As Labor strategists discussed replacing MP David Feeney with a new candidate if the High Court orders a byelection in Batman, the Greens were circling the seat, saying it is now within their grasp.

Fairfax Media has been told that Opposition Leader Bill Shorten is "absolutely furious" with Mr Feeney and that Clare Burns, the defeated Labor candidate in the recent state byelection for the seat of Northcote, which is within the seat of Batman, has been discussed as an alternative to Mr Feeney.

Neither Ms Burns nor Mr Feeney responded before deadline on Wednesday to attempts to contact them for comment.

Batman was one of the safest Labor seats in the country 10 years ago, but Mr Feeney barely scraped home in the 2016 election against Greens candidate Alex Bhathal.

Victorian Labor was fuming on Wednesday after news broke that Mr Feeney was likely to face the High Court over his eligibility to stand, after the right faction power broker filled in nomination forms in 2007, 2013 and 2016 stating that he had renounced his entitlement to British citizenship.

A Victorian Labor MP told Fairfax Media there was widespread anger in party ranks at Mr Feeney's predicament.

"When this started to blow up months ago he should have been looking for his documents," the MP said.

"We will have to spend close to a million in the seat.

"It's up in the air at the moment, I'm not sure if he will be the candidate."

To add to the embattled MP's troubles, the Victorian Liberals are poised to vacate the field and leave Labor and the Greens to slug it out if a byelection is called.

The absence of a Liberal candidate, denying Mr Feeney the preferences that saved his seat in the last election, would seal his fate.

Labor operatives think Mr Feeney will be ruled ineligible by the High Court and have no confidence he could win a byelection against the Greens, who were given a massive confidence boost by the win in Northcote.

Ms Bhathal said on Wednesday that her party was preparing to use the Northcote campaign as a template for their effort to capture Batman, should a byelection be called.

"Northcote showed there is strong support for the Greens in our community," she said.

"If we run another strong, community campaign, we can win."

Mr Feeney is a sometime factional ally and good mate of Mr Shorten, the MP was best man at Mr Shorten's wedding, but the Opposition Leader stopped short on Wednesday of endorsing the former state Labor Party Secretary.

Mr Shorten was asked three times if he would endorse Mr Feeney to stand again as the Labor candidate for Batman.

The Opposition Leader stopped short of offering that endorsement, stating he "won't start predicting what the High Court will do" and that at this point, a byelection had not been ordered.

"I will remind you of what I just said," Mr Shorten said.

"There is no vacancy there.

"Let's be clear, I think that David Feeney is working very hard to find the documents which support his propositions [that he had given up his British citizenship and is eligible for Parliament]."

Fairfax Media has learned that Victorian Liberal Party director Nick Demiris has told colleagues he will recommend the Coalition do not stand a candidate in the seat if a byelection is ordered.