Shorten calls for calm on Brexit vote

Opposition leader Bill Shorten says Britain's vote to exit the European Union will have little direct economic impact on Australia.

Bill Shorten has joined the prime minister and treasurer in calling for calm as financial markets tumble after the surprise decision by Britain to leave the European Union.

He says the decision will have little direct economic impact on Australia.

"We urge people to be calm and not to necessarily confuse the volatility in the stock market with any shift in Australia's fundamentals," he told reporters in Cairns on Friday.

"Share markets and currency markets are doing what share markets and currency markets do."