Federal Labor will take 4000 more refugees a year and give $500 million to support the United Nations' efforts on asylum seekers if elected to government.
Australians have put Labor ahead of the Coalition in the two-party split, as the government prepares to reveal an updated forecast for next year's budget surplus.
Labor has maintained a 54 - 46 lead over the Coalition in a new poll but Prime Minister Scott Morrison remains more personally popular than his rival.
The Fairfax-Ipsos poll released on Monday offered a snapshot of where the two major parties stand going into the Christmas break.
But the opposition's commitment to hardline measures, including boat turn-backs and offshore processing remains, leader Bill Shorten confirmed at the ALP national conference.
"You can have secure borders and you can live up to our humanitarian obligations. You just require leadership," Mr Shorten told delegates in Adelaide on Monday.
