( CNN ) -- Just six weeks after the Australian Senate rejected a bill that included opening offshore processing centers for asylum seekers , a government-appointed panel has recommended just that . The three-member panel , headed by former defense chief Marshal Houston , made 22 recommendations Monday on how the country should deal with thousands of asylum seekers who attempt to reach its shores each year . The report 's release came after a particularly busy weekend for maritime authorities , who intercepted six separate boats carrying a total of 265 people in the three days to Sunday . It also came as officials investigated claims a boat carrying more than 60 asylum seekers had disappeared en route from Indonesia to Christmas Island , a popular entry point to Australia 's asylum system . Read more : Asylum seekers risking all to escape dangers of home . Among the Houston report 's recommendations was that offshore processing centers be established on the islands of Nauru and Papua New Guinea `` as soon as practical . '' It also recommended an immediate increase in the number of people accepted each year for asylum from 13,750 to 20,000 . In an effort to reduce the demand for family reunions , it recommended barring people who arrive by boat from being able to sponsor their families to join them . And rather than dumping the government 's controversial and illegal `` Malaysia Solution , '' the report recommended building on the deal `` through high-level bilateral engagement focused on strengthening safeguards and accountability . '' Under the so-called `` Malaysia Solution , '' Australia would have sent 800 asylum seekers to Malaysia for processing each year in exchange for 4,000 confirmed refugees . However , the High Court ruled the deal invalid last August on the grounds that , as a non-signatory to the 1951 U.N . Refugee Convention , Malaysia has no legal obligation to protect asylum seekers , something required under Australia 's Migration Act . Read more : Which countries take in most asylum seekers ? Not the West . Hours after the report was released , Gillard gave her in-principle backing to all its recommendations and said that Parliament would meet Tuesday to amend the earlier rejected bill to include the provision for processing centers on Nauru and PNG . `` We will also move to immediately implement the recommendations on family reunion , '' she added . Refugee advocates reacted with outrage to the report , calling it a `` rebadging of the Pacific Solution , '' a reference to the former Liberal government 's controversial policy of the last decade . `` At the heart of the panel 's report is the policy of deterrence , but all deterrence does is divert people from our doorstep to dangers elsewhere . It does n't address the circumstances , it just shifts the problem somewhere else , '' said David Manne , executive director of Australia 's Refugee and Immigration Legal Center . `` What we need to do is promote proper protection standards in the region . There needs to be the understanding that it will take time , perseverance and patience . It will be incremental . There are no simple solutions , '' he added . The so-called Pacific Solution was introduced by former Prime Minister John Howard in 2001 and involved sending asylum seekers to detention centers on Pacific Island nations while their claims were processed . The current Labor government abandoned the policy when it took power in 2007 . Since then , there has been a sharp increase in asylum seekers making the dangerous trip by boat to seek a new life in Australia . Between late 2001 and June this year , 964 asylum seekers and crew died at sea . Of those , more than 600 lost their lives in the last three years , according to the report . `` To do nothing is unacceptable -- so we have proposed a new approach . One that is comprehensive , integrated and equitable , '' said refugee expert and panel member Paris Aristotle . In a statement , Amnesty International 's refugee spokesman Graham Thom said he was `` appalled '' by the panel 's recommendations . `` Sending asylum seekers to places like Malaysia , Nauru and Papua New Guinea is unacceptable and a complete outsourcing of Australia 's human rights obligations . `` The 'Pacific Solution ' was a failed policy , and a wildly expensive one , that was internationally condemned for breaching the human rights of some of the world 's most vulnerable people , '' he added . Manne said it was questionable whether Nauru would meet the requirements to be considered as a legally viable option for offshore asylum centers . `` Although Nauru and PNG have signed the Refugee Convention , neither country has its own laws in place to protect refugees nor are there any proper legal guarantees that refugees would be protected , and there are serious concerns about human rights conditions on the ground , '' he said . Australia 's politicians have long been at odds over the country 's official response to asylum seekers . While the opposition Coalition has backed the reopening of offshore centers , the move has been fiercely resisted by the Greens party which claims it breaches human rights . In late June , the senate rejected the Migration Legislation Amendment ( The Bali Process ) Bill 2012 which would have allowed Australia to send asylum seekers to Malaysia and Nauru for processing . Gillard said she is willing to compromise further to reach agreement and a policy on the issue . The panel estimated that if all the report 's recommendations were adopted , they would cost US $ 1 billion to implement .
Australian expert panel recommends opening offshore processing centers for asylum seekers . Gillard government has given its in-principle backing to the report . 22 recommendations include processing asylum seekers on Nauru , PNG . Refugee advocates express outrage , saying the proposal `` rebadges '' the Pacific Solution .