Deputy Chief of Army Angus Campbell will be put in charge of combating people smugglers and securing Australia's borders under the incoming Coalition Government.

The ABC understands the appointment will be confirmed by Prime Minister-elect Tony Abbott later this week.

Major General Campbell will be promoted to a three-star general and will coordinate the 16 departments and agencies that will come under the Operation Sovereign Borders policy.

He will have the powers to bypass normal Defence Force command structures and will report directly to incoming Immigration Minister Scott Morrison.

Major General Campbell has been the commander of Australian military operations in the Middle East and has served in East Timor.

He has also served as deputy national security adviser.

Mr Abbott has said Operation Sovereign Borders will have an immediate effect once it begins.

"It will start to make a difference from day one. It will steadily be put into effect and I am confident we can stop the boats," he told a press conference earlier this week.

"This is one of those stand or fall issues. It really is."

Campbell labelled 'a splendid choice'

Peter Jennings from the Australia Strategic Policy Institute says General Campbell is a good choice for the role.

"He's an unusual person because he's had not only senior military experience, but he's been a senior public servant working in the departments of Prime Minister and Cabinet," he said.

"I think he's a splendid choice for this job. It's going to involve a pretty complex coordination task across the police, a number of Canberra public service agencies.

"That takes a degree of sophistication, some skills in cat herding, which I know Angus has managed very effectively, not only in Defence, for example, as an operational commander in Afghanistan.

"If anyone can make a real difference, it will be someone like General Campbell."

Since the September 7 election, seven asylum seeker boats have arrived, carrying 480 passengers.

Indonesia voices criticism of plan

The Coalition's asylum seeker policy includes turning boats back to Indonesia, buying old boats from Indonesian fishermen and paying Indonesians to spy on people smuggling operations.

On Monday, incoming Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop said the Coalition would not ask for Indonesia's permission to implement asylum seeker policies.

"We're not asking for Indonesia's permission, we're asking for their understanding," she said.

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However, Indonesia has objected to Australia turning boats back and last week the country's foreign minister said it would also reject the boat buying scheme.

Marty Natelegawa said the Coalition's policy was a "problem" that Indonesia had to manage.

Dr Natelegawa also said Indonesia would have to differentiate between the election campaign and what the reality would be once Mr Abbott is sworn in.

Today a spokesman for president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Dr Natelegawa's comments made Indonesia's position clear.

The issue of asylum seekers is set to dominate discussions between Mr Abbott and Mr Yudhoyono during a meeting in Jakarta planned for September 30.

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