A leaked ministerial briefing paper shows Prime Minister Tony Abbott's plan to give a minister the power to strip dual nationals of their citizenship will be used to wedge Labor on national security.

The question time briefing paper obtained by the West Australian newspaper has outlined the government's thinking, instructing ministers to forthrightly assert the case that limiting cancellation to only those actually convicted of a crime would render the sanction "toothless" because the evidentiary tests are often too difficult to sustain convictions.

It also makes the case for use of ministerial discretion, rather than a court conviction, to strip dual nationals of their citizenship.

"Why should this power be exercised by a minister and not the courts?" the brief asks, before explaining that only by controlling the process can the government deliver the strong laws needed.