Two people have seen the legislation that would strip Australian citizenship of dual nationals suspected of terrorism – and Prime Minister Tony Abbott apparently isn’t one of them.

Attorney-General George Brandis and Immigration Minister Peter Dutton are seemingly the only members of parliament to have seen the legislation, Mr Abbott confirmed on Thursday.

Question Time on Thursday was dominated by heated debate over the citizenship laws, as the PM accused Labor of rolling out the red carpet to terrorists.

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“In the case of the Government’s absolute clear determination to strip citizenship from terrorists who are dual nationals, this decision was made by the national security committee of the Cabinet,” Mr Abbott said.

“It didn’t need to go to the full Cabinet under the Cabinet “I want to make it absolutely crystal clear, if you are an Australian who goes to Syria or Iraq to fight with a terrorist Army, we don’t want you back.

“And if you are a dual citizen, we will strip your citizenship so you can’t come back.”

While the bill’s details have yet to be released, it’s come under fire for potentially breaching the separation of powers between ministers and courts, and not providing enough legal checks and balances.

Shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus said Labor supported the idea of extending existing powers dealing with Australians who fight for other nations to those who fight for terrorist groups.

But the opposition is uncomfortable with giving a minister the power to act against a person who has not been convicted of a terror offence.

Bill Shorten sought to drive a wedge through the cabinet by asking whether Foreign Minister Julie Bishop or Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss had seen the legislation, a question Mr Abbott dodged.

“Members opposite have no comprehension whatsoever of how a proper Westminster Cabinet process works,” Mr Abbott replied.