Below is an article published by ABC News

The Burmese Rohingyan asylum seekers gave Mr Bowen a letter when he visited the centre last week.

In the letter they say they have been detained for 13 to 17 months.

The asylum seekers say they were granted refugee status in May last year [2010] by the Immigration Department but are still waiting for ASIO to complete security checks.

They say they have witnessed many other individuals having their security clearance processed much more quickly, and do not understand why their security clearance is taking so long.

Four of the asylum seekers have attempted suicide because they are so stressed.

A spokesman for the minister says he passes all correspondence from asylum seekers to their Immigration Department case managers.

ASIO says individual circumstances vary "according to the security environment and complexity of a particular case".

The organisation says it is doing its best to prioritise caseloads with an emphasis on compassionate or compelling cases and vulnerable individuals.

A member of Australia's Burmese community who works to resettle refugees in Brisbane says he cannot understand why Burmese asylum seekers are being detained for so long.

Sujahuddin Karimuddin from the Burmese Rohingyan Association says the minister should explain.

"So far there are some people granted protection visas from Darwin and one person was granted a visa from Christmas Island, one Rohingyan refugee from Burma, I don't know how they decide this person should be allowed to be given the visa and why not the others," he said.