US refugee deal 'full steam ahead': Dutton

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton says an arrangement for the US to accept refugees from Manus Island and Nauru is all going according to plan.

Refugees gather on one side of a fence to talk with international journalists about their journey that brought them to the Island of Nauru. File: Sept. 19, 2001 Source: AP Photo/Rick Rycroft

Peter Dutton insists Australia's deal with the US to accept refugees from Nauru and Manus Island is full steam ahead.

The immigration minister said the swap arrangement - which will see Australia accept refugees from Central America - was all going according to plan after a meeting with his PNG counterpart on Wednesday.

"We're still full steam ahead in working with the US, trying to get people off Nauru and Manus and just doing it in a way that the boats don't restart and we don't get new arrivals," he told 2GB's Ray Hadley on Thursday.