Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has agreed to talks with Labor leader Bill Shorten on the China free trade agreement.
While a meeting date has not been set, the government wants the enabling legislation to pass the Senate by the end of the year.
Mr Shorten told reporters in Sydney on Thursday he had spoken "directly" with the prime minister and told him the opposition did not want to change the treaty itself but ensure Australians get priority for major project jobs.
"I've been in far harder negotiations than this, but our priority is to make sure that ... no-one gets left behind," he said.
A report on the bill from the bipartisan treaties committee is due on October 12, when debate in the lower house will start.
But it won't get to the Senate until November 9 due to the scheduling of estimates hearings.
Labor wants the government to provide better guarantees around Australian jobs and skills testing before it agrees to passing the legislation.
Mr Turnbull said on Wednesday he was open to talks, but had yet to receive "specific proposals" from Labor.
However he warned that Mr Shorten appeared to be "bobbing along like a cork in the slipstream of the (construction union) CFMEU", which has campaigned strongly against the FTA.
Opinion polls have shown a mixed response to the benefits of the trade agreement.
A Morgan poll taken last month showed 40 per cent of voters were positive about its benefits compared with 31 per cent negative and 29 per cent undecided.
Former prime minister Tony Abbott had refused to accept that any further protections were needed.
The government says any delay in passing the bill would cost Australian businesses $600 million in foregone tariff cuts over the year and a complete failure to pass it would be disastrous for the economy.
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