An Indonesian teenager who was wrongly imprisoned in Australia as a child has won a year-long battle for the right to appeal his people smuggling conviction.

Ali Yasmin was jailed in 2010 for people smuggling offences after a boat he was a crew member on was intercepted off Ashmore Reef by Australian authorities.

Key points: Ali Yasmin wins right to appeal people smuggling conviction

Ali Yasmin wins right to appeal people smuggling conviction Attorney-General George Brandis referring case to the WA Court of Appeal

Attorney-General George Brandis referring case to the WA Court of Appeal If the appeal is successful it could lead to a raft of compensation claims

Yesterday, Attorney-General George Brandis wrote to lawyers for Mr Yasmin and advised them that he was referring the case to the Western Australian Court of Appeal.

Mr Yasmin's case is considered a test case for 14 other Indonesians who were released in 2012 by then attorney-general Nicola Roxon due to doubts about their age.

If the Court of Appeal finds in Mr Yasmin's favour and overturns his conviction, it could open the Federal Government up to a raft of compensation claims.

After his arrest in 2012, the Department of Immigration found that Mr Yasmin was a child, but this was later overruled by the Australia Federal Police (AFP) who used a now discredited wrist x-ray to determine that Mr Yasmin was an adult.

He was sentenced to five years in one of Western Australia's toughest adult prisons despite an Indonesian birth certificate and family registration document putting his age as 13 at the time of his arrest.

These documents were never tendered as part of Mr Yasmin's defence.

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The decision to release Mr Yasmin in 2012 was made following extensive media coverage of his case.

In July last year, lawyers for Mr Yasmin requested that the Attorney-General refer their client's case back to the Western Australian Court of Appeal.

After not receiving a response they took the case to the Federal Court in an attempt to force Mr Brandis to make a decision.

Yesterday, Mr Brandis acknowledged that the doubt about the reliability of the wrist x-ray to determine Mr Yasmin's age raised an issue that should be dealt with by the Western Australian Court of Appeal.

Lawyer Sam Tierney said his client was pleased with Mr Brandis's decision.

"Mr Yasmin is delighted that the Attorney-General has decided to refer his case to the Court of Appeal in Western Australia so that the circumstances of his earlier case can be examined by the court," he said.

A date for the case to be heard by the Western Australian Court of Appeal has not been set.