Speaking in East Timor's troubled capital after a brief visit on Saturday, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said Australia was prepared for a long-term commitment of police but that they should serve under a UN umbrella.

"We believe that the UN should have a bigger role in the immediate future of East Timor," he told reporters at Dili airport.

"Clearly there will be quite a need for an international police presence for quite a while. It would be appropriate for that international police presence to operate under the auspices of the United Nations."

As he spoke, a thick plume of smoke rose into the sky nearby as another house was torched. But the capital was mostly calm on Saturday, some small shops opened for business and traffic appeared to be returning to normal.