Government threatens to ban US leaker Chelsea Manning from Australia: promoter

The organisers of convicted classified document leaker Chelsea Manning's Australian tour have confirmed they have been threatened with a ban on her entering Australia.

Think Inc. said on Thursday that it had received a notice of intention from the government to deny Ms Manning entry for a speaking tour scheduled to start in Sydney on Sunday.

The group is calling on Ms Manning's supporters to lobby new Immigration Minister David Coleman to allow her into Australia. While she can appeal, past precedent suggests the decision has already been made.

"After a little bit of research and speaking to our legal counsel, we understand [there] is potentially an imminent refusal of her visa," Think Inc director Suzi Jamil told the ABC.

Ms Manning was an intelligence analyst for the US Army when she leaked military and diplomatic documents to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks. She served seven years of a 35-year sentence before then-President Barack Obama granted her clemency in 2017.

The transgender activist who recently lost a long-shot bid for a US Senate seat in Maryland had been scheduled to make a number of appearances in Australia and New Zealand, including the Sydney Opera House on Sunday and the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre next Friday.

The Department of Home Affairs said while it does not comment on individual cases, all non-citizens entering Australia must meet character requirements set out in the Migration Act.

The reasons a person might fail the character test include a criminal record or a determination they might a risk to the community, according to the department.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the decision was for Mr Coleman, who was sworn in on Tuesday.

Labor foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong has said that if Ms Manning were denied entry, the government should be transparent about its reasoning.

Amnesty International accused the government of trying to silence Ms Manning.

"By refusing her entry, the Australian government would send a chilling message that freedom of speech is not valued by our government," Amnesty International national director Claire Mallinson said in a statement.

Lawyer Greg Barns, who has represented Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, said people with criminal records have been allowed into Australia in the past.

He said no one would seriously suggest Ms Manning was a risk to the Australian community.

Ms Manning is also facing calls to be barred from New Zealand with the centre-right National Party opposition urging the government to decline her visa request.