditched and those arriving by boat without a visa will still be held in detention on Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean while their cases are looked into.

"Labor rejects the notion that dehumanizing and punishing unauthorized arrivals with long-term detention is an effective or civilized response," he said. "Desperate people are not deterred by the threat of harsh detention - they are often fleeing much worse circumstances."

The changes break a bipartisan approach to illegal arrivals. A Labor government introduced mandatory detention and the policy was ruthlessly enforced in the 11 years that John Howard led a conservative government.

Howard, who was defeated in November's election, had already softened his approach. Children were no longer detained and the worst of the immigration detention centres were closed.

Evans claimed mandatory detention had damaged Australia's reputation and said the changes brought it into line with other industrialized countries.

"I welcome any move by this government to overcome the years of callous misdirection and abuse, absolute abuse, of human beings by the Howard government during the years of the mandatory detention regime," refugee advocate and migration agent Marion Le said.

Currently there are 385 foreigners held in immigration detention, of whom 64 are seeking asylum.

The mandatory detention policy is widely seen as choking off the flow of illegal migrants to Australia. People smugglers recommended other countries to their clients because of the difficulties they faced arriving without a visa in Australia. (dpa)