Claims that asylum seekers on Nauru are living in leaking tents have been confirmed by the Salvation Army, which is providing humanitarian support there under contract to the Government.

Last month an Amnesty International team visited the detention camp on Nauru and said some asylum seekers were sleeping in wet beds, and their tents were regularly flooded by heavy rain.

The chief executive officer of the Salvation Army's Eastern Territory, which covers congregations in NSW and Queensland, Sharon Callister, said the organisation's officers and workers living in the tent camp were also suffering from the wet.

"Our workers have described a lot of conditions but yes, they have been wet as well," Ms Callister told ABC News.

When asked how they were coping as the tropical wet season sets in, Ms Callister replied: "They're dealing with it very well.

"Nauru is a very hot place, it's an isolated island, it's really humid; at the moment I think it's about 40 degrees," she said.

"We're talking a lot of rain - monsoon season - so just the physical conditions alone, they're very tough.

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"[The Salvation Army officers and employees] decided that they wanted to be there on the island, they knew that it was the wet season and they knew that it was temporary accommodation, so we're doing everything we can to support them but they are well aware of that prior to going on their mission.

"I can tell you just from direct feedback from my staff who have been over there - they see their work more as a mission than an actual job.

"So they feel that they have a mission to be able to serve people, so first and foremost that's what we look for in our staff and they are the people that come to us.

"We see that the asylum seekers over there are a very vulnerable group of people and they need a lot of love, they need a lot of support and we're the right kind of organisation to be providing that care and support for them."

Internal dispute

The ABC understands however there is a measure of disquiet within the Salvation Army itself over the church's involvement with the detention centres.

Protests are believed to have come largely from the independent Salvation Army Southern Territory, which covers Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth.

Ms Callister acknowledged the internal dispute but was resolute in her commitment.

"The great thing about the Salvation Army - it's a huge organisation - it's full of a diverse range of people and they all are encouraged to share their views," she said.

"That being said the Salvation Army has made a decision to be providing the humanitarian services on Nauru and Manus Island and we're very comfortable with that position."

Nobody from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship would be interviewed on the Salvation Army's statements, but a spokesman did provide a written comment.

"Nauru is a tropical nation; this is something with which its citizens, our staff, the service providers at the centre, and the transferees themselves, cope," the spokesman said.

"Fans also have been installed in the tents.

"An aggregate [crushed rock] base was laid where transferees cooperated, and this has prevented further flooding of these tents.

"Construction of a permanent facility has already commenced with plans for transferees to move into new quarters sometime in the first half of 2013."

The spokesman also said the Nauruan government was "shortly" expected to pass amended regulations that would enable detainees to come and go from the camp without an escort, and media access protocols were being developed between the two governments.