Labor will aim to steal momentum with the party's campaign launch two weeks out from the election, but could find its message sidelined by a renewed debate on gay marriage.
Polling showing Labor is failing to win crucial seats could also overshadow the western Sydney campaign launch on Sunday.
Labor is struggling to win over voters in Liberal-held marginal seats in QLD, NSW, Victoria and Tasmania but could make gains in WA, the Newspoll survey of 11 electorates found.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten will try to rein in distractions at the launch by trumpeting Labor's policies on health, education and the NBN to the party faithful in the seat of Lindsay.
He believes the policies are "beginning to bite" and cut through to the Australian people.
"I can't wait for the next 13 days, night and day, for us to put out our policy plans," he told reporters on the NSW Central Coast on Saturday.
A Fairfax Ipsos poll showed better news for Labor however, with the party holding on to a narrow lead over the coalition of 51-49 on a two-party preferred basis.
But the Labor leader's eyebrow-raising comments linking a same-sex marriage plebiscite to the deadly Orlando mass shooting on Friday evening have reignited the gay marriage debate.
Mr Shorten backed away from the comparison on Saturday, saying Australia doesn't face the same situation as the United States.
He maintains children of gay parents should not be exposed to "taxpayer-funded nonsense" that could accompany a no campaign against same-sex marriage.
"Some of the critics of marriage equality have extreme views," he said.
The opposition leader accused Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull of being "too chicken" to follow his heart with a vote in parliament.
The Greens say there's "no question" the murder of 49 people inside a gay night club proved hateful views continued to exist in the community.
Greens leader Richard Di Natale used "vile" online comments in response to the Orlando attack as evidence those attitudes were shared by some Australians.
"A plebiscite will unleash those voices of hate in the community," he told reporters in Sydney on Saturday.
"And we give those views legitimacy by endorsing a plebiscite."
It's a view the Greens had held consistently since the national vote was announced, he said.
Anti-gay-marriage groups hit back at the two leaders, with the Australian Christian Lobby labelling the comments "extreme emotional manipulation".
People who believed in traditional marriage should not be described as "haters" or "extremists", managing director Lyle Shelton told AAP on Saturday.
The Greens on Saturday entered enemy territory to launch the campaign for their NSW candidates, holding the event in senior Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese's seat of Grayndler.
Meanwhile, the major party leaders campaigned at local netball courts off the back of a campaign-first online debate hosted by Facebook and news.com.au on Friday evening.
Despite Mr Shorten challenging the prime minister to a forth debate on free-to-air television, voters have seen the last of the leader clashes.
Mr Turnbull ruled out any more leaders debates before the July 2 poll.
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