Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is set to fire the starter’s gun on a federal election campaign.
Mr Albanese will visit Government House on Friday morning to inform Governor-General Sam Mostyn of his intention to call an election.
He will later announce the date Australians will head to the polls, which is expected to be May 3.
An election must be held by May 17 at the latest.
In Labor’s red corner, Mr Albanese will vie to be the first prime minister since John Howard to win back-to-back elections.
No party has been booted from government after one term for nearly a century, but Opposition Leader Peter Dutton is hoping for a shift.
Mr Dutton has led the coalition through three years of opposition to be within striking distance of the government.
While the election was expected to be held earlier in April, the arrival of Tropical Cyclone Alfred in Queensland and northern NSW meant the prime minister held off making an election call due to the natural disaster.
The delayed election call also led to the government handing down a budget, which unveiled tax cuts for all workers from July 2026.
Mr Dutton used his budget reply on Thursday to roll out a halving of the fuel excise for one year as a cost-of-living measure.
Announcing the election on Friday will allow the government to steal the spotlight from the opposition’s budget reply.
Polls have shown a tight contest is on the cards, with a hung parliament looming as a likely outcome.
The election is set to be dominated by cost-of-living issues, following a parliamentary term dealing with rising interest rates and high inflation.
Mr Albanese will be hoping its tax cuts, a cut in interest rates by the Reserve Bank and falling inflation will be a reminder to voters that better economic times lie ahead.
Labor will also use the election campaign to focus on health following its announcement of an $8.5 billion boost to Medicare that could result in almost all GP visits being bulk-billed.
But Mr Dutton believes cost-of-living concerns will drive voters back to the coalition, arguing living standards have not improved during the three years of the Albanese government.
The Liberal-Nationals team has flagged they would look to set up seven nuclear reactors across five states within the next decade should they win the election, with modelling showing the cost would be more than $300 billion.
To win majority government, the coalition must increase its number of seats in the lower house by 19.
At present, the House of Representatives comprises 78 Labor MPs, 57 coalition MPs, and the remainder comprising minor parties and independents.
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