Twenty seven asylum seekers who arrived by boat will be released into the community on bridging visas today for the first time, the Immigration Minister Chris Bowen said today.

The federal government has also announced it would stop treating boat arrivals as a separate stream of asylum seekers - and all asylum seekers arriving by boat would have access to the Refugee Review Tribunal from next year. The tribunal is now only available to asylum seekers who arrived by plane.

Change of tack ... Chris Bowen. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Until now, boat arrivals faced interview and assessment for refugee status under a special system, with separate rules.

However, decisions in this system were being overturned at high rates this year when they reached the Federal Magistrates Court on appeal, which found high rates of lack of procedural fairness.