The Prime Minister says asylum seeker policy will not be held "over a moral barrel" by the attempted suicide of people being held in detention.

Human Rights Commission president Gillian Triggs has confirmed 10 women have tried to kill themselves at the Christmas Island detention centre.

Refugee advocates say the women are concerned because their children are sick, and have asked to be sent to Nauru to escape the conditions on Christmas Island.

But a conflicting report from Fairfax suggests the women attempted suicide in the expectation their then-orphaned children would be settled in Australia.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Listen Duration: 7 minutes 31 seconds 7 m Richard Marles talks to AM Download 13.8 MB

When asked about mothers self-harming, Mr Abbott said he was unaware of the story but that "no Australian government should be subjected to the spectacle" of people threatening self-harm.

"If true, it is a harrowing tale," he said.

"[But] this is not going to be a government which has our policy driven by people who are attempting to hold us over a moral barrel. We won't be driven by that.

"Now, I don't believe that people ought to be able to say to us, 'Unless you accept me as a permanent resident, I am going to commit self-harm'.

"I don't believe any Australian would want us to capitulate to moral blackmail."

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has accused Mr Abbott of "washing his hands" of his duty of care.

"Tony Abbott needs to come clean and tell us what's really going on," he said.

"These people are human beings in the care of Australia and the care of the Australian Government.

"It is not good enough to wash your hands on the safety of human beings."

In a statement, Immigration Minister Scott Morrison says women and children in immigration detention receive health care "in line with Australian community standards".

"This care includes access to antenatal classes and check-ups and postnatal support and health assessments," he said.

"Mental health support in immigration detention facilities includes mental health nurses, counsellors, psychologists and psychiatrists where required."

Greens spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young says the situation is "appalling".

"It's a little hard to succumb to moral blackmail when you're already morally bankrupt," she said.

"This Government's policy is forcing such desperate, already desperate and vulnerable people, to a point of self-destruction."

Morrison arrives in Sri Lanka as asylum seekers remain at sea

Mr Morrison arrived in Colombo on Wednesday for a visit to Sri Lanka to formally commission two refurbished boats Australia gifted in November to tackle people smuggling.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Listen Duration: 5 minutes 50 seconds 5 m Asylum seekers face high seas legal limbo ( James Glenday ) Download 10.7 MB

"The president and the visiting minister will be at the commissioning of the two boats at the Colombo harbour," an official in president Mahinda Rajapakse's office said.

Meanwhile, the group of 153 asylum seekers being held at sea could be there for weeks while the High Court decides whether to hear a legal challenge over their fate.

A High Court hearing yesterday heard the first official confirmation that the group, which includes children as young as two, are being held on an Australian Customs vessel.

The Government has agreed not to return the asylum seekers to Sri Lanka without three days' notice.

Another group of asylum seekers were returned to Sri Lanka earlier this week after a controversial mid-sea transfer.

Twenty-seven people in that group have been bailed by a court in Galle, while five people have been remanded in custody. Their next court hearing is July 14.