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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has officially announced the date Australians will head to the polls as 3 May.
Earlier on Friday morning, Albanese emerged from the Lodge to inform Governor-General Sam Mostyn of his intention to call the much-anticipated poll.
“Over the last few years, the world has thrown a lot at Australia,” Albanese said in a press conference outside Parliament House.
“In uncertain times, we cannot decide the challenges that we face, but we can determine how we respond.
“Now on 3 May, you choose the way forward.”
Labor go into the election with 77 of the 151 seats in the House of Representatives. The Opposition has 53 and crossbench MPs 19.
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.
Peter 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.
Peter 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.
Polls have shown a tight contest is on the cards, with a hung parliament looming as a likely outcome.
