Labor and Liberal figures concede the opposition is unlikely to change leaders before the election, despite poor polling after the rise of Malcolm Turnbull.
An analysis of the most recent major polls puts the Liberal-National coalition on 52.8 per cent of the two-party vote.
The latest Newspoll published on Tuesday gave Mr Turnbull a 63 per cent preferred prime minister rating, with Bill Shorten slumping to 17 per cent.
It is Mr Shorten's worst result since taking on the Labor leadership after the 2013 election.
Labor strategist Bruce Hawker told AAP Mr Turnbull, who seized the leadership from Tony Abbott last month, was still enjoying a poll honeymoon.
"It's not in prospect at all," he said of a Labor leadership change.
"Given the honeymoon that Malcolm Turnbull has enjoyed, 52-48 isn't the worst possible result (for Labor)."
Government minister Stuart Robert said thanks to Kevin Rudd, Labor was locked into a lengthy process of a grass-roots membership and caucus ballot to change leaders.
"The challenge for Labor of course is that Mr Rudd's parting gift was the incapacity for them to actually make any changes," Mr Robert told Sky News on Tuesday.
He said Mr Shorten controlled factional numbers in the ALP caucus, while the man he beat for the job - Anthony Albanese - had received the majority grass-roots membership vote.
Mr Hawker puts the result down to Mr Turnbull steering his party to the political centre and appearing to embrace some of Labor's policies and themes.
He says a March 2016 double-dissolution election - about six months before a poll is due - is a distinct possibility.
However, Mr Turnbull will need to keep his own party onside.
"Some of the inherent tensions in his prime ministership are going to have to be resolved," Mr Hawker says.
"There are tensions in his own party over his social reforming agenda and tensions with the public over his fiscal conservatism."
Mr Turnbull on Tuesday declined to comment on the polls, joking that his lift was due to an announcement about a new chief scientist.
Mr Shorten told reporters in Melbourne if Labor kept rolling out quality policies the polls would "sort themselves out".
He announced a Labor government would fund a redress scheme for victims of institutional abuse, and seek funding for counselling and direct payments from churches and state and territory governments.
