The boat was stopped about 58 kilometres south-west of Ashmore Reef, a group of Australian islands near Indonesia, Home Affairs Minister Bob Debus said in a statement. It is suspected of entering Australian waters illegally.

It was the 10th boat intercepted in Australian waters since last October. About 300 people have now entered the country's territory aboard those boats.

The opposition Liberal Party says the increase in arrivals is a result of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's relaxing the country's formerly stiff refugee policy in July.

Mr Rudd's government has given asylum seekers access to lawyers, limited detention to 12 months and gives accepted refugees permanent visas instead of three-year visas.

But government officials and refugee advocate groups say the newcomers are driven by conflicts at home, not by Australia's immigration policies.

Mr Debus said the people would be taken to Christmas Island, a remote Australian territory in the Indian Ocean where the government runs an immigration detention center. They will undergo health, identity and security checks and be asked about the reasons for their voyage.

Their nationalities were not immediately known.

Australia has long been a destination for people from poor, often war-ravaged countries hoping to start a new life. Most of the asylum seekers come from Afghanistan, Iran and Sri Lanka.

In January, the government granted asylum to a group of 28 people from Iran and Afghanistan, saying they faced persecution or death if they returned home. It was the first time Australia had granted asylum since the new standards went into effect. -- AP