Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has been put on notice to expect a second challenge from conservative rival Peter Dutton within days as a number of ministers have quit or offered their resignations in a crisis over the government’s leadership and direction.

Mr Turnbull’s supporters believe the next attempt to remove him could come as soon as Thursday after he secured a narrow victory over his enemies on Tuesday, keeping his leadership by 48 to 35 votes.

Replay

Replay Video

Loading

Play Video

Play Video

Playing in 5 ...Don't Play

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said the turmoil showed that Mr Turnbull was Prime Minister “in name only” when cabinet ministers and dozens of backbenchers had lost confidence in his leadership.

Mr Dutton did not rule out a second challenge after losing the sudden ballot on Tuesday morning and resigning as Home Affairs Minister, as his allies try to gain the seven votes they need to win a second ballot.

In a key move to highlight the discontent over the government’s direction, International Development Minister Concetta Fierravanti-Wells resigned on Tuesday night and went public with her concerns.

“Our conservative base strongly feel that their voice has been eroded,” she wrote to Mr Turnbull.

“They need some demonstrable indication that there are conservative voices around your cabinet table.”

Senator Fierravanti-Wells revealed she had expressed her views to Mr Turnbull on issues in January including her fear the Liberal Party was moving too far to the left.

Other frontbenchers who voted for Mr Dutton and offered their resignations included Health Minister Greg Hunt, Law Enforcement Minister Angus Taylor and assistant ministers Michael Sukkar, James McGrath and Zed Seselja, but Mr Turnbull has not yet accepted those resignations.

In a series of meetings on Tuesday night, the Prime Minister told those who voted for his rival that he wanted them to stay on the frontbench but wanted to be sure he had their support in any future leadership spill.

Human Services Minister Michael Keenan, who voted for Mr Dutton, declared his support for Mr Turnbull in a public statement on Tuesday night.

“I respect the outcome of today’s party room meeting and the Prime Minister has my full support,” he said.

“The important thing now is for the Coalition to unite and take the fight up to Bill Shorten and his high taxing and high spending agenda which would be a disaster for our country.”

Trade Minister Steve Ciobo, another who backed Mr Dutton, said the party room had “decided [the] leadership of our party” and called for unity against Labor.

In an interim measure amid continuing division, Mr Turnbull named Treasurer Scott Morrison as Home Affairs Minister to fill the gap in the ministry.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, who was re-elected as Liberal deputy unopposed, said Mr Turnbull was seeking to “heal the divisions” within the party.

The Prime Minister emerged from the ballot to urge his colleagues against allowing their differences to help Mr Shorten win power at the next election.

“We’ve got to put 25 million Australians first. They hate it when we are talking about each other,” he said.

Mr Dutton tried to soften his image as a hard-line conservative on social issues and border protection, declaring he would “love” to get all refugees off Nauru and Manus Island.

He insisted he was a better leader to fight Mr Shorten at the next election and named immigration and infrastructure as key areas of interest, signalling a potential cut to the migrant intake without confirming an alternative policy plan.

“I made a decision to contest this ballot because I want to make sure we can keep Bill Shorten from ever being prime minister of this country,” Mr Dutton said after the vote.

Asked at least five times on Sky News about a second spill and his future ambitions, Mr Dutton said his ambition was to beat Mr Shorten.

Fairfax Media understands that those in cabinet who voted against Mr Turnbull included Health Minister Greg Hunt as well as Mr Ciobo and Mr Keenan, fuelling talk about further resignations to build pressure for another spill.

Those in the outer ministry who voted for Mr Dutton included Citizenship Minister Alan Tudge as well as Mr Taylor and Senator Fierravanti-Wells.

Mr Hunt declined to comment on which way he voted but other MPs named the Victorian minister as a contender for the deputy leadership if the spill had been successful.

Rumours spread of Liberal MPs quitting parliament if the leadership changed, but Craig Laundy, who holds a marginal seat in Sydney and supports Mr Turnbull, rejected that idea.

"That would be the wrong thing to do by the party," he told Fairfax Media. "I brought my integrity with me to parliament and I'll be taking it with me when I leave."

Government sources dismissed talk that Mr Turnbull would call an early election, while Mr Dutton’s supporters believe he would need time in office to prepare to face voters if he succeeded in a second spill.

Replay

Replay Video

Loading

Play Video

Play Video

Playing in 5 ...Don't Play

One of Mr Turnbull's supporters described the decision to bring on the vote as a "gutsy call" that worked to defeat his opponent.

As the Prime Minister's camp expected, the conservatives within the party room and many Queensland MPs voted for Mr Dutton.

Of the 85 members of the federal Liberal party room, 83 voted. One member abstained while another, Arthur Sinodinos, was absent due to illness.

The margin of victory for Mr Turnbull, 13 votes, is a similar result to his challenge against Mr Abbott in September 2015, when he defeated the then prime minister by a margin of 10 votes, 54 to 44.

Mr Dutton could unseat Mr Turnbull by gaining another seven votes, leading to a tie that would make the Prime Minister’s position untenable.