Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has backed comments made by his Immigration Minister Peter Dutton, stating that many refugees taken in by Australia "are illiterate in their own language".

Key points: Julie Bishop says Dutton making "self-evident point" on cost of refugees

Julie Bishop says Dutton making "self-evident point" on cost of refugees Dutton said many would not be numerate, literate in own language

Dutton said many would not be numerate, literate in own language 2011 Government report said 75 per cent of refugees had high school education

Mr Dutton had voiced concerns that an increase in the humanitarian intake would lead to refugees "taking Australian jobs", and described many as being illiterate.

Mr Turnbull said Mr Dutton is an "outstanding Immigration Minister".

He said that many refugees seeking humanitarian visas hadn't completed high school, were illiterate in their own language and "large percentages of them have no English skills at all".

"As Peter was saying earlier today, many of them come to Australia from shattered areas of the world," Mr Turnbull said.

"They are from dreadful, devastated, war-torn regions of the world."

The Greens propose increasing Australia's intake of refugees from 13,750 people to 50,000 a year, while the Federal Opposition want that figure to increase to 27,000 in a decade.

Speaking earlier in response to the proposal, Mr Dutton warned any significant increase would be costly and put pressure on Medicare and Centrelink services.

He told Sky News it could lead to a large number of people struggling to integrate into Australian society.

"For many people, they won't be numerate or literate in their own language let alone English," he said.

"These people would be taking Australian jobs, there's no question about that.

"And for many of them that would be unemployed, they would languish in unemployment queues and on Medicare, and the rest of it. So there would be a huge cost.

"There's no sense in sugar-coating that, that's the scenario."

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LNP senator Ian Macdonald was at an earlier conference with Mr Turnbull and threw his support behind the Immigration Minister's comments.

Senator Macdonald said Mr Dutton's comments were "matters of fact".

"Unskilled people coming in could well put pressure on the current unemployment situation in Australia," he said.

"I'm not sure of what skills the refugees have."

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop earlier defended Mr Dutton's remarks, saying the Minister was pointing out the costs of resettling refugees.

"These are all significant costs and we shouldn't run away from it, that's a fact," she told Sky News.

"Peter Dutton was making a self-evident point that there are significant costs involved in ensuring that people are able to contribute to Australian society."

Comments slammed as 'deeply divisive and offensive'

Bill Shorten visits Botany Bay on Wednesday ( ABC News: Adam Kennedy )

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has slammed the comments as "deeply divisive and offensive".

Mr Shorten went on to compare the remarks made by the Immigration Minister to those made by former politician Pauline Hanson.

"In the last 12 hours we've seen Mr Dutton insult refugees and indeed our great migrant history," he said,

"Mr Dutton's comments are comments that Pauline Hanson would have been proud to make … Mr Turnbull needs to come out and recognise the damage Mr Dutton's remarks are doing."

Labor MP Tim Watts also made the comparison on social media between Mr Dutton and the former One Nation politician.

The comments have also been criticised by Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen.

"There are hundreds of thousands of refugees in Australia. They've worked hard, they've educated themselves and their children, and they will be shaking their heads at their minister today in disgust, frankly," Mr Bowen said.

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young described the Minister's comments as "vile and nasty".

"What it does is exposes the Liberal Party's current thinking on people who come to our country seeking protection," Senator Hanson-Young said.

A report published by the Department of Social Services in 2011 found that "75 per cent of humanitarian entrants arrive with at least high school level education", while 35 per cent had a technical or university qualification.

Mr Dutton described Labor's plan to increase the humanitarian intake as a way to "buy off the left" of the party, following concerns about the party's position on border protection.

He said it would be "nonsense" to believe that increasing the humanitarian intake would not encourage people smugglers to restart the trade, and would be an "absolute green light" for people wanting to make the journey by boat to Australia.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott announced in September last year Australia would take an additional 12,000 Syrian refugees, on top of the nation's humanitarian intake, at a cost of $700 million.

The Federal Government also promised it would increase the intake to 18,750 by 2019.

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