Unacceptable, dept says of untrained staff

The immigration department says it's unacceptable for service providers to hire unqualified staff to work at offshore detention centres.

The Salvation Army has come under fire for likening employment prospects at the Nauru centre to a fun holiday experience.

Students Nicole Judge and Christopher Iacono, who took up job offers with the Salvation Army, thought it would be just that but within days were dealing with asylum seekers.

Department deputy secretary Mark Cormack told a Senate hearing in Canberra on Friday that the Salvation Army and another operator, G4S, had a responsibility to ensure staff were appropriately hired, skilled and trained.

Ms Judge told a June hearing of the inquiry that until she arrived at Nauru, she did not know what a refugee was.

Mr Cormack said he had no reason to question the evidence given by the students.

"Unacceptable, from the department's point of view," he said.

"Our contracts would not allow for that sort of employment practice."

Mr Cormack revealed that of the 1200 asylum seekers being held in the Manus Island (PNG) detention centre, just 65 have had their claims assessed.

Of those, 31 were found to be genuine refugees.

They remain in the detention centre because details of a resettlement agreement the Rudd government made with PNG before the 2013 election have yet to be finalised.