Immigration Minister Scott Morrison denies it is policy for Australian authorities at the Manus Island detention centre to report same-sex relations between detainees to local police.
Amnesty International this week raised concerns about the welfare of gay asylum seekers in detention on the Papua New Guinean island, with reports some are experiencing harassment.
The human rights organisation visited the island in November and released a report on Wednesday describing the facilities as a cross between a prison and military camp.
It also said some detainees were being restricted to 500 millilitres of bottled water a day despite the tropical heat, a claim the government rejects.
Mr Morrison on Friday denied it was policy for Australian authorities at the camp to report homosexual relations between detainees to local police.
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"No, it's not, my advice is that that is not what takes place," he told reporters at Sydney's weekly media briefing on Operation Sovereign Borders.
"The department is unaware of any claims or declarations of ... homosexuality being investigated at the centre," Mr Morrison said.
"That report we don't believe to be correct."
He said the government would address criticism if reports such as that authored by Amnesty made practical observations that could be verified.
Mr Morrison also warned that the coalition government had no plans to water down its border protection policies.
Asked by the operation's commander, Lieutenant General Angus Campbell, whether the government was considering a change to its border security settings, Mr Morrison replied "absolutely not".
"The government would only be strengthening policies, General," he said.
Mr Morrison also confirmed there would be budget shortfall of $1.2 billion for offshore processing at Nauru and Manus Island from the former government.
The briefing was also told Indonesian authorities rescued 27 people on Monday from a people-smuggling vessel off the south coast of West Java.
One person was taken to hospital while two others died, Lt Gen Campbell said.
Australian authorities weren't involved in the recovery effort.
He said in the past week 38 people had been transferred to Manus and 81 to Nauru.
