Such people - including refugees, asylum seekers and visitors - would lose their right to appeal except in ''special circumstances''. They would be detained until they could be deported and would not be allowed to return to Australia for 20 years, double the present period.

This follows Bureau of Statistics figures in March that showed asylum seekers living in the community on bridging visas were about 45 times less likely to be charged with a crime than members of the general public.

The proposed changes would significantly broaden the immigration minister's power to cancel the visa of people sentenced to more than one year in prison.

Shadow immigration minister Scott Morrison said the minister would consider the circumstances of each case, but confirmed that, under the changes, refugees could be sent back to the countries they came from.

The Refugee Convention allows signatory countries to deport refugees in limited circumstances, including those who present ''compelling reasons of national security'' and a ''danger to the security of the country in which he is'' or, having been convicted of ''a particularly serious crime, constitutes a danger to the community of that country''.