The prime minister has pledged to work with the Victorian government to support workers in the Latrobe Valley who will lose their jobs when the Hazelwood power station shuts down.
"This is a very, very tough time for the valley," Malcolm Turnbull told reporters in Sydney on Thursday ahead of French owners Engie officially announcing the closure.
The PM said the federal government had established a ministerial task group "to provide the support the community needs to ensure there are jobs and opportunities for the workers that will lose their jobs as a result of this power station closing".
The federal government would work with the state Labor government in a "collaborative way", Mr Turnbull said.
"Our thoughts today are with the tough times for the men and women who work at Hazelwood and of course the many others in that community whose jobs depend on that power station."
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Opposition Leader Bill Shorten labelled the station's closure devastating.
He has called on the federal government to back a voluntary redundancy scheme for older workers at other nearby power stations to give those at Hazelwood an opportunity elsewhere.
"Active redeployment and a just transition for blue collar workers displaced by economic change should be a priority of the Turnbull government," he told reporters in Sydney.
