Scott Morrison is expected to follow in the steps of the US and a number of other countries in refusing to sign up to an international migration covenant under the auspices of the UN.

The prime minister said the UN's Global Compact on Migration would weaken Australia's border security and undermine its immigration policies.

"I’m not going to sign up to an agreement that I believe will only be used by those who have always tried to tear our stronger border policies down," Morrison.

"I experienced this first-hand back when I was responsible for stopping the boats. We must ­always decide on these issues and not have our laws undermined by outside influences," he said.

The agreement is supposed to support safe and orderly migration but Morrison said a key sticking point was the failure of the document to differentiate between illegal and "proper" migration when it comes to providing welfare benefits.

Morrison will release a joint statement with Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton and Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne on the matter.

"We do not believe that signing this agreement will add anything to enhancing our capacity to controlling our borders and managing our successful immigration program," the statement will say. 

Apart from the US, Israel, Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland, Croatia, Hungary and Bulgaria have refused to sign the agreement. 

The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration was finalised in July and is to be formally approved at a December meeting in Marrakesh, Morocco, before being passed by a resolution in the UN General Assembly in January. It is not legally binding.