Shorten campaign hits Western Sydney

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten will take his election campaign to the key battleground of western Sydney ahead of his first debate against Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

Mr Shorten will continue with his education focus as he makes his first foray into the NSW hustings on Friday.

He'll then face off against Mr Turnbull in a televised debate at a western Sydney RSL Club on Friday night.

His wife Chloe, who joined the trail in Rockhampton on Thursday for the opposition leader's birthday, is expected to continue on for another couple of days.

Mr Shorten will return to Brisbane when the debate is done and dusted as he continues his education-focused two-and-a-half week east coast tour from Cairns to Canberra.