Kids treated on case by case basis: Bowen

Unaccompanied children seeking asylum in Australia will be dealt with on a "case by case" basis, says Immigration Minister Chris Bowen.

Mr Bowen held a press conference on Saturday in Sydney to respond to the UN's criticism of Australia's plans to include children among 800 asylum seekers to be sent to Malaysia to have their refugee claims assessed.

But Mr Bowen maintains there should be no blanket rule in order to discourage people smugglers.

"It sends a message to people smugglers and asylum seekers that the way to get re-settlement to Australia is to send children who would then be accepted and then allow those children to sponsor the rest of the family," Mr Bowen told reporters.

He said the federal government would work with the United Nations to produce processors that protect unaccompanied minors and would consider the childrens' vulnerability on a case by case basis.

"It is of course the case that we will need to consider the vulnerability of individuals and how we deal with those vulnerabilities.

"We have girls who maybe 12 or 13 years old, we have males that claim to be 18 but may be significantly younger than that.

"So of course you deal with these cases on a case by case basis."