Asylum policies are harsh but work: PM

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull admits the government's border protection policies are tough and harsh but insists they work.

Mr Turnbull was responding to a question in parliament from Greens MP Adam Bandt who asked about a campaign by medical staff at Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital against the immigration detention of children.

"We recognise that our border protection policy is tough ... many would see it as harsh, but it has been proven to be the only way to stop those deaths at sea and to ensure that our sovereignty and our borders are safe," Mr Turnbull said on Monday.