Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Monday won won Caucus support to push ahead with her Malaysian refugee swap. The planned legislative changes comes after the High Court earlier ruled Labor's Malaysia solution was unlawful.

Under the Malaysian deal, Australia would send 800 people who arrive by boat to Malaysia in exchange for 4000 properly processed refugees.

Human rights organisation Amnesty International expressed disappointed with the Australian government’s move, saying the proposed amendments to the Migration Act clearly contravene Australia’s obligations under the 1951 UN Refugee Convention.

“The Government is trying to water down human rights protections for some of the world’s most vulnerable people, including children,” said Amnesty International’s refugee spokesman Dr Graham Thom.

“This decision flies in the face of the international law, the High Court and even today's Nielsen poll which shows most Australians oppose offshore processing. The Government is missing a historic opportunity to finally get it right on asylum seekers,” he said.

Immigration Minister Chris Bowen, however, told reporters today the UN refugee agency had found the Malaysian agreement to be "workable".

"One of the reasons why the UNHCR found this to be a workable arrangement was it involved Malaysia in the discussion about better protection outcomes across the region," Bowen said.