Donald Trump will honour a refugee resettlement deal signed between Australia and the outgoing Obama administration, according to former US ambassador to Australia John Berry.
The Turnbull government is racing to implement an agreement for a one-off transfer of some of the 1800 detainees held in Australian immigration detention facilities on Manus Island and Nauru to the US.
The deal comes months after Australia said it would accept Central American refugees from camps in Costa Rica for settlement in Australia.
Mr Berry, who was appointed by Mr Obama and returned to the US in September, said he expected the deal would remain in place after the presidential inauguration.
"I do not foresee a big change on that issue, other than, you know, [Mr Trump] may take a short while to learn and come up to the speed on the issues," he told ABC TV.
"He might have a short suspension to allow him to do that but I suspect, once he understands what's at play here and that we would be doing it in full conformance with the law and security procedures, he'd be fine."
