Spokesperson for the Refugee Action Coalition, Ben Peterson, told the Champion the aim of the march was "to protest the inhumane treatment of refugees".

"There are Australian people who are against the scapegoating of refugees and the Australian Government policies towards them, namely mandatory detention and the so-called 'Malaysia solution'," he said.

"We wanted to put forward a different and more humane perspective in the refugee debate and we feel we achieved that."

The protesters marched from Chester Hill train station to the detention centre and Mr Peterson was happy with the community's response.

"It was good to be out in the community in Villawood," he said. "The response from locals was very encouraging as was the response from refugees both inside and out of detention.

"It wasn't our first protest at Villawood and it won't be our last.

"As long as there are refugees detained we'll continue to organise for their rights."

Immigration Minister Chris Bowen was in Malaysia on Monday signing the asylum seeker swap deal.