Greens candidate rethink after Vic poll

A controversial Victorian election campaign has federal Greens MPs wondering how to vet candidates to ensure they aren't subjected to political attacks.

The Greens stood by a candidate who had rapped about date rape and drugging women, which Labor used in micro-targeted online ads aimed at progressive female voters.

But a candidate who posted on Facebook in 2015 about shoplifting quit the campaign, while a staffer also stood down when jokes he made on Twitter in 2012 were painted as "vile" in front page story.

Federal Greens MPs met in Canberra on Tuesday morning and discussed how to balance the vetting of candidates with the fact many young people have grown up online.

They want to make sure candidates are strongly vetted to ensure they can survive political attacks, particularly after Labor went harder on the Greens than in previous campaigns.

But they're also determined not to rule out an entire generation of young people from being politicians just because of things they posted online in their youth.

The Greens also believe they are making gains in inner city Melbourne, despite Labor winning back the seat of Northcote.