Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has denied Papua New Guinea is moving to close the detention centre on Manus Island by the end of June.

The minister said he was told the main problem was refugees refusing to move to the transit centre at East Lorengau.

Mr Dutton also dismissed claims the federal government re-classified parts of a Sydney facility to support its claim no children remained in immigration detention.

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“There is a lot of misinformation being peddled,” Mr Dutton told ABC Radio on Monday morning.

Mr Dutton announced at the weekend that children have been released from Australia’s mainland detention centres, but refugee advocates argued 10 remained at the Villawood centre in western Sydney after their status was changed to “community detention”.

The minister on Monday told ABC radio there was a family living in a townhouse adjacent to the centre who could come and go during the day, and visit a male relative still in “held detention”.

Mr Dutton denied they were being held behind bars.

“We’ve been able to make a modification to the arrangement so the children aren’t detained, they can have friends over, they can go out into the community,” he said.