A culture of fear among detention centre workers means neglect or abuse of refugees will remain hidden despite government attempts to assure workers they are free to speak out, doctors and a leading lawyer say.

Controversial secrecy laws, supported by the federal government and Labor, mean detention centre workers face up to two years in prison for recording or disclosing information they obtain from their job.

Barrister Julian Burnside. Credit:Christopher Pearce

This has been widely interpreted as preventing doctors, teachers, counsellors and others from publicly discussing harsh conditions and potentially poor treatment of refugees in detention.

But a joint statement from Immigration and Border Protection Department secretary Michael Pezzullo and Border Force Commissioner Roman Quaedvlieg said claims that individuals were prevented from speaking out about matters of public interest or reporting child abuse, were "factually incorrect and highly misleading".