The Morrison government’s "PaTH" internship program has signed up just 20 per cent of the businesses needed to hit its target.

The new figures show the $840 million program is falling short of its aim of getting 120,000 vulnerable Australians into job placements over four years, with only 36,290 securing a placement over the first two years of the program,.

Responses to questions on notice at Senate estimates show that there have been no formal written reports of host organisations and the onus has been placed on providers, not the department, to contact participants to verify PaTH arrangements.

Cafes are the biggest employers under the PaTH program Credit:Tamara Voninski

The Coalition has lauded the program "as delivering successful outcomes for young people," but the headline figures are now so dire that Labor has left all options on the table, including ditching the billion-dollar platform if it wins the next election.