Public servants at the Department of Immigration could face prosecution over their conduct in the final days of the life of a detained asylum seeker, lawyers say.

The Australian Lawyers Alliance says the death of 24-year-old Iranian detainee Hamid Khazaei came after basic failures by departmental bureaucrats to uphold federal health and safety laws and they could be held personally responsible by the courts, even if their department is cleared.

Fairfax reported on Monday that Department of Immigration and Border Protection documents – released to the Australian Lawyers' Alliance (ALA) under freedom of information laws – painted a damning picture of what the ALA calls under-reporting of safety breaches "at best", and concealment at worst in Australia's network of offshore detention camps.