Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull confirmed the agreement this morning, but did not provide any details on timeframes or the number of people involved.
Speaking in Canberra alongside Immigration Minister Peter Dutton, Turnbull said the deal would only apply to those currently on Nauru and Manus Island.
"There will be American officials from Homeland Security coming to Australia to begin the process in the next few days."
As of October 31, there were 872 people in the processing centre on Manus Island and 390 people in Nauru's centre.
