Tony Abbott has retreated from a pledge to visit Indonesia in his first week as prime minister if he wins the election.
The opposition leader now says he will visit Australia's northern neighbour "as soon as is reasonably possible" if elected on Saturday.
Mr Abbott on Monday said he wanted to establish a convention that the first bilateral visit of any incoming Australian prime minister be to Jakarta.
"Obviously I need to go at a time that is convenient to our Indonesian hosts," he told reporters in Sydney on Monday.
"It would be discourteous to just turn up unannounced and uninvited."
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The coalition has said that should it win office, it has an enormous task ahead trying to repair relations with Indonesia.
The opposition claims ongoing issues around asylum seekers and Labor's decision to ban live cattle exports to the country in 2011 have soured bilateral relations.
