Australian officials say they are doing all they can to win the release of a 14-year-old boy held in Indonesia for possessing marijuana.

The boy told police he bought the drug from a man who said he had not eaten for a day and needed money.

The teenager has been held at Denpasar police headquarters on the tourist island of Bali since he was arrested on Tuesday.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard told reporters Friday that the boy is being held apart from other prisoners.

Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd says his job is to do everything possible to get the boy home.

If tried and convicted, the boy could face a lengthy sentence in an adult prison.