Some youth offenders will be sent to boot camp rather than jail under a LNP government but leader Campbell Newman says the details will not emerge until after the election.

Mr Newman today promised a trial of boot camps but could not nominate locations, detail the program's specifics or cite an example of a successful overseas program during a press conference in Cairns.

He announced $2 million would be spent over the next two years on a Youth Boot Camp Diversion Program trial, where 80 juvenile offenders aged 17 years old or younger would be sent instead of jail.

When pressed for examples of boot camps that had appealed to him and inspired the policy, Mr Newman directed the media to his adviser.

"Well what appeals to me is offering young people a pathway back to a real life and contribution to society rather than going into the clink with other young crooks who make bad friends and learn bad habits," he said.