Refugee advocates say about 80 asylum seekers won’t lose their mobile phones following an injunction stopping Australian Border Force staff confiscating them.

Lawyers representing the asylum seekers detained in Melbourne, Sydney and regional Western Australia had launched a federal court challenge to the ABF’s new policy of seizing all detainees’ phones.

It was set to come into effect at midnight on Monday but the injunction granted on Sunday afternoon will allow asylum seekers to keep their phones until the case can be heard properly.

The Refugee Action Coalition called the decision a “great relief”.

Refugee advocate Pamela Curr said male asylum seekers in Melbourne had been “very anxious and distressed” at the thought of being forced to give up their phones.

“Border Force are making it harder and harder for people in detention to have contact with the outside,” she said.

Not having a personal phone prevented an asylum seeker’s ability to make contact with their family or a lawyer, Curr said.

Detention centre land lines were difficult to access because of the language barrier and the need for a phone card.

“Who’s going to show them how to find a phone card, how to make the calls and who to ring?” Curr said. “The mobile phone is a lifeline when you’re in detention.”