Staffer Nathan Lambert has been hired to direct the national campaign in Victoria, where the ALP is hopeful of picking up the marginal seats of La Trobe and McEwen and perhaps others.

ALP sources said the party was looking at Victoria and South Australia as the key battlegrounds to provide gains for Labor. The party was expecting to make little headway in NSW because it was expected to wear some collateral damage over the failures of the state government.

Queensland, which swung heavily to Labor last time, is also expected to be a tough battleground for the ALP, although the redistribution of Peter Dutton’s seat of Dickson offers at least an opportunity for one gain.

The Labor Party has moved to an “acquisitional” rather than defensive footing in Victoria, and the engagement of Mr Lambert is another sign it believes several gains are possible on the current polling figures.

Mr Lambert’s appointment also allows state secretary Nick Reece to concentrate on restoring unity in the divided Victorian branch and on the state election in November next year.

Mr Lambert has previously worked at Victorian ALP headquarters, where he set up some of its database systems for campaigning before he was recruited to the federal office.

Mr Reece confirmed the importance of Victoria in the federal fight and said Mr Lambert, who had also been made an assistant secretary, would help ensure a professional and effective federal campaign.

“Nathan Lambert has a reputation inside the ALP as being one of the best data analysts in the country,” Mr Reece said.

The freezing of preselections in the Victorian Liberal-held seats of La Trobe and McEwen, revealed in The Australian in September, is another sign the party is confident of gains.