Terror laws still a mystery: Labor

Labor has slammed the federal government's "absolutely appalling" handling of plans to strip citizenship from suspected terrorists, saying despite it being a top priority the details are still unknown.

The government is expected to put its new counter-terror laws to parliament in the next fortnight, before politicians leave Canberra for a six-week winter break, but it hasn't yet revealed exactly how far the new powers will go.

Opposition immigration spokesman Richard Marles suspects the government is delaying briefing Labor on the laws because it doesn't yet know what it will put to parliament, he told ABC radio on Friday.