Labor has confirmed it's considering a plan that would force young job seekers into army-style "boot camps" to qualify for the dole.
Ministers Bill Shorten and Kate Ellis are said to have tabled the Youth Start Boot Camp proposal as a potential election policy for the ALP's expenditure review committee to consider.
If adopted, the plan would force young job seekers into the camps if they want to qualify for dole payments, Fairfax Media reports.
Mr Shorten said on Sunday that the Youth Start proposal "was raised as part of the government's ongoing policy development process".
"I passionately believe that every young Australian who is unemployed deserves the opportunity to realise their full potential and fulfil their dreams," he said in a statement.
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"The Youth Start proposal would provide motivation, focus and employment skills for young job seekers."
He said the government was "committed to consulting with experts on any such proposals".
Minister Ellis is being sought for comment.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbot said the plan was "not even a thought bubble".
"Labor is allegedly mulling over something - this from the party that almost destroyed work for the dole," Mr Abbott told reporters in Sydney.
"This is more pretence, more deceit, more political posturing from the government which is very hard to take seriously."
Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey, who appeared alongside Mr Abbott, described it as "complete baloney from Labor".
"If thought bubbles from the Labor Party today are being reported as something that's credible then I would suggest we need something more substantial," Mr Hockey said.
He said the coalition had pledged more than $300 million for its "green army" to give young people the "opportunities to start to learn how to work".
"You have to put real effort, put real money behind it," he added.
Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young called Labor's plan a "Tony Abbott-style stunt."
Young people need real jobs, not boot camp busy-work," she said in a statement.
"Kevin Rudd is looking more like Tony Abbott every day in this desperate race to the bottom amid the race to the polls," she said.
