Australia is edging closer to a new immigration deal, with the Cambodian government agreeing "in-principle" to take genuine refugees from Nauru.

Details of the plan have not been made public but the ABC has been told they would live in the community and be supported by local community organisations.

The Cambodian foreign ministry says it will form a committee to study the proposal and has told the ABC it will only take those refugees who voluntarily agree to go there.

The ABC has been told an agreement could involve resettling more than 1,000 genuine refugees from Nauru to Cambodia.

One source has told AM the Australian Government will "pay almost anything" to make it happen but no dollar figure has been made public.

A spokeswoman for Immigration Minister Scott Morrison would not comment directly about the reports.

In a statement she said: "Australia has no further update on the status of our discussions with Cambodia.

"The Government is continuing its discussions on these issues and welcomes the receptive and positive response from Cambodia that has been provided to date."

The secretary of state at Cambodia's foreign affairs ministry, Ouch Borith, said it was too early to discuss details of the plan and he denied media reports that Cambodia had agreed to Australia's request in exchange for aid.

John Sifton, Asia advocacy director with Human Rights Watch, has told ABC News Radio that he has concerns about refugees being sent to Cambodia.

"Cambodia is a country with extraordinarily poor economic indicators and a horrible human rights record, and it's quite likely that many of the refugees who would be placed there would be at the same level of risk that they were facing when they were fleeing countries of origin," he said.

"Cambodia is not a reliable partner in any such resettlement scheme."

Concerns over living standards

The United Nations Human Rights Commissioner for Refugees has condemned the negotiations, saying Cambodia is a vulnerable nation still grappling to recover from years of a horrible civil war.

Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy has also said he cannot understand the thinking behind the idea of sending refugees to live in one of Asia's poorest countries.

Vivian Tan from the United Nations' refugee agency says Cambodia would be a difficult place to resettle refugees.

"Looking at the human development index last year, Cambodia was ranked 138 out of 187 countries or territories," she told the ABC.

"It's still very much a country that is trying to come out of a long history of civil conflict and trying to recover from that."

UN deputy high commissioner for human rights Flavia Pansieri is currently visiting Cambodia.

She has met Cambodian foreign affairs minister Hor Namhong and says the UN would be willing to provide support for a resettlement deal.

"What we think is important is to note that Cambodia is well aware of its international commitment to human rights standards," Ms Pansieri said.

"To the extent there is any need for cooperation, we stand ready to provide support to ensure that standards are met."

Mr Borith says his country is aware of its obligations.

"We will do the work according to international standards," he said.

Cambodia, which in the 1970s and 1980s saw a huge exodus of refugees fleeing war and starvation, is one of the world's poorest countries and has been criticised by human rights groups over its record on rights.

ABC/Reuters