Dodson can win Senate seat: Shorten

Labor senate candidate Pat Dodson is still in a winnable position in a double dissolution election, despite the possibility he'll be bumped to third on the party's ticket, leader Bill Shorten suggests.

The indigenous leader was Mr Shorten's "captain's pick" after the resignation of Joe Bullock, but is expected to be placed third in Labor's West Australian Senate line-up behind union power brokers Sue Lines and Glenn Sterle.

Asked if he would intervene to give Mr Dodson has a higher spot, Mr Shorten indicated he believed all three could win a Senate seat.

"He will be in a winnable position. Pat Dodson will be an outstanding senator," Mr Shorten told reporters in Perth on Monday, adding he was a "circuit breaker" in attracting older people to parliament.

"I think he'll be excellent for politics generally."