Bonuses for long-term unemployed who move for work similar to a Labor scheme that has had limited success

The Coalition is to reannounce a 2010 election promise to pay the relocation costs of long-term unemployed people who move for work, even though Labor has since implemented the plan with limited success.

The Coalition leader, Tony Abbott, will on Tuesday unveil an employment participation policy almost identical to the one he took to the last election, including tough new work-for-the-dole rules as well as bonuses of $2500 for long-term unemployed young people who get a job and keep it for a year, and an additional bonus of $4000 if they remain employed for a second year.

The policy also includes assistance of $6000 for any long-term unemployed person who moves to a regional area to take a job, $3000 if they move to a city and an additional $3000 if they have dependent children.

Since the last election Labor has implemented a similar scheme – at a cost of around $30m – offering similar amounts to long-term jobseekers who move, but it has suffered from limited take-up. Under Labor's scheme the number of available places is capped, but demand has never reached that limit.

In its 2010 policy the Coalition also promised a $3250 incentive for employers offering jobs to long-term unemployed people who are over 50.

And in 2010 it insisted its policy would come at a net saving to the budget, with all the implementation costs being offset by the benefit of more people moving off the dole.

The Coalition has also repeatedly promised to reintroduce work for the dole – a signature policy of John Howard's government.

When he last reannounced the policy earlier this year Abbott said work for the dole should be the mandatory "default option" for everyone under 50 who had been on unemployment benefits for more than six months, and pledged to suspend all income support payments for people under 30 in areas where work was available.

He said his policy would contain "sensible, targeted measures to help get people off welfare and into work. More the than 140,000 Australians have been unemployed for more than 12 months. If elected, we will take real action to get them into work."

Under Labor's Move2Work scheme long-term unemployed are offered $4500 in relocation assistance, $6500 if they have a family.