The Australian Greens will move an amendment in the House of Representatives today to establish a one year time limit on the government's cruel offshore processing bill.

"There must be a limit to the cruelty that the Australian government can inflict on refugees, so a time limit would be one simple way of minimising the damage that offshore processing has on refugees and vulnerable children.

"Today the Australian Greens will move an amendment to Labor's offshore processing bill to ensure that any transfer of a person to an offshore place cannot be longer than 12 months, limiting detention of refugees on Nauru and Manus island to no longer than a year.

"Australians will be horrified to lean that rather than caring for refugees, Labor and Mr Abbott will lock up refugees indefinitely with no legal rights - left to rot possibly for decades - just like they were under John Howard.

"Indefinite detention is cruel and unlawful. It drives vulnerable people to the point of self-mutilation and children to madness.

"It is simply unacceptable to dump children and their families on an island prison with no limit to how long they will have to be there.

"The so-called ‘no advantage' test is just another example of cynical spinning like ‘queue jumping' - the truth of it is that there is no advantage to being one of the world's most disadvantaged children".

"History shows leaving people to rot in Nauru will cost lives, not save them.

"Last time we dumped people in Nauru for years on end without any hope or certainty we saw the escalation of a chronic mental health crisis. People who had asked for our protection were sewing their lips together, attempting suicide, hunger striking and self-harming.

"The best way to save lives is to take away the desperation that forces people to board boats.

"Instead the House of Representatives will step back in time this afternoon if it passes shameful legislation so that children can be dumped on Nauru with no legal safeguards, no time limits and no hope".