Pacific

Refugee interviewing starts on Manus

12:40 pm on 15 February 2017

A team of contractors has arrived on Australia's detention centre on Manus Island to begin interviews with refugees about resettlement in the United States.

The Manus Island detention centre. Photo: Behrouz Boochani

Refugees said the team, from the Bangkok-based Resettlement Support Centre East Asia, arranged interviews with 20 refugees a day and was staying for one month.

The interviews are the first step in the resettlement process.

An information sheet given to the refugees said interviews with Homeland Security officials would follow.

The plan to resettle about 1200 refugees currently on Manus has been in doubt, with the US president Donald Trump earlier calling it "a dumb deal".