A number of things were done to discourage the use of the Territory for this purpose, such as attempting to have the people smugglers arrested in Indonesia; the so-called Pacific Solution of processing them in third countries; the boarding and forced turnaround of the boats by Australian military forces; and finally excising the Territory and many other small islands from the Australian migration zone.
Beberapa hal yang dilakukan untuk mencegah praktik seperti mencoba untuk memiliki penyelundup orang yang ditangkap di Indonesia; yang disebut Pacific Solution pengolahan mereka di negara-negara ketiga; asrama dan perputaran paksa kapal oleh pasukan militer Australia, dan akhirnya excising Ashmore dan banyak pulau-pulau kecil lainnya dari zona migrasi Australia.