Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has formally announced the $7 million trial after flagging the idea at a public forum in Brisbane on Wednesday night.
Students will be credited $10 for every hour they work as a volunteer up to 200 hours a year.
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The trial will run for three years and could be more widely established after that time.
Students would be limited to a maximum five hours voluntary work a week.
Mr Abbott said the idea for the trial came from the 2020 summit that former Labor prime minister Kevin Rudd hosted in 2008.
Mr Abbott described the AUSCORPS scheme as a "visionary concept".
"We want to try to encourage university students to continue the great Australian tradition of volunteering," he told reporters while campaigning in suburban Brisbane.
