The Federal Government has launched an unpaid internship program with the backing of any legislation.

Treasurer Scott Morrison says the Youth Jobs PaTH scheme will allow an unemployed person do voluntary work for up to 12 weeks with no guarantee of actual wages to follow.

If the employer does decide to hire the intern, the plan will provide them with a $10,000 wage subsidy.

The legislation for the PaTH scheme has not gained the support of Labor, the Greens and some crossbenchers, who have raised a number of concerns about thousands of young subsidised job seekers being sent into a labour market already suffering from chronic underemployment and low wage growth.

The opponents also criticise the design of the scheme because it does not guarantee unpaid interns will get a job afterwards, and does not include details on how interns would be covered for workers’ compensation.

The scheme can technically operate without legislation backing it, but interns will be financially disadvantaged.

The interns receive $200 a fortnight from the Government on top of their welfare payments to cover costs like transport, but without legislation that money is counted as actual income.

This means an intern’s welfare payment will be reduced by up to $42.00 a fortnight.

Employment Minister Michaelia Cash says she will keep pushing to gain support for the bill that will stop the extra $200 from being considered income.