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New Zealand Police have opened a homicide investigation into the deadly Loafers Lodge fire, which they believe was arson, with fewer than 20 people unaccounted for.

Acting Wellington District Commander Dion Bennett said police have a list of people of interest with whom they wish to speak, while warning the death toll could be higher than the six confirmed so far.

"My gut feeling is yes, it may climb," he said on Wednesday.

The 92-room Wellington hostel caught fire in the early hours of Tuesday, prompting a frenzied evacuation.

Residents jumped from the roof and crawled to safety, while at least six were trapped inside and killed.

All bodies remain in the hostel, which has been off limits to police until Wednesday afternoon, when Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) technicians finished work securing the property.

A police reconnaissance team have since entered, conducting an initial sweep "to develop plans for a more extensive search".

"This scene examination will be an extensive and methodical process, and we expect it to take some time, likely several days," Mr Bennett said.

"Alongside the scene examination, officers will be working to locate and recover those who lost their lives in the fire."

No arrests have been made, but initial investigations have firmed up the view of police that the fire was suspicious, and deliberately lit.

"We are treating it as an arson. I'm not prepared to say why," Mr Bennett said.

"We do have a list of people that we want to speak to.

"Because it is it arson and there is a death toll, it is a homicide (investigation)."

Police also confirmed there was a second fire on a couch at the hostel - as reported by residents who survived - which preceded the deadly blaze by two hours.

That link will be investigated, as are claims the fire alarm - which did not go off for the second, deadly fire according to residents - did not work.

Police are also evidence-gathering outside of the hostel, speaking to survivors and reviewing CCTV footage from the area.

Alongside the investigation, police are working on tracking down every person they believe to have been in the property.

Mr Bennett said 92 people had been accounted for, with less than 20 remaining on their search list.

That number includes bodies still inside.

The personnel search is challenging work - some may not want to be found, or are distrustful of authorities.

The Loafers Lodge had a mix of short-term and longer stay occupants, including shift workers from the nearby Wellington Hospital, welfare recipients and those under corrections orders.

Corrections Department spokeswoman Brittany McNamara said nine people on a community sentence order were living at the hostel, with all accounted for by Wednesday morning.

One of the missing has been named by NZ media as Liam Hockings, a university associate of Prime Minister Chris Hipkins.

The inferno has raised other questions, including the suitability of the 1970s-built building to house vulnerable tenants.

There are also reports the main entrance was broken.

The disaster is NZ's deadliest building fire since 1995, when a deliberately-lit fire inside the New Empire Hotel in Hamilton killed six people including one who jumped from the building.

Should officials confirm two more deaths, it will be the worst structure fire since 1947 when 41 people died in the Ballantynes department store in Christchurch.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese offered Australian assistance in the recovery effort.

The offer is yet to be taken up as a full assessment of needs is only possible after a thorough police investigation.

Australia experienced a similar tragedy in Childers, Queensland, where 15 people - most of whom were foreign travellers - died in the burning of the Palace Backpackers Hostel in 2000.

© AAP 2023

New Zealand Police have confirmed they are treating the deadly Loafers Lodge fire as suspicious as they gain entry to the hostel to begin their investigation.

The 92-room Wellington accommodation facility caught fire in the early hours of Tuesday, prompting a frenzied evacuation.

At least six were killed in the blaze, and their bodies remain in the hostel.

On Wednesday afternoon, Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) technicians finished their work securing the property.

"They have done a lot of shoring inside the building to allow us to make entry," FENZ spokesman Bruce Stubbs said.

"We'll keep an urban search and rescue team on scene to assist with any further work that's required to keep the scene safe as we move into the investigation."

Access to the building will allow police to search for more bodies, and to gain insight to how the fire began.

On Tuesday, police said it was too early to consider the fire suspicious, but by Wednesday afternoon they had changed their thinking.

Acting Wellington District Commander Inspector Dion Bennett also confirmed a second fire, preceding the deadly blaze by two hours, at the hostel.

"The couch fire was not reported to emergency services at the time," Insp Bennett said.

"As part of our inquiries, we will be seeking to confirm any link between that couch fire and the subsequent fatal fire."

Police warned the public not to expect quick answers on a final death toll, identification of victims or fire cause.

"We are working tirelessly alongside our partners, alongside our other agencies to find the answers that we need," Insp Bennett said.

"This requires an extensive scene examination and as you can see the building is large and the damage is extensive. Once inside, we will work as quickly as we can."

Police are also evidence-gathering outside of the hostel, speaking to survivors and reviewing CCTV footage from the area.

There are a number of people still unaccounted for, though officials have been coy on just how many.

There were around 92 residents at the 92-room hostel, but there were some visitors and some that weren't present during the fire.

On Tuesday, emergency services tallied 52 people as having left the building, with six bodies remaining inside.

Police are also desperately working to reconcile a list of residents and people inside the building at the time of the blaze, attempting to make contact with them all.

It is challenging work: some may not want to be found, or are distrustful of authorities.

The Loafers Lodge had a mix of short-term and longer stay occupants, including shift workers from the nearby Wellington Hospital, welfare recipients and those under corrections orders.

Corrections Department spokeswoman Brittany McNamara said nine people on a community sentence order were living at the hostel, with all accounted for by Wednesday morning.

One of the missing has been named by NZ media as Liam Hockings, a university associate of Prime Minister Chris Hipkins.

The inferno has raised other questions, including the suitability of the 1970s-built building to house vulnerable tenants.

There are also reports the main entrance was broken.

The disaster is New Zealand's deadliest building fire since 1995, when a deliberately-lit fire inside the New Empire Hotel in Hamilton killed six people including one who jumped from the building.

Should officials confirm two more deaths, it will be NZ's worst since 1947 when 41 people died in the Ballantynes department store in Christchurch.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese offered Australian assistance in the recovery effort.

The offer is yet to be taken up as a full assessment of needs is only possible after a thorough police investigation.

Australia experienced a similar tragedy in Childers, Queensland, where 15 people - most of whom were foreign travellers - died in the burning of the Palace Backpackers Hostel in 2000.

© AAP 2023

Retiring Liberal MP Stuart Robert's absence from parliament is "completely unacceptable", Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says.

Mr Robert has said he intends to formally resign from his Queensland seat of Fadden in the next few weeks, and skipped Canberra last week for the budget sittings.

Speaking in Tweed Heads ahead of a visit to Fadden, Mr Albanese was scathing of Mr Robert for continuing to receive a taxpayer-funded salary while not attending parliament.

He also took aim at Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, who on Tuesday said it wasn't "unusual at all" for a retiring parliamentarian not to turn up - noting former Labor leaders Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd had done it.

"That is not business as usual ... this is completely unacceptable," Mr Albanese told reporters.

"I find it incomprehensible that Peter Dutton finds this behaviour acceptable - that you can continue to get the pay as a member for Fadden and not think that you have to turn up to work."

Mr Albanese said voters in Fadden "deserve better".

Fadden is considered a safe seat for the LNP and was retained by Mr Robert with a margin of 10.6 per cent at last year's election.

Mr Albanese said Labor was yet to decide if it would contest Fadden, saying expectations about winning the very safe Liberal seat were "realistic".

Mr Robert was first elected to parliament in 2007 and served on the coalition government frontbench since 2013.

Two candidates have nominated for LNP preselection - Gold Coast council planning chief Cameron Caldwell and former Queenslander of the Year Dr Dinesh Palipana.

Party nominations for the seat close on Friday.

© AAP 2023