The federal parliament has taken its first step towards ripping up asylum seeker medical evacuation laws.
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But the repeal of the so-called medevac laws is still some way off, with an inquiry not due to report until October 18 and no Senate sitting after that until November 11.
The coalition used its majority to clear the repeal bill through the House of Representatives on Thursday, but faces a tougher test in the Senate.
Centre Alliance MP Rebekha Sharkie, whose two colleagues in the Senate will be crucial, said it felt "awful" when the bill cleared the lower house.
"This is so unnecessary, so cruel. To deny a sick person a clear pathway to medical care is just wicked," she tweeted.
Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie is likely to cast the pivotal vote.
The crossbencher has formed a loose alliance with the Centre Alliance minor party - which opposes repealing the laws - but is not bound to vote with them.
Labor's attempted amendments to the repeal - which condemned Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton for inaccurately describing the medical transfer process - were voted down in the lower house on Wednesday night.
The medevac laws were enacted against Mr Dutton's wishes earlier this year, when the government lacked a majority.
The laws have given doctors a greater say in transferring sick refugees and asylum seekers on Manus Island and Nauru to the Australian mainland for medical treatment.
Mr Dutton argues the laws are not needed as evacuations can already occur, and the new system undermined the government's strong border protection policy.
Australian Associated Press
