PERTH (AP): Authorities will take 17 illegal immigrants who were caught in Australian waters to an island detention facility to determine if they qualify for refugee status, the immigration minister said on Tuesday.

The 16 males and one female arrived at an offshore oil storage facility in Australian waters in the Timor Sea on Monday, Immigration Minister Chris Evans said. Their nationalities were not yet known.

It was the second boatload of people to be intercepted in a week; nine Afghans, three Iranians and two Indonesians are already being assessed at Christmas Island, an Australian territory near Indonesia.

Evans said anyone who arrives in Australian waters without authorization will be detained and processed at Christmas Island. Those found not to be owed protection will be returned to their country of origin, he said.

He suggested the two boats may have been part of a people-smuggling syndicate.

``I just had some information that had them leaving at similar times and there just is some suggestion that they may have been linked,'' he told reporters. ``We'll have a bit more information when we've interviewed all the passengers.''

Australia has long been a destination for people from poor, often war-torn countries hoping to start a new life, and many have come from Iraq or Afghanistan in recent years. They typically fly to Indonesia before continuing to Australia aboard cramped, barely seaworthy boats.

In July, the government eased some of Australia's mandatory detention policies for asylum seekers, but retained the practice for refugees who could pose a security threat. Children can no longer be detained, and all asylum seekers are given access to lawyers at the government's expense.

Evans said the government had been successful in keeping arrival numbers down.

``There is no indication of a surge (in arrivals), but there is a constant battle against people smuggling in the region.''