Doctor Mohamed Haneef, wrongly accused of involvement in the failed United Kingdom bombing plot, was awaiting a full clearance from the Australian police before coming back to the country, his lawyer has said.

Peter Russo said that the Australian Federal Police's ongoing probe into Haneef has kept him in a holding pattern.

He said the former Gold Coast Hospital doctor was reluctant to return to Australia until he had received a full clearance from the AFP.

"They're really the ones holding the whole matter up because of the suspicion that they've created by saying things like he (Haneef) is still under investigation," Russo was quoted as saying in the Sydney Morning Herald.

"We're really stuck in a holding pattern. It's up to (AFP commissioner Mick) Keelty and his crew to get their act together so we can move the matter forward," he said.

Earlier, Haneef had said he is yet to decide whether he would return, adding that his family wanted assurances that he would be safe.

He is waiting for the new federal government to announce an independent public inquiry into the handling of his case.

"There's not much more he can say until I can give him some assurances as to how the AFP will behave," Russo said, adding, "I can't do that until they come clean. They have to give us an indication of whether he's a person of interest any more.

"They've been behaving in a manner that makes it difficult to be able to understand what it is they're looking for. I doubt whether we'll see anything before the inquiry because by their behaviour, they are backing up the old regime of the previous government," he added.