But 150 of about 400 delegates at the party's next national conference will be directly elected, in a concession to party reform advocates that was backed by most of the Left and Right factions.

The result is a defeat for party reform advocates - including new party president and shadow frontbencher Mark Butler - who has argued for party members to have a direct say over the selection of Senate candidates, rather than factional power brokers.

The Left wanted ALP members to have a direct say in how senators are pre-selected. The rank and file would have 50 per cent of the vote, matched by 50 per cent for trade unions.

The bid was lost following a feisty debate on Sunday afternoon.

Both the Left and Right factions proposed changes to bolster the number of directly elected delegates to the national conference.

Shadow minister Anthony Albanese spoke passionately for "extending democracy in the Labor Party", warning that "we as a movement have to modernise if we are to remain relevant".

Mr Albanese said his leadership contest with Mr Shorten in 2013 wasn't just about who the leader of the ALP should be, it was about how mature the party was and it had meant Labor was "immediately on the front foot" after its 2013 defeat.

Australian Manufacturing Workers Union secretary Tim Ayres warned that faction leaders exercised too much influence in our party and that this was "untenable" and "unsustainable".

Labor reform campaigner Darcy Byrne said the ALP had thrown away an historic opportunity to give rank and file members a vote in Senate preselections.

"Despite the desperate and obvious need to end the backroom deals through which senators are selected the Right faction and some Left faction representatives have combined to kill of this overdue reform," he said.

"It seems that no matter how badly Labor needs to be modernised, there are many powerful people in the party who are simply incapable of putting the Labor interest above their personal interests."

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