JULIA Gillard is ending the year with Labor's vote again creeping up, in an Age-Nielsen poll showing Tony Abbott has suffered a backlash from the Coalition's intense pursuit of the AWU affair.

Mr Abbott's disapproval has risen three points to 63 per cent - the second highest for an opposition leader in the poll's 40-year history - while nearly two-thirds of those aware of the issue were critical of how he handled the slush fund affair.

Labor's two-party vote has increased a point to 48 per cent since mid-November but the Coalition, on 52 per cent (down a point), would still win an election held now.

The ALP primary vote is up one point to 35 per cent - the highest since November 2010. This comes after the vote had plateaued on 34 per cent for three months. The Coalition has fallen two points to 43 per cent and the Greens are down two points to 10 per cent.