Papua New Guinea has reportedly told the Australian government it will not be allowed to walk away from the asylum seekers currently held in the Manus Island Detention Centre in October.
The country's newly-appointed Attorney-General Davis Steven told the ABC his government has not agreed to close the camps by the end of October.
That contradicts an agreement between the nations announced by Immigration Minister Peter Dutton in July.
"I am the chief legal advisor to government. I have not sighted a formal document that confirms that date has been mutually agreed," Mr Steven said on Friday.
Decommissioning of the Manus camp has been under way for more than a month.
Tensions have grown at the compound as water and electricity have been cut off to some areas.
An Iranian refugee took his own life in a nearby township earlier this month - right before he was due to move from detention into the community.
Some detainees were expected to be resettled in the United States as part of a people-swap deal beginning in October.
But Mr Steven expressed concern PNG would have to foot the bill for the remaining detainees after Australia pulled out.
"The PNG government is not going to allow a situation where Australia has withdrawn and leaves behind all these international fugitives who they expect us to carry on our steam," he said.
A spokesman for Mr Dutton told AAP the department is aware of Mr Steven's statements.
"Australia remains committed to working with PNG toward the closure of the Manus Regional Processing Centre," the spokesman said.
"We look forward to further discussions with the PNG government over coming days and weeks."
The spokesman declined to comment on whether the October deadline had been agreed upon or whether Australia would honour a request by Mr Steven to wait until PNG's National Executive Council meets again before taking further action.
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