Senators Ricky Muir and Nick Xenophon are seeking urgent answers on why children who were removed from Christmas Island are still being held in a detention facility in Darwin, despite former immigration minister Scott Morrison's promise that they would be living in the community.
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The former immigration minister had promised in December all children would be removed from Christmas Island by Christmas and placed into the community, in return for the crossbenchers' support of Mr Morrison's wide-ranging and controversial changes to the Migration Act.
Senator Muir, who was the final senator to agree to the changes of the Act, said he had immediately rung the minister's office after discovering that the children were still being detained at Blaydin Alternative Place of Detention, as revealed by Fairfax Media on Thursday.
"Early 2015 is not good enough and I am currently seeking an urgent update on when the children and families will be released in to the community," Senator Muir said.
Senator Xenophon said he was "completely unhappy" about the fact children were still in detention.
"It was clearly our understanding that the children would be moved into the community as soon as possible," Senator Xenophon said. "I have put an urgent call to the minister."
"Our support was contingent on the children being in the community and I am completely unhappy about it. It must be resolved immediately."
On Thursday a spokesman for new Immigration Minister Peter Dutton acknowledged the children were yet to be placed in the community, saying the families would be moved in "early 2015".
During a press conference on December 21, Mr Morrison said: "It has always been the government's policy to place as many children into the community as possible, especially young children."
Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young, who opposed the Senate deal last year, said senators who voted for the new laws "must feel pretty conned".
"It's clear the Abbott government can not be trusted. They have no care for the welfare of these children and no regard for the promises they make to the public or the parliament."
There are currently 420 children in immigration facilities in Australia, according to December's Immigration Department statistics. This number has declined significantly from December 2013 where 1028 children were being held in detention facilities.
However the number of children being held in the offshore processing centre in the Pacific island of Nauru has increased from 116 in December 2013 to 135 in December 2014.
