Foreign Minister Marise Payne has refused to say how long it will take to determine if Australia will grant a asylum to a young Saudi woman fearful for her life
Senator Payne is in Thailand, where Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun is waiting for the Australian government to process her application for refugee settlement.
"Australia is now engaged in the steps of the assessment process of Ms Alqunun as required. That is a process that is underway," Senator Payne told reporters in Bangkok on Thursday.
The minister said the matter would be resolved "in due course", but said it was up to the 18-year-old if she wanted to apply to come to Australia while her case is determined.
Senator Payne praised Thailand for referring the case to the United Nations, which determined Ms Alqunun's was a refugee.
Ms Alqunun had planned to enter Australia on a tourist visa and seek asylum before she was detained.
The teenager made a desperate plea for help after expressing fears her family would kill her if she were sent home, launching a social media campaign which garnered worldwide attention.
Labor's foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong said party leader Bill Shorten wrote to the prime minister earlier this week about the teenager's plight.
"Indicating that if she had a valid claim we'd support their efforts to offer her settlement in Australia," Senator Wong told the ABC's AM on Thursday.
Despite the high-profile nature of the case, Senator Wong is confident the government will undertake its appropriate process and not give Ms Alqunun special treatment.
She refused to meet her father and brother, who had travelled to Bangkok, Thai immigration chief General Surachate Hakparn said.
"Rahaf's father met with the UNHCR representative to discuss the matter ... naturally the parents are worried about their children as this is a family matter," General Surachate told reporters.
He said the father denied physically abusing his daughter or trying to force her into an arranged marriage.
He said he wanted his daughter back but respected her decision, General Surachate said, and described the man as being a governor in Saudi Arabia.
"He has 10 children. He said the daughter might feel neglected sometimes," General Surachate said.
"But he didn't go into detail."
with agencies
