The prime minister has accused Peter Dutton of concocting outrage over Palestinian visas, saying that it had been more than three months since people could physically leave war-torn Gaza.
As UN agencies called for a ceasefire after the discovery of polio in Gaza, Opposition Leader Mr Dutton repeated calls in parliament on Monday to ban Palestinians from being issued visas to Australia until security vetting processes could be improved.
Mr Albanese said civilians had not been able to leave Gaza since May after the last exit point, the Rafah crossing, closed.
However, he attacked the opposition for the fact it had waited months to express any issue with the visa process following the closure.
"Did they say anything about it in May? In June? In July? The beginning of August? Not a peep," the prime minister told parliament on Monday.
"Three months later, they have a call for a ban on anyone from Gaza coming to Australia."
Department of Home Affairs figures showed that, since the October 7 attacks on Israel, 7100 visas from Palestine had been rejected and, of the 2922 people approved, 1300 had arrived safely in Australia.
Mr Albanese accused the opposition of double standards on Palestinian visas, with the coalition also allowing people from the region to enter Australia when they were last in government.
"During that time in office, they issued more than 1000 visitor visas to Palestinians from the occupied Palestinian territories. During that entire time Hamas controlled the Gaza Strip," he said.
"Hamas have been the enemy, not just of Israel but of the Palestinian people as well. The hypocrisy is extraordinary."
While seeking to bring on debate on the issue in the House of Representatives, Mr Dutton accused Mr Albanese of misleading parliament on the visa vetting and called for criteria of the security process to be released.
"This prime minister has lost his integrity, he's lost his credibility, he has let down the Australian public, he has made us less safe," he told parliament.
The government said it had given tourist visas to those fleeing Palestine as it was quicker to issue them during a fast-moving situation in the Middle East.
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek backed the government's Palestinian visa measures, noting it was difficult for people to leave the region.
"It's certainly not easy to come to Australia and, in any case, all of the borders are shut now, so if you're in Gaza, you're stuck in Gaza," she told Seven's Sunrise program.
Jana Favero, from the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre said Mr Dutton's argument distracted from the humanitarian response.
"They've seen kids starving, and that's where the focus of the debate should be on, rather than Peter Dutton's comments, which are trying to distract from what should be a humanitarian response," she said.
Independent Warringah MP Zali Steggall was heckled in parliament last week during a debate, before telling the opposition benches to "stop being racist".
Asked about reports Mr Dutton was seeking legal advice about her comments, Ms Steggall doubled down.
"I would view that as a true and tried part of the playbook of Mr Dutton of bullying and intimidating people from calling out his policy and behaviour," she told ABC radio on Monday.
"I stand by (my view that) this policy proposal is inherently racist, and it's designed to foster fear and hatred of a minority group."
The debate came as Palestine's health ministry said Gaza has recorded its first case of polio in more than two decades, with a 10-month-old baby showing signs of the deadly virus.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has also arrived in the Middle East in a fresh push for a ceasefire.
