In an interview with the ABC’s 7.30 program, Mr Shorten said that turn-backs would form part of a policy to prevent deaths at sea.
"I think it's clear that the combination of regional resettlement, with offshore processing, and also the turn back
policy, is defeating people smugglers," he said.
“It's not easy, though, because it involves the admission, I think, that mistakes were made when Labor was last in government."
A potential turn back policy will be debated at the ALP national conference later this week and Mr Shorten hopes his colleagues will back his new position.
“… Labor, if we form a government, needs to have all the options on the table. We're committed to regional resettlement and that would include boat turn-backs as an option.”
Mr Shorten said he would have further announcements in coming days about “being willing to support more refugees”.
“I do believe we can probably take more refugees,” he said.
His comments come three days after a suspected asylum seeker boat was spotted off the coast of Western Australia.
The Australian Navy has taken control of the operation surrounding the vessel, first sighted by a tanker off Dampier at first light on Monday.
The sighting has prompted Prime Minister Tony Abbott to defend his government’s border protection policy, which he described as “magnificently successful”.
Mr Abbott told reporters on Tuesday that his government remained committed to ensuring that “people will not come to this country illegally by boat”.
“If any, by hook or by crook actually get here, they will never get permanent residency in this country,” he said.
“And long as anyone thinks that by coming here by boat, they will get the great prize of permanent residency here in Australia; the evil, dangerous, deadly trade of people smuggling will continue - and this Government will do everything we humanly can to stamp this trade out.”
Former Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said Labor was "all talk on turn backs".
Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young believes Labor's "capitulation" won't end well.
Mr Shorten's stance is expected to be "hotly" debated over the next few days.
Labor's immigration spokesman Richard Marles said there was nothing compassionate about letting scores of people drown at sea or allowing people smuggling rackets to thrive again.
"There is simply no way a future Labor government can reopen this (boat) journey - it would be profoundly immoral" he told ABC Radio.
He reassured people Labor would be adopting "transparency" over operations and ensuring they complied with international obligations.
“Disunity is death in politics”
Host Leigh Sales also asked Mr Shorten on his credibility as the alternative Prime Minister, asking him how voters could trust him following his role in the tumultuous Rudd/Gillard years.
Mr Shorten said his party had moved on, saying that “disunity is death in politics”.
“Labor went through terrible times of disunity in the year of PMs Rudd and Gillard and Labor's learned its lesson,” he said.
“… They were difficult times. I regret that we didn't explain more what was going on.”
With AAP.
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