Shorten not assuming election victory

Bill Shorten says he doesn't assume Labor will win the next election because of the turmoil in the government, which rolled Malcolm Turnbull as prime minister in August.

"We need to demonstrate to Australian people that the system can work, at least one of the major parties is working on policies for the future," Mr Shorten told the Nine Network on Wednesday.

The next federal election is due by May, with the coalition government under Scott Morrison suffering in the opinion polls.