Refugee processing facilities in Nauru and Manus Island, located in Papua New Guinea, would be up and running soon enough as Prime Minister Julia Gillard formally requested on Tuesday Australian access to two nations.

The Australian reported today that Ms Gillard spoke over the phone with Nauru President Sprent Dabwido and the two leaders' conversation lasted for about 20 minutes.

A spokesman for the Nauru government confirmed to News Ltd that Canberra has initiated contacts with the island authorities this morning and while no specific arrangements were discussed by Ms Gillard and Mr Dabwido, the former had fully accomplished the purpose of her call.

"We said we were happy to help out Australia in any way," the Nauru spokesman told The Australian.

It is understood that following the talk, federal authorities have directed the Australian Defence Force (ADF) to start setting up the processing facilities both in Nauru and Manus Island.

Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare said today that once the Parliament has green lighted the legislation supporting Canberra's border protection measures, offshore processing will commence sooner than expected.

Nauru will open in weeks and Manus Island should be online as soon as possible, Mr Clare said.

Ms Gillard made her move as the Labor-led government softened its stance against the Pacific Solution first implemented by the Liberal government of former Prime Minister John Howard, which is one of the key recommendations contained in the expert panel report headed by former ADF chief Angus Houston.

The Houston panel also supported the Malaysian swap deal pushed by Ms Gillard but it noted that the solution should be governed by tighter safeguards in order to address concerns raised by the Coalition and other sectors.

It appears though that the Malaysian solution will not prosper in the Parliament as opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison vowed that no positive will be attracted by the Labor plan considering its current make-up.

In an interview with ABC, Mr Morrison said the Coalition will not be a party to a deal that has been rejected by the High Court and was seen as "a purely hypothetical option."

"We won't be legislating to provide an opportunity for the minister to introduce Malaysia through the back door," he added.

Ms Gillard is acting on the decision by the Labor caucus to adopt each of the suggestions presented by the Houston panel, which would also increase the country's refugee intake to 20,00 from present level of 13,500.

But the report also argued that restrictions must be imposed on family reunions for asylum seekers that sought to enter Australia through its territorial sea shores.

Following her receipt of the expert panel report, Ms Gillard insisted "I'm not going to play politics or look at political scoreboards when too many lives have been lost."

"I am prepared to further compromise from the government's position in order to get things done," The Australian reported the prime minister as saying on late Monday.

Talking to reporters today, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott welcomed Ms Gillard's acceptance of the Pacific Solution though he lamented that "it could have come at any time in the last four years. It should have come much, much earlier than it has."

Meanwhile, the Australian Greens, which has remained adamant on their opposition to any form of offshore processing for refuges, said today that Ms Gillard can count on their support despite the reservations they have regarding what Greens deputy leader Adam Bandt described as "a return to John Howard's policies on refugees."

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