As the Government moved 115 mostly Afghan refugees off the island to start their lives on the mainland yesterday, detention staff braced for the arrival of another 77 asylum seekers intercepted on two boats this week.

Cramped conditions on the island have deteriorated and refugee advocates say the recent confiscation of mobile phones in the main detention centre was an effort to suppress bad news.

''It's absolutely unheard of that everyone's phones were confiscated. It's new during the Rudd Government,'' the co-ordinator of Project SafeCom, Jack Smit, said. ''The immigration department just hates bad news going out.''

With about 1500 people now detained on the island, some in tents, the Government is struggling to process refugee claims within its own deadlines.

Immigration staff have fallen behind the intended processing time of 90 days, with the average case now taking 107 days to decide. One man, resisting deportation to Sri Lanka with an appeal in the courts, has been in detention more than a year.

A spokesman for the Immigration Department said the ban on mobile phones in the high security facility was a long-standing policy for boat arrivals only.

''Irregular maritime arrivals are permitted to make a phone call when they arrive to let their family know they are safe,'' he said.

Asylum seekers could use fixed payphones in the detention centre after that, he said. People in immigration detention on the mainland are allowed to keep mobile phones.

The Opposition spokesman for immigration, Scott Morrison, said he was concerned about the pressure staff on Christmas Island were under, with the number of detainees rising and infrastructure projects incomplete.

He visited the island yesterday with the Family First senator, Steve Fielding, to inspect the detention centre facilities.