The Prime Minister has been slammed by a lawyers group for giving the Australian Federal Police "carte blanche" in the use of "potential lethal force" to herd asylum seekers onto aircraft as part of the Government's so-called Malaysian solution.

The Australian Lawyers Alliance says the AFP should not have the power to use Tasers to compel asylum seekers onto planes bound for Kuala Lumpur detention centres.

Under the agreement with Malaysia, the Federal Government has pledged to put asylum seekers on aircraft within 72 hours of their arrival on Christmas Island.

Saying "it's not a question of volunteering", Ms Gillard said "we will do what is necessary" to make sure asylum seekers obey orders, which will be enforced by the AFP.

An AFP spokesman told ABC News Online that officers will be empowered to use "the same options" they can use on the mainland.

According to internal AFP documents, these include Tasers, batons, tear gas, capsicum spray and handcuffs, but the guidelines emphasise that the "minimum force reasonably necessary" should be used.

On Christmas Island, AFP officers have also used bean-bag bullets - cartridges fired from a shotgun designed to stun but not cause serious injury.

But Greg Barns, president of the 2,000-member Australian Lawyers Alliance, says the use of such weapons - particularly Tasers - could kill people.

"These weapons are really dangerous. Serious injury and death have resulted from the use of Tasers," he told ABC News Online.

He accused Ms Gillard of giving AFP officers permission to use "fatal weaponry on people who are traumatised".

"These are vulnerable people who, in many cases, have been brutalised by police in their own country," Mr Barns said.

"This is heavy-handed, jackbooted and unnecessary. She's using this for short-term political gain.

"When you allow the AFP to use Tasers that could lead to death, it is a recipe for disaster. She is playing politics with human life.

"It's herding cattle - we herd you onto a plane and we herd you off at the other end and you put up with the treatment you get."

The first boat of people to be processed under the Malaysian solution have arrived on Christmas Island.

It held 54 mainly male Afghan, Iraqi and Iranian refugees and two crew.

Firm line

This morning, Ms Gillard took a firm line on the Malaysian solution and the removal of asylum seekers.

"Obeying instructions here is not a question of volunteering. We are determined to get this done," she told AM.

"The Australian Federal Police can speak on operational matters, but we will do what is necessary to ensure that people who are taken to Malaysia under the agreement are taken."

But Ms Gillard cautioned against "getting carried away".

"People will be given an instruction to board a plane. We will be looking to people to obey that instruction," she said.

"If it's not obeyed, then we have security personnel, we have the Australian Federal Police; we also have counsellors available to talk things through with people."

The AFP said in a statement that officers deployed to Christmas Island and to the staging and departure areas for flights will have a range of use-of-force options available to them.

"The AFP has strict use of force guidelines which are designed to respond to violent confrontations with the minimum use of force and minimum risk to all parties involved in an incident," the statement said.

Ms Gillard says she is not in a position to discuss if there are any children on the newly arrived boat, but would not rule out the use of force on minors as well.

She also said there would be no "blanket exemptions" for children.

The Government has said that if there was a blank exemption for a particular group, people smugglers would seize on the loophole and send boatloads of unaccompanied children to Australian waters.

But she did say there will be a "pre-assessment procedure", which may mean some vulnerable asylum seekers may not be sent to Malaysia.

Reaction

Christmas Island residents have expressed concerns about how the asylum seekers will react when they are told they are being transferred to Malaysia.

Shire president Gordon Thompson says locals are concerned about how it will all play out.

"It's going to be very disturbing for the people involved, both the asylum seekers and the people charged with removing them," he said.

"I think it's bad for all of our psyches, isn't it, to see people treated in that way."