New research has found that rates of self-harm among asylum seekers in detention are more than 200 times the rates of hospital-treated self-harm among the Australian community.

Key points: Asylum seekers on Nauru self-harmed at a rate of 260 incidents per 1,000 people

Asylum seekers on Nauru self-harmed at a rate of 260 incidents per 1,000 people Researchers say the figures are "conservative at best" because rates of unreported self-harm are unknown

Researchers say the figures are "conservative at best" because rates of unreported self-harm are unknown Government claims that self-harm has increased under Medevac laws — a claim refuted by doctors who work with asylum seekers

A study from University of Melbourne researchers examined all self-harm incidents reported between August 2014 and July 2015, finding there were 949 over the 12-month period.

Data released by the Australian Government under Freedom of Information laws showed the highest rates of self-harm occurred in offshore detention, at 260 incidents per 1,000 people on Nauru and 54 incidents per 1,000 people on Manus Island.

Female asylum seekers on Nauru were significantly more likely to self-harm than males.

Those in community detention had rates of 27 incidents per 1,000 people, while those in community-based arrangements had a rate of 5 per 1,000 people.

Asylum seekers in community-based arrangements were found to be much less likely to self-harm. ( ABC News: Samantha Jonscher )

By comparison, the incidence of hospital-treated self-harm events in the Australian community during 2012–13 was 1.2 per 1,000.

Lead researcher Kyli Hedrick of the Melbourne School of Population and Health said this was the first study looking across the whole asylum seeker population and it found "horrifyingly high" rates of self-harm in offshore detention

Because unreported rates of self-harm are unknown, the researchers concluded that the figures "should be considered conservative figures at best."

They expect real rates of self-harm on Manus to be much higher, Ms Hedrick said.

Levels of self-harm in onshore detention, meanwhile, had increased by 15 per cent since a previous study which looked at data from 2009 to 2011, she told the ABC.

Nevertheless, the research notes there has been "no systemic monitoring of self-harm among asylum seekers" by the Australian Government.

"Introducing community-based processing, as well as the independent monitoring of self-harm, is really critical for the health of asylum seekers," Ms Hedrick said.

The ABC contacted the Department of Home Affairs for comment.

'Significant trauma prior to arrival in Australia'

Incidents of self-harm on Manus Island shot up during May and June after the election. ( Supplied )

Human rights commissioner Edward Santow told the ABC that Australia's international human rights obligations include "ensuring that asylum seekers have the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health".

"Many people held in immigration detention have already experienced significant trauma prior to their arrival in Australia," he said.

"Over a number of years, the Commission has reported significant concerns regarding the provision of mental health care for asylum seekers and refugees in immigration detention."

Edward Santow says Australia has an obligation to ensure asylum seekers are healthy. ( Supplied: Public Interest Advocacy Centre )

In May, the ABC reported a spike in self-harm and suicide attempts on Manus Island in the wake of the Federal Election.

Almost 30 asylum seekers and refugees had self-harmed on Manus in the 10 days after the May 18 election, according to advocates, who called the situation "out of control".

The Morrison Government has pledged to overturn the so-called medevac legislation, which allows for the transfer of people in offshore processing on Manus and Nauru to receive medical or psychiatric assistance in Australia.

When the law passed in early 2019, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees praised it as a "life-saving, humanitarian act."

Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced in February the Christmas Island detention centre would reopen. ( ABC News: Eliza Borrello )

The Department of Home Affairs has argued the legislation has caused asylum seekers to self-harm at a higher rate than normal because it was perceived to be the most effective way of being transferred to Australia. This claim is rejected by doctors who work with refugees.

Late last year, prominent psychiatrists accused the Government of ignoring evidence of a "mental health crisis" among children in offshore processing on Nauru.

The Morrison Government announced in February that all children had left or were about to leave the island nation for resettlement in the US.