2025 Australian federal election

The 2025 Australian federal election was held on Saturday, 3 May 2025 to elect members of the 48th parliament of Australia. The incumbent Labor government, led by Anthony Albanese, won re-election to a second consecutive term in office in a landslide. Up for election were all 150 seats in the House of Representatives and 40 of the 76 seats in the Senate.

Less than three hours after polls closed, all news organisations projected that Albanese's Labor Party would win the election with an increased majority. All media organisations have also projected that the Liberal–National Coalition leader and Opposition leader Peter Dutton would lose his seat of Dickson to Labor challenger Ali France. Albanese became the first prime minister to be elected to a second full term since John Howard in 2004.

Background

Previous election

At the previous election in May 2022, the Labor Party, led by Anthony Albanese, formed government after nine years in opposition, winning 77 seats in the House of Representatives, enough for a two-seat majority. The Liberal–National Coalition that had previously governed won only 58 seats and went into opposition. The crossbench, made up of other parties and independents, expanded to 16 seats; ten held by independents (including seven held by a loose grouping of teal independents), four by the Greens, and one each by Centre Alliance and Katter's Australian Party.

In the Senate, Labor made no gains and remained steady at 26 seats overall thus requiring 13 additional votes in the Senate to pass legislation. The Coalition lost four seats and retained only 32 seats. The Greens gained three seats to 12. One Nation also remained steady with two seats, Centre Alliance and Rex Patrick Team each lost their Senate seats, while the Jacqui Lambie Network gained a second seat. David Pocock was elected as an independent senator on his own ticket, and the United Australia Party also gained one seat.

Composition of Parliament

The 47th Parliament opened on 26 July 2022. The Liberal Party entered the parliament with a new leader, with former defence and home affairs minister Peter Dutton replacing the outgoing prime minister Scott Morrison. On 23 December 2022, Nationals MP for Calare Andrew Gee left the party and became an independent, following the party's decision to publicly oppose an Indigenous Voice to Parliament. This meant that the Crossbench increased to 17 seats with the Coalition decreasing to 57 seats.

On 16 January 2023, Liberal senator Jim Molan died; he was replaced by Maria Kovacic in May that year. On 6 February 2023, Greens senator Lidia Thorpe resigned from the party to sit as an independent. On 1 April 2023, Labor's Mary Doyle won the 2023 Aston by-election following the resignation of sitting Liberal MP Alan Tudge. The result was considered a major upset and marked the first time that an incumbent government had won a seat from the Opposition since the 1920 Kalgoorlie by-election. As a result, Labor increased their number of seats in the House of Representatives to 78, while the Coalition decreased to 56. In May 2023, incumbent Liberal National MP Stuart Robert resigned, triggering another by-election, this time in the seat of Fadden on the Gold Coast. The seat was won by Liberal National candidate Cameron Caldwell, keeping the composition of the parliament unchanged. Also in May 2023, Dai Le, the independent member for the seat of Fowler in Western Sydney, formed her own political party, the Dai Le and Frank Carbone Network, alongside Frank Carbone, the Mayor of Fairfield. The party would be primarily based in Western Sydney.

On 15 June 2023, Liberal senator David Van was expelled from the party following sexual misconduct allegations by former LNP senator Amanda Stoker and independent senator Lidia Thorpe, continuing his term as an independent. On 14 November 2023, following a party preselection defeat, Liberal MP Russell Broadbent left the party to sit on the crossbench. November also saw Dave Sharma return to parliament, this time as a Liberal Senator, after the resignation of party veteran Marise Payne. On 4 December 2023, Labor MP Peta Murphy died of cancer, reducing Labor to 77 seats, though the party's share was restored to 78 seats on 2 March 2024, when candidate Jodie Belyea retained the seat of Dunkley at the by-election. Similarly the Liberal Party fell by one seat on 28 February 2024, when former prime minister and MP Scott Morrison resigned from the seat of Cook, though Liberal candidate Simon Kennedy retained the seat for the party at the 2024 Cook by-election.

Labor senator Pat Dodson resigned from the Senate in January 2024 while undergoing cancer treatment; his vacancy was filled by Varun Ghosh. Labor senator Linda White died in March 2024 and was replaced by Lisa Darmanin, while Greens senator Janet Rice resigned the following month and was replaced by Steph Hodgins-May. Party-compositional changes occurred when Tasmanian senator Tammy Tyrrell quit the Jacqui Lambie Network to sit as an independent on 28 March 2024, and Labor senator Fatima Payman left the party and joined the crossbench as an independent in July 2024, citing disagreement with the party's position concerning the Israel–Gaza conflict. Three months later Payman established Australia's Voice party, stating she intended the party to field candidates in both houses of parliament at this election. The Senate composition changed once again on 25 August 2024 when LNP senator Gerard Rennick resigned from the party and moved to the crossbench to sit as an independent following a preselection defeat. Like Payman, he too announced his intention to establish a political party, named the People First Party, in order to have his name featured above the line on the election ballot paper.

On 28 January 2025, Liberal senator Simon Birmingham resigned from parliament. The following week, on 6 February 2025, Leah Blyth was appointed to the Senate as his replacement. Two lower house seats were left vacant prior to the election. Liberal National MP Keith Pitt, who sat in the Nationals party room, resigned from the seat of Hinkler on 19 January 2025, and the following day Labor MP Bill Shorten departed from the seat of Maribyrnong. With their resignations occurring sufficiently close to the federal election, by-elections were not held.

Events of the 47th Parliament

Both major parties retained their leaders throughout the duration of the 47th Parliament, with Anthony Albanese having served one full term as Prime Minister and a second consecutive term as leader of the Labor Party, while Peter Dutton completed his first full term as Opposition Leader and leader of the Liberal Party. The Albanese ministry was reshuffled in July 2024, followed by a minor reshuffle in January 2025, while the shadow ministry of Peter Dutton was reshuffled in April 2023, March 2024, and January 2025.

The 2023 Australian Indigenous Voice referendum featured prominently in political discourse during the first half of the parliamentary term. First proposed in the 2017 Uluru Statement from the Heart, an Indigenous Voice to Parliament was supported by the Labor Party as part of its 2022 election platform. The 'Yes' campaign in support of the Voice initially attracted some bipartisan support, including Coalition figures such as Gee, former Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt, and then-Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians Julian Leeser. However, the National Party came out against the Voice in November 2022, as did the Liberal Party in April 2023. First-term Country Liberal Party Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, who succeeded Leeser as Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians, took on a prominent role in the No campaign. In August 2023, Albanese announced the referendum would be held on 14 October 2023. 60% of voters, including a majority in all six states, voted against the proposed constitutional changes.

The death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, the long-serving head of state of Australia and other Commonwealth realms, took place in September 2022, followed by the coronation of Charles III and Camilla in May 2023; as a result, 2025 was the first federal election under the reign of Charles III. King Charles visited Australia in October 2024, the first visit by a ruling monarch since 2011. Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe, who had resigned from the Greens in February 2023 over disagreements regarding the proposed Voice to Parliament, attracted significant media attention for shouting at Charles during an event at Parliament House in Canberra. Israel–Hamas war protests in Australia began in October 2023; responses to the war, particularly among local Jewish and Muslim communities, were perceived as a significant threat to peaceful discourse in Australia. Incidents of antisemitism and Islamophobia also increased, prompting the government to appoint three "special envoys": in July 2024, Jillian Segal as Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism, and Labor MP Peter Khalil as Special Envoy for Social Cohesion; and in September 2024, Aftab Malik as Special Envoy to Combat Islamophobia.

Climate change remained a prominent issue, partly due to the impact of natural disasters, including the 2022 south eastern Australia floods and the 2023–24 Australian bushfire season, which led to seven deaths and ten deaths respectively, as well as Cyclone Jasper and Cyclone Alfred, which caused significant property damage on the eastern coast in December 2023 and March 2025, respectively. Changes to government infrastructure included: the establishment of the National Anti-Corruption Commission in July 2023; the launch of the Housing Australia Future Fund in November 2023; the replacement of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal with the Administrative Review Tribunal in October 2024; and the passage of the Online Safety Amendment Bill in November 2024.

Current standings and pendulum

Parties are listed according to their vote share at the last federal election

Electoral system

Members of the House of Representatives are elected by full preferential voting. Each electorate elects one member. Senators are elected by proportional representation using single transferable vote. In states, senators are elected from state-wide twelve-member districts (although in most cases only six seats are contested at a single election), and in territories from territory-wide two-member districts. Ballots are counted at least twice, at the polling place and, starting Monday night after election day, at counting centres.

Redistribution

The Australian Electoral Commission is required, one year after the first sitting day for a new House of Representatives, to determine the number of members to which each State and Territory is entitled. If the number in any state changes, a redistribution would be required in those states. A redistribution would be postponed if it would begin within one year of the expiration of the House of Representatives. The apportionment determination was made in July 2023 based on the population figures for December 2022. The determination resulted in a reduction of one seat in New South Wales to 46, a reduction of one seat in Victoria to 38 and an increase of one seat in Western Australia to 16. The total number of seats in the House of Representatives would decrease from 151 to 150 at the 2025 federal election.

In May and June 2024, the Australian Electoral Commission released its draft proposals for electorate changes, recommending the creation of the Division of Bullwinkel (Western Australia) in the outer eastern suburbs of Perth, and the abolition of the Division of Higgins (Victoria) in Melbourne's inner south-east (held by Labor's Michelle Ananda-Rajah) and the Division of North Sydney (New South Wales) in Sydney's inner north-east (held by Kylea Tink, a teal independent). In addition, the commission proposed altering the boundaries of several seats in all three states.

The Western Australia and Victoria-based changes were confirmed by the commission on 5 September 2024, with the new boundaries gazetted respectively on 24 September and 17 October. The New South Wales changes were confirmed on 12 September, and were gazetted on 10 October 2024. According to Antony Green, some of the more significant changes to existing electorates included: the Division of Hasluck, losing much of its area to the new seat of Bullwinkel and shifting westwards into Perth's northeastern suburbs; in Melbourne, the Divisions of Melbourne and Wills moving to the south, and the Divisions of Chisholm and Menzies moving westwards; the Division of Riverina shifting south-east and losing the towns of West Wyalong, Parkes and Forbes; and the Division of Hume losing the majority of its area in the south, including the city of Goulburn. There was also a small adjustment to the Northern Territory's two federal electorates, with the Division of Solomon gaining some of the eastern suburbs of Palmerston from the Division of Lingiari.

A redistribution was due to take place for Tasmania's electoral boundaries in November 2024, due to it being seven years since the day of the last determination in the state; however, this was deferred as it would occur within one year of the expiration of the House of Representatives. The redistribution would instead commence within 30 days after the first sitting day of the new House of Representatives in the 48th Parliament.

Voter registration

Enrolment of eligible voters is compulsory. Voters must notify the AEC within 8 weeks of a change of address or after turning 18. The electoral rolls are closed for new enrolments or update of details about a week after the issue of writs for election. Enrolment is optional for 16 or 17-year-olds, but they cannot vote until they turn 18, and persons who have applied for Australian citizenship may also apply for provisional enrolment which takes effect on the granting of citizenship.

Election date

Constitutional and legal provisions

The constitutional and legal provisions which impact on the choice of election dates include:

Section 12 of the Constitution says: "The Governor of any State may cause writs to be issued for the election of Senators for that State."
Section 13 of the Constitution provides that the election of senators shall be held in the period of twelve months before the places become vacant.
Section 28 of the Constitution says: "Every House of Representatives shall continue for three years from the first sitting of the House, and no longer, but may be sooner dissolved by the Governor-General." Since the 47th Parliament of Australia opened on 26 July 2022, it would expire on 25 July 2025.
Section 32 of the Constitution says: "The writs shall be issued within ten days from the expiry of a House of Representatives or from the proclamation of a dissolution thereof." Ten days after 25 July 2025 is 4 August 2025.
Section 156(1) of the CEA says: "The date fixed for the nomination of the candidates shall not be less than 10 days nor more than 27 days after the date of the writ." Twenty-seven days after 4 August 2025 is 31 August 2025.
Section 157 of the CEA says: "The date fixed for the polling shall not be less than 23 days nor more than 31 days after the date of nomination." Thirty-one days after 31 August 2025 is 1 October 2025, a Wednesday.
Section 158 of the CEA says: "The day fixed for the polling shall be a Saturday." The Saturday before 1 October 2025 is 27 September 2025, which was the latest possible date for the lower house election.

The election of senators must take place within one year before the terms expire for half-Senate elections, so that the writs for a half-Senate election could not be issued earlier than 1 July 2024. Since campaigns are for a minimum of 33 days, the earliest possible date for a simultaneous House/half-Senate election was Saturday, 3 August 2024. The latest that a half-Senate election could be held must allow time for the votes to be counted and the writs to be returned before the newly elected senators take office on 1 July 2025. The previous election's writs were returned on 24 June 2022, 34 days after the 2022 federal election. Using this time frame, the last possible date for a half-Senate election to take place was Saturday 17 May 2025.

A double dissolution (a deadlock-breaking provision to dissolve both houses of parliament) cannot be called within six months before the date of the expiry of the House of Representatives. That means that any double dissolution of the 47th Parliament would have had to be granted by 24 January 2025. Allowing for the same stages indicated above, the last possible date for a double dissolution election would have been 29 March 2025. This can only occur if a bill that passes the House of Representatives is rejected by the Senate twice, at least three months apart.

Choice of election date

On 5 September 2024, during the announcement by NDIS and government services minister Bill Shorten of his impending retirement from politics, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese suggested that he may schedule the election to be held at a date later than Shorten's departure from Parliament in February 2025, while noting that the election was due by May 2025. Consideration had to be given to the Western Australian state election scheduled on 8 March 2025. Holding the federal election on that day would require the state election to be rescheduled to the following Saturday. Having the state and federal elections too close to each other was also not desirable. To prevent the campaigns for the state and federal elections from clashing, the federal election would ideally have to be called after the state election. Accounting for the minimum 33 day campaign period, the earliest possible date for the election would then have been 12 April 2025. Calling the election in early March for that date would have required the 2025 Australian federal budget scheduled for 25 March to be postponed to after the election.

Concurrent with increasing media speculation in the first week of March 2025 that Albanese might call the federal election for 12 April, it was forecast that Cyclone Alfred would make landfall in and impact south-east Queensland and northern New South Wales on or about 8 March (same date as the Western Australian state election). On 7 March, Albanese announced he had ruled out a 12 April election, and his government would deliver the budget on 25 March as scheduled. This was to prevent the need for Albanese to leave the recovery zone for Canberra to call the election, and to also prevent the announcement and start of an election campaign from clashing with dealing with the cyclone and recovery efforts. With the following April Saturdays of 19 April and 26 April coinciding with significant nationwide long weekends, i.e. the Easter and Anzac Day public holidays, holding an election on those days would likely be problematic and unpopular. This left the Saturdays of 3 May, 10 May or 17 May as the only plausible dates — of these, 3 May coincides with a long weekend in Queensland and the Northern Territory for Labour Day and May Day, respectively.

Ahead of the 2025 federal budget, there was speculation that Albanese would call the election either on the Friday or Sunday following the budget, with potential dates being 3 May or 10 May. This speculation intensified when rumours circulated that Albanese might announce the election as early as Friday 28 March, for one of these dates. On Thursday 27 March, the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet accidentally posted, then deleted, a message to social media platform X, referring to the government being in "caretaker mode". This immediately fuelled speculation that the election would be called the very next morning. Several media outlets reported that they expected the election to be called for 3 May. As forecast, an election to be held on 3 May was called on 28 March, when Albanese visited Governor-General Sam Mostyn and advised her to prorogue Parliament and dissolve the House of Representatives, which she did.

Election timeline

The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) has stated that in accordance with the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918, the key dates for this election are as follows:

Issue of writs – Monday 31 March
Close of rolls – 8pm, Monday 7 April
Close of nominations – 12pm, Thursday 10 April
Declaration of nominations – 12pm, Friday 11 April
Early voting opens – Tuesday 22 April
Mobile voting opens – Tuesday 22 April
Close of postal voting applications – 6pm, Wednesday 30 April
Polling day (8am until 6pm) – Saturday, 3 May
Final day for receipt of postal votes – Friday, 16 May
Latest date for return of writs – Wednesday, 9 July

Schedule two of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 requires that from 12am on 1 May until 3 May when polls close at 6pm, the broadcasting of political statements on television is prohibited. This "blackout" period does not include advertising on social media, newspapers, text message or email communications, or streaming services.

Campaign

In early January 2025, both Albanese and Dutton made public appearances which were interpreted by the media as "unofficial" campaign launches. Albanese visited electorates in Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia. Dutton gave a speech in Melbourne where he launched the Liberal party slogan for the campaign, "Let's get Australia back on track", and focused on the topics of nuclear power, housing, and immigration.

On 23 February, Albanese announced that, if re-elected, Labor would invest an additional $8.5 billion into Medicare to improve bulk-billing rates, and reduce the maximum price that consumers pay for many PBS (Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme) medications. The Coalition immediately responded that it would match Labor's commitments. On 25 March, treasurer Jim Chalmers delivered the budget speech. A range of measures were announced, including a modest income tax cut to apply to all Australian taxpayers. The Coalition opposed the tax cuts, instead offering a policy to cut the fuel excise by 25 cents per litre. Following the budget speech, the Greens announced a policy that aims to include environmental measures in the budget using 1% of total funds.

Official campaign

28 March: An election to be held on 3 May is announced, following Albanese's visit to Mostyn to advise her to prorogue Parliament and dissolve the House of Representatives. The Parliament was then prorogued and the House of Representatives was dissolved.
29 March: Albanese and Dutton both campaign in Brisbane. Albanese begins his campaign in Dutton's electorate of Dickson, and Dutton begins in the Division of Brisbane. Two of Dutton's events are disrupted by climate protesters, and a protester heckles Albanese at one of his events. Labor pledged to outlaw forms of price gouging by supermarkets, while announcing that it would also adopt all of the recommendations of the ACCC's supermarkets inquiry.
30 March: Along with Western Australian premier Roger Cook, Albanese announced that a re-elected Labor government would seek to upgrade the St John of God Midland hospital in Perth via an investment of $200 million.
1 April: The Reserve Bank of Australia announced it is keeping interest rates at 4.1%. Teal independent candidate for the seat of Bradfield Nicolette Boele was reportedly banned from a hairdressing salon for making a sexualised joke to a 19-year-old hair washer.
3 April: Albanese responds to Donald Trump's "Liberation Day" tariff on Australia's exported goods by unveiling a five-point plan to boost the local economy to counteract the United States' policy.
4 April: Both major parties pledged to return the Port of Darwin to Australian ownership if elected.
6 April: The Liberal Party disendorses its candidate for the Division of Whitlam, Benjamin Britton, due to previous disparaging comments he made towards service by women in the military. Dutton also announced a Coalition policy to cap international university student numbers to 240,000 and raise visa prices for students. The Greens called this policy proposal a "cynical attempt to scapegoat migrants and international students". Dutton previously said that this policy proposal aims to get the "woke" out of the university and schooling system.
7 April: The Coalition backflipped on a proposed policy to end work from home arrangements for the public sector workforce and dropped their demands for mass job cuts in the public sector. Also on this day, the stock market fell sharply due to the risk of the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, with Chalmers stating that Australia is "uniquely placed" to deal with the impacts of these tariffs.
8 April: Albanese was heckled by a climate protester when he was announcing a $1 billion investment for Medicare. Also on this day, Sky News and The Daily Telegraph held the first leaders election debate between Albanese and Dutton in a People's Forum. Albanese was declared the winner of the Forum with 44 votes compared to 35 for Dutton, and 21 undecided votes out of a possible 100. Liberal and National party social media however incorrectly congratulated Dutton for winning the debate.
9 April: On a visit to Leichhardt in Far North Queensland, Albanese announces that Labor would commit $490 million worth of funds to upgrade the Barron River Bridge. Sky News and The Daily Telegraph co-hosted the first treasurers election debate between Chalmers and shadow treasurer Angus Taylor in their second people's forum of the campaign. Chalmers opened the debate by highlighting the challenging economic circumstances faced by Labor upon taking office, and the steps they had taken to improve the situation since. Taylor opened with the Coalition's established line of attack, claiming that Australians were worse off than three years prior. Chalmers defended the government's fiscal record, pointing to a $207 billion improvement in the budget bottom line. Energy policy, particularly gas, emerged as a major point of contention during the debate. The Coalition claimed its plan would reduce household gas bills by 7%, based on modelling conducted by Frontier Economics; however, the analysis was brief — comprising just 135 words on power prices — and was dismissed by climate change and energy minister Chris Bowen as a "scamphlet". Coalition energy spokesperson Ted O'Brien later acknowledged that any savings were “likely to be a lagging indicator,” suggesting consumers might not experience immediate benefits.
10 April: The Coalition announced a policy to establish a regional Australia future fund to invest $20 billion in regional infrastructure and services, the fund would be topped-up using commodity royalties, and another fund to pay down debt and finance infrastructure projects. They have proposed abolishing a scheme that Labor set up in government to build renewable energy infrastructure. They have also proposed ending the housing Australia future fund and the national reconstruction fund. Also on this day, a debate between the minister for climate change and energy Chris Bowen and his shadow counterpart Ted O'Brien took place at the National Press Club. The event was hosted by Tom Connell of Sky News. During O'Brien's opening remarks, he was interrupted by a climate change activist. The Coalition also announced a policy to repeal penalties for the sale of fuel-inefficient vehicles, instead proposing to re-work the law.
12 April: Price accused the media of being "obsessed with Donald Trump" and vowed to "make Australia great again" in a speech to Liberal party supporters.
13 April: Labor and the Coalition held their official campaign launches. Labor's was in Perth, and the Coalition's was in Liverpool in western Sydney. The Labor party announced several new policies such as a $1,000 tax deduction for work-related expenses and that the government would fund 100,000 new homes exclusively for first-home buyers with a $10 billion investment, and an expansion of the help to buy scheme. The Coalition announced that they would allow first-homer buyers who purchase new builds to deduct interest from their mortgage payments on the first $650,000 for five years, with the proposed scheme being means-tested. Dutton recommitted the party to a previously announced policy to access up to $50,000 of their superannuation to purchase a first-home. Dutton announced a tax break to counter cost-of-living pressures which would apply to those earning up to $144,000, with Dutton claiming that the policy would mean these earners are $1,200 at the end of the year.
14 April: Labor announced a $10 million investment to improve medical services for LGBTQIA+ people. A Family First candidate contesting the election for Longman in Queensland, Malachi Brogden Hearne, was disendorsed by the party's leadership due to his derogatory posts on social media.
15 April: Labor announced a $3.8 million package to keep a Canberra health centre from falling into administration. The military information website Janes claimed that Russia was interested in setting up an aircraft base in Indonesia. However, the Indonesian foreign minister stridently denied this claim. Dutton said it would be a "catastrophic failure" of diplomacy if Albanese and foreign minister Penny Wong did not combat this issue. Also on this day, Greens leader Adam Bandt announced policies that would be a priority for the party if the election results in a hung parliament. These policies would include aiming to get dental into Medicare, lowering the price of child care, ending native forest logging, and Bandt reiterated a policy to wind back some tax concessions.
16 April: A Greens candidate for the division of Franklin in Tasmania ceases campaigning due to revelations that he holds dual citizenship. As nominations had already closed he would still appear on the ballot paper as a Greens member. The ABC held a leaders debate between Albanese and Dutton moderated by Insiders host David Speers.
17 April: Dutton announced a long-term aspiration to index tax brackets. Albanese has criticised this aspiration. Later on this day, a debate took place on the ABC's 7.30 program between housing minister Clare O'Neil and shadow housing minister Michael Sukkar.
19 April: Trumpet of Patriots held their official campaign launch in Queensland. The party proposed a department of government efficiency and cutting immigration. Chairman of the party Clive Palmer proposed abolishing net-zero targets set as per the Paris Climate Agreement. The party has also proposed building high-speed rail and capping interest rates at 3%. Also on this day, Albanese announced that Labor would enshrine penalty rates via legislation.
20 April: The Greens announced their requests during negotiation in a hung parliament, which include seeking changes to negative gearing and the capital gains tax. Also on this day, the former secretary of the department of home affairs Mike Pezzullo was floated for reappointment into a public service role by Dutton.
21 April: The Coalition announced a policy to trial a sex offender registry; while Dutton announced a further investment to fight crime. Jason Smart, a Trumpet of Patriots candidate for the division of Flinders in Victoria resigned from the party due to disagreements with its leadership but would still appear on the ballot paper due to nominations having previously closed.
22 April: Following the death of Pope Francis, both Albanese and Dutton briefly suspended their campaigns, as a mark of respect. Labor announced that they would fund a Canberra-based aged care facility with $10 million following the ACT government's announcement that it would close. Labor announced a strategy to prevent domestic violence through a range of responses to stop perpetrators from hijacking a victim's finances. Later, the Nine Network held a leaders debate between Albanese and Dutton moderated by A Current Affair presenter Ally Langdon and with the leaders questioned by Charles Croucher, Deb Knight and Phil Coorey.
23 April: The Coalition announced a policy to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP within five years, and then to 3% within the next decade. The Coalition later announced a policy to repeal tax breaks for electric vehicles, in addition to student debt relief and production tax credits. Also on this day, the Labor Party announced that they would fund a scheme designed to fast-track qualifications in order to help people get into trades work sooner. The Coalition announced a pledge to create a database of domestic violence offenders in a package worth $90 million; part of this package also includes a royal commission investigating sexual abuse in Indigenous communities. Details of a Coalition policy to create a special envoy position for jailed Australians abroad were revealed by The Sydney Morning Herald.
24 April: Albanese announced that Labor would create a strategic minerals reserve to be fully operational by late 2026 through an investment of $1.2 billion. The Coalition confirmed their plan to cut over 41,000 public service workers would be limited to Canberra. The Australian Electoral Commission announces that more than 1.7 million Australians have already voted at pre-polling centres. William Bay, a candidate for the Great Australian Party running for the Senate in Queensland resigned from the party due to his disapproval of the party leadership's actions regarding the use of money and undermining of his campaign. As nominations had already closed he would still appear on the ballot paper as a Great Australian Party candidate.
25 April: The leaders paused campaigning in order to make time for Anzac Day commemorations.
26 April: Albanese committed the Labor party to funding schools with a further $25 million to maintain knowledge of under-represented languages in Australian society. Dutton said he would seek to unite people "under one flag", while stating that he thinks respect should be shown for Welcome to Country ceremonies following an incident at an Anzac Day event. Albanese said that he would convene a meeting with representatives from the media after the election to discuss issues relating to the spread of extremist material. Fatima Payman held the campaign launch for her party, Australia's Voice, in Bankstown, New South Wales.
27 April: Albanese announced a policy to expand Medicare after-hours care via an investment of $204 million. The Coalition announced that they consider charging electric vehicle users a road charge to compensate for the loss of fuel levies. At a Liberal party event in Victoria, Dutton branded The Guardian and ABC News as "hate media". The Seven Network held a leaders debate between Albanese and Dutton moderated by Seven News reporter Mark Riley and hosted by Sunrise presenter Natalie Barr. A panel of 60 undecided voters assembled by pollster Roy Morgan declared Albanese the overall winner of the debate with 50% of the votes, with Dutton winning 25% of the votes and 25% remaining undecided; several other topics were also polled. Dutton stated that he believes Welcome to Country ceremonies are overdone but that they are "the respectful thing to do" for some events.
28 April: Chalmers and Minister for Finance Katy Gallagher released the Labor party's pre-election costings while announcing that student visa fees would rise to pay for extra spending. This led to calls from credit ratings agency S&P warned that Australia's credit rating could be downgraded unless spending was restrained. Dutton stated that he does not believe Anzac Day services should involve a Welcome to Country ceremony.
29 April: Labor announced a $2 billion fund to enable state governments to partially fund the construction of new homes. A press conference held by Dutton was interrupted by anti-nuclear protestors in Sanctuary Point. Another Trumpet of Patriots candidate, Mark Aldridge, who was contesting the division of Makin in South Australia resigns in protest over the party's use of text message communications to voters. Because nominations have already closed, Aldridge's name would still appear as a ToP candidate on ballot papers.
30 April: Dutton accused Labor of trying to resurrect the failed Voice to Parliament proposal following Wong's statement that people in ten years would say "Did we even have an argument about that?", she later told SBS News that "the voice is gone", and Albanese also shot down Dutton's notion. The headline rate of inflation stayed stagnant at 2.4% and trimmed mean inflation fell to 2.9%. Chalmers welcomed this news. The Liberal Party announced that they would take Boroondara City Council to court due to the council's intention to remove their candidate Amelia Hamer's signage. The Greens officially launched their campaign later in the day. Albanese delivers a speech and takes questions at the National Press Club. Dutton announced a policy to fund infrastructure projects further in the Indo-Pacific region.

1 May: The Coalition released their policy costings, revealing they would institute a tax on vapes and assist the creation of a Jewish Arts Quarter in Melbourne to be funded by the cutting of funding to Creative Australia. The AEC announced that more than 4.8 million votes have already been cast at pre-poll centres across the country.

Party slogans

Preferences

As is tradition in Australian elections, several parties recommended voters' preferences be directed to certain candidates. The Coalition recommended voters direct their second preference votes to the One Nation candidate or the Libertarian candidate. One Nation also chose to preference Coalition candidates second in some seats. In electorates where the Liberal and National parties are running against each other, the National candidate in these areas recommended preferences be directed to the Liberal candidate second, then preferences recommended to One Nation, with Labor and the Greens candidates usually last. Teal independent candidates supported by Climate 200 generally did not recommend preferences.

The Labor Party chose to preference the Greens second in most seats except for Macnamara due to the Greens' pro-Palestinian leanings and the seat having a large Jewish population. The Greens directed voters to preference Australia's Voice, pro-Palestinian candidates, and teal independents higher than Labor. The Greens also chose to preference Labor higher than the Coalition in every seat that they contested. Trumpet of Patriots chose to recommend voters preference incumbent candidates last, although in Bennelong they recommended preferencing the incumbent Labor candidate Jerome Laxale above the Liberal candidate Scott Yung but preferenced incumbent teal independents below the Liberal candidate.

Endorsements

Candidates

Retiring members

The seats of Hinkler (Queensland) and Maribyrnong (Victoria) were vacant at the time the federal election was called, following the resignation of Keith Pitt (Nationals) and Bill Shorten (Labor) on 19 and 20 January 2025 respectively. No by-elections were held for the seats owing to their proximity to the general election.

Labor

Linda Burney MP (Barton, NSW) – announced retirement on 25 July 2024
Stephen Jones MP (Whitlam, NSW) – announced retirement on 30 January 2025
Brian Mitchell MP (Lyons, Tas) – announced retirement on 15 November 2024
Brendan O'Connor MP (Gorton, Vic) – announced retirement on 25 July 2024
Graham Perrett MP (Moreton, Qld) – announced retirement on 22 August 2024
Maria Vamvakinou MP (Calwell, Vic) – announced retirement on 9 June 2024
Senator Catryna Bilyk (Tas) – announced retirement on 22 November 2024
Senator Louise Pratt (WA) – announced retirement on 20 February 2024

Liberal

Karen Andrews MP (McPherson, Qld) – announced retirement on 18 April 2023
Warren Entsch MP (Leichhardt, Qld) – announced retirement on 9 April 2023
Paul Fletcher MP (Bradfield, NSW) – announced retirement on 10 December 2024
Nola Marino MP (Forrest, WA) – announced retirement on 4 December 2023
Gavin Pearce MP (Braddon, Tas) – announced retirement on 11 June 2024
Rowan Ramsey MP (Grey, SA) – announced retirement on 25 March 2024
Senator Linda Reynolds (WA) – announced retirement on 12 February 2024

Nationals

Mark Coulton MP (Parkes, NSW) – announced retirement on 25 March 2024
David Gillespie MP (Lyne, NSW) – announced retirement on 19 October 2024

Independent

Kylea Tink MP (North Sydney, NSW; abolished) – announced retirement on 7 December 2024

Opinion polling

Primary vote

Two-party preferred

Results

Seats changing hands

Members in italics did not recontest their seats.

Seats in doubt

Aftermath and reactions

Peter Dutton conceded defeat shortly after 9:30 pm AEST on election night, announcing that he had called Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to congratulate him on Labor's re-election. In his concession speech, Dutton acknowledged the Coalition's poor performance and took full responsibility for the result, as he became the first sitting Opposition Leader in over a century to lose his seat (won by Ali France of Labor) in a federal election. Claiming victory on election night, Albanese addressed supporters with a message of unity and optimism, declaring it "a time of profound opportunity for our nation". He emphasised the importance of collective effort in shaping the country's future, stating, "We have everything we need to seize this moment and make it our own, but we must do it together."

Albanese's win has been described as "a landslide victory" and "a stunning comeback". Comparisons have been made to the election in Canada earlier in the same week where the Conservative opposition leader, Pierre Poilievre, also lost his seat. According to the BBC's Australia correspondent Katy Watson, United States president Donald Trump was "the gamechanger" and Albanese was able "to convince voters he was a safer pair of hands in an uncertain world". She was referring to the effect of Trump's international unpopularity and recent infamous tariff declarations that prove a liability to candidates, like Peter Dutton, whose conservative views and rhetoric aligns with that of Trump.

The election marked the first time since 2007, and the fourth overall, that a leader of either of the major parties lost their seat in Parliament. Additionally, Albanese became the first prime minister to be elected to a second consecutive term since John Howard won his fourth and last term in 2004. It is the first time a Labor government had been reelected with a majority since 1993, and the largest Labor majority since at least 1987. The significant swing against the Liberal Party has been called "diabolical" by former senior Liberal minister Simon Birmingham.

International reactions

Canada: Prime Minister Mark Carney congratulated Albanese on social media, and stated: "In an increasingly divided world, Canada and Australia are close partners and the most reliable of friends."
France: President Emmanuel Macron congratulated Albanese on his re-election, and said: "In the face of global challenges, Australia and France have so much to achieve together — especially in the Indo-Pacific. Let us continue to write, with ambition and friendship, the new chapter of our partnership."
India: Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Albanese on his victory and re-election. He said that "this emphatic mandate indicates the enduring faith of the Australian people in your leadership. I look forward to working together to further deepen the India-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and advance our shared vision for peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific."
Japan: Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba congratulated Albanese on the result of the Australian federal election, saying, "I look forward to continuing to collaborate with you to further develop our relationship, as 'Special Strategic Partners', and to realize a 'Free and Open Indo-Pacific'."
Latvia: President Edgars Rinkēvičs congratulated Albanese on the electoral victory, saying that he is "looking forward to continuing to develop relations between Latvia and Australia, strengthening global and regional security as well as close cooperation in the international organisations."
New Zealand: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon congratulated Albanese on social media, saying "New Zealand has no better friend and no greater ally than Australia" and looked forward to working together.
Norway: Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre congratulated Albanese on his re-election as Prime Minister of Australia. He said that Norway looks forward to continuing the cooperation with Australia, particularly in important areas such as defence and security.
Ukraine: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy congratulated Albanese on his electoral victory and wished him continued success in serving the people of Australia and delivering meaningful achievements.
United Kingdom: Prime Minister Keir Starmer congratulated Albanese on social media, saying that "long distance friendships can be the strongest" and looked forward to "continue to work together" on shared ambitions.
United States: Secretary of State Marco Rubio congratulated Albanese on his electoral victory, saying that he is looking forward to "deepening its relationship with Australia to advance our common interests and promote freedom and stability in the Indo-Pacific and globally."

Organisations

European Union: President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen congratulated Albanese and his party on their victory in the Australian federal election.

Notes

References

External links

Official results via the Australian Electoral Commission