Australia and Indonesia are expected to sign an agreement about asylum seeker boats late on Tuesday.
Three federal ministers are in Jakarta for talks on defence and border protection, the ABC reports.
The Transportation Ministry says a meeting between Transport Minister Anthony Albanese and Indonesian counterpart Evert Erenst Mangindaan will include the signing of a deal about the protocol for search and rescue.
Indonesia revealed a few months ago that it was looking at ways to speed-up the entry of Australian vessels into its territory when boats were in distress.
