Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese says he has "real concerns" about Bill Shorten's announcement that he supports the Coalition's policy of turning back asylum seeker boats.

Mr Albanese, who lost the Labor leadership ballot to Mr Shorten after the 2013 election, made the remarks in an address to Labor supporters at his pre-ALP national conference drinks in Melbourne.

"I have real concerns about the way that yesterday was conducted in terms of the announcement on asylum seekers," he said.

"I think that it is absolutely critical, critical that we always remember our need for compassion and to not appeal to our darker sides.

"Labor is at our best when we appeal to the best in society, when we represent a vision for the future - a vision of hope, for aspiration.... something that will mobilise people to go and work out there for the Labor cause.

"That is how we have been successful in the past. I firmly believe that is how we will be successful in the future."

On Wednesday Mr Shorten revealed he wanted Labor to have turn-backs in its arsenal if it won government, conceding the Coalition's policy had worked.

The policy shift is set to be one of the flashpoints at the party's national conference which starts on Friday.

Mr Shorten is not expected to put forward a new platform to explicitly endorse turn-backs at the conference, but rather to argue the current policies do not rule the practice out.

The matter is only likely to go to a vote if those opposed to the policy put forward a specific ban on turn-backs, which the group Labor For Refugees has flagged doing.

Mr Albanese is a member of Labor's left faction which reaffirmed its opposition to turn-backs after a lengthy meeting on Thursday afternoon.

In their leadership contest, Mr Albanese won a ballot of Labor's rank-and-file members but Mr Shorten had the numbers in Caucus and was elected leader when the two votes were combined.

Another Labor MP, Andrew Leigh, said that as a frontbencher he supports his leader, but believes more needed to be known about the practice of boat turn-backs.

"They've been shrouded in too much secrecy. We don't know what's happening on an operational level despite the fact these are Australian tax dollars at work," he said.

'I wish he'd done it two years ago'

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 14 minutes 46 seconds 14 m Prime Minister Tony Abbott speaks with Leigh Sales

On 7.30, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said he was prepared to congratulate Mr Shorten for changing his view on turn-backs.

"I'm prepared to say good on Bill. I just wish he'd done it two years ago," Mr Abbott said.

"I just wish he'd done it when he was in government, because if he was in government, up to 1,000 people might not be dead.

"My problem is not this 11th-hour change of position, my problem is do they really believe it?

"Because as we know to make these policies work, you can't just say you support them, you've got to actually believe it in your heart and soul and I'm not sure that too many people in Labor do."