The Turnbull government is being urged to fast-track hundreds of millions of dollars in grants for local councils.
Labor says councils have been forced to slash services and increase fees for essential services under the weight of a three-year freeze to financial assistance grants.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten is urging the government to bring forward $619 million from 2018/19 into 2017/18 and rule out any more grant indexation freezes beyond this financial year.
"These communities need jobs and they need them now," Mr Shorten said on Tuesday.
"This will provide local economies with a shot in the arm which will mean more local jobs and more investment."
Labor's call for fast-tracked council grant cash is separate to assistance provided to communities hit by natural disasters.
Mr Shorten said the Turnbull government had ripped $925 million from local governments through its freeze on financial assistance grants in the 2014/15 budget, forcing many to backlog public works and projects.
"Local government needs the capacity to plan for the future and make strategic decisions about infrastructure and growing service priorities," he said.
Under Labor's proposal, the extra cashflow in 2017/18 would be taken from the following financial year, with councils still expected to work within their overall budgets over the four-year forward estimates.
