Labor splurged $60,000 on a stylist and new wardrobe for Chloe and Bill Shorten during last year's marathon federal election campaign.
But the party has defended the spend, saying their glossy advertisements turned out "a hundred times" better than the Coalition's and reflected Labor's "high-quality campaign".
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A highly placed Labor Party source confirmed the figure, which is the equivalent of a year's salary for many grassroots party members.
Former national secretary George Wright approved the expenditure which was in addition to childcare costs Labor also picked up on behalf of the Shortens. Party officials have refused to confirm the value of the childcare.
But current national secretary Noah Carroll defended the $60,000 spent on styling the Labor leader and his wife, saying the bill included a variety of services which made a difference to the campaign.
These services included new clothes and hairdressing for Mrs Shorten and on-set advice and styling for promotional ads featuring the couple. The stylist was also used for videos featuring Mr Shorten, as well as for volunteers and other frontbenchers, according to a Labor source.
"All political parties use on-set professionals for advertising production and big events like launches – and that's what this was," Mr Carroll said.
"The proof was in the pudding – our launches, events and ads were a hundred times better than the Libs.
"Labor's high-quality campaign demanded a solid investment and the results were there for all to see.
"A lot of the people who appeared in our ads were volunteers so we wanted to ensure they were comfortable and had professional support."
It's understood there is some level of unease within the party about the $60,000 bill, with fears it could be viewed as being out of touch with Labor's claim to represent the working class.
A spokesman for Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said neither he or wife Lucy used stylists during the campaign.
A senior Labor source also stressed that Mrs Shorten had given up her time to contribute to the party's campaign and had appeared at scores of events over the two-month campaign.
"Chloe was a massive asset to Bill, we put her up front and centre," the source said. The same source also noted internal party research showed Mrs Shorten was a hit with voters.
While the Labor Party has led the government in the polls since the July 2 double dissolution election, Mr Shorten's personal approval ratings as Opposition Leader are still below those of Mr Turnbull.