Bali Nine reunited with family in time for Christmas

Five members of the Bali Nine have been released from custody to spend Christmas with their families for the first time in 20 years.

Matthew Norman, Scott Rush, Martin Stephens, Si Yi Chen and Michael Czugaj - all now aged in their late 30s or 40s - spent two decades locked in Bali's Kerobokan Prison after being found guilty of attempting to traffic heroin.

After spending four days in the Howard Springs federal accommodation facility near Darwin, the men returned to their respective homes on Thursday where they will continue reintegrating with Australian society.

It draws an end to the saga which up-ended the five men's lives and tested Australia's diplomatic relations with its northern neighbour.

Indonesia has some of the world's strictest drug laws and sparked a diplomatic incident when Bali Nine ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were executed by firing squad in 2015.

Renae Lawrence was released in 2018 and Tan Duc Than Nguyen died of cancer the same year.

Previous attempts to free the remaining Bali Nine members had failed to gain traction but the accession to power of President Prabowo Subianto in October renewed hope for their release.

The Australian government finally struck a deal with their Indonesian counterparts earlier in December, which Indonesia's senior minister for legal affairs Yusril Ihza Mahendra said was "reciprocal in nature".

Australian ministers have denied a quid pro quo agreement that would force the government to consider freeing Indonesian prisoners in Australia in the future.

The five men, who have not been pardoned, are banned from entering Indonesia for life.