Up to 4000 more refugees will enter Australia annually under an elected Labor government after the party reached a compromise, evading a potentially divisive asylum seeker debate.
A Shorten Labor government will also give $500 million to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees over five years.
But the opposition's commitment to hardline measures including boat turn-backs and offshore processing remains, under the consensus reached at the ALP's national conference.
"You can have secure borders and you can live up to our humanitarian obligations. You just require leadership," Mr Shorten told delegates in Adelaide on Monday.
The Community Sponsored Refugee Program will over time be expanded from 1000 to 5000 places annually.
The program allows state and local governments, community organisations, businesses, unions and faith-based institutions to sponsor humanitarian entrants to Australia.
"I believe that Australia can meet our international humanitarian and legal responsibilities without compromising our national security or a commitment to strong border protection," Mr Shorten said.
Mr Shorten said he would look to take up New Zealand's offer to resettle refugees from Nauru and Manus Island immediately on similar terms with the United States agreement.
The Labor leader launched an attack on the coalition government for telling lies about the opposition's border protection policies, saying they were doing the dirty work of the people smugglers.
"The Liberals are acting as spruikers for the criminal syndicates," the Labor leader said.
"Every time they get up and say that there will be a change in terms of border security, they are signalling criminal syndicates to try their hand again."
But Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton again accused Labor of wanting to dismantle Operation Sovereign Borders.
"Who would believe Bill Shorten's assertion that Labor will continue to turn-back boats. That was Kevin Rudd's lie in 2007 - just as it is Bill Shorten's lie in 2018," Mr Dutton said in a statement.
The ALP also committed to appointing a special envoy for refugee and asylum seeker issues to help with resettlement, develop an Australian Refugee Commission and provide advice for the humanitarian program.
Left faction MP Andrew Giles attempted to get the party to commit to reviewing the case of 6000 people who were denied protection visas under the "fast-track" system.
But Labor's immigration spokesman Shayne Neumann urged delegates to oppose the amendment to the platform because it would overwhelm the clogged review system, it was defeated.
Labor MP Ged Kearney successfully changed the platform to include a condemnation of the coalition allowing people to "languish" in offshore processing centres on Manus Island and Nauru.
