Australians will cast their votes on 3 May to elect a government in an election heavily dominated by the cost-of-living crisis and shortage of housing.
Prime minister Anthony Albanese, who seeks a second three-year term in office, drove to governor-general Sam Mostyn's official residence on Friday to trigger the election. He later announced the date at a news conference at Parliament House.
"Over the last few years, the world has thrown a lot at Australia in uncertain times," the prime minister told reporters. "Because of the strength and resilience that our people have shown, Australia is turning the corner. Now, on May 3, you choose the way forward."
Experts and opinion polls predict a slim margin between the two major parties, with opposition leader Peter Dutton's conservative coalition expected to pick up more seats in the House of Representatives.
"Our government has chosen to face global challenges the Australian way - helping people under cost-of-living pressure, while building for the future," he added. Mr Albanese's Labor Party won a majority at the last federal election in 2022 and is hoping to return for a consecutive second term.
An Australian government has not been ousted after a single term since 1931, when the nation was grappling with the Great Depression. But Australian governments almost always lose ground in their second election and Labor only holds 77 of the 151 seats in the House of Representatives, where governments need a majority. Redistributions mean there will be only 150 seats after the next election. One likely outcome is a minority government supported by independent or minor party legislators.
The 2022 election brought a record 19 lawmakers who were not aligned with either the government or opposition into the parliament. Unaligned lawmakers could be crucial to whether Labor or Mr Dutton’s conservative Liberal Party forms Australia’s first minority election since the 2010 election.
Mr Albanese has announced a slew of measures aimed at pleasing families and businesses in recent months, including tax cuts in Tuesday's budget, with the rising cost of living in the country set to dominate the campaign.
On Friday, Albanese focused his campaign attack on the opposition Liberal and National coalition, saying it would axe government programmes and revoke modest new tax cuts passed by parliament.
Mr Dutton has campaigned on a housing crisis that he says is putting home ownership out of reach, and on Friday he said cutting permanent migration by 25 per cent will create more homes.
Reducing energy costs for small businesses and households would be at the centre of his government if elected, Mr Dutton told reporters.
"If energy is unaffordable and unreliable, it is a disaster for the economy," he said, criticising Labor's transition to renewable energy.
A Liberal and National government would reserve gas that isn't already under export contract to meet Australian demand, to reduce electricity prices for manufacturers and supermarkets, he said. "It's important that we honour our overseas export contracts but equally its important to ensure that we can take care of Australians first," he said.
Mr Dutton also plans to adopt nuclear power in the country. He has promised a cut to fuel excise that he said would bring faster relief to households as they fill up the car, compared to Labor's tax cuts that start next year.
Both leaders have promised an extra A$8.5bn (£4.13bn) over four years to shore up the country's public healthcare system.
Another issue in the campaign will be which leader would best handle relations with US president Donald Trump, who imposed steel and aluminium tariffs that affect Australian exports. Mr Trump is expected to announce a further round of tariffs on trade partners next week.
Albanese said his government had been "engaging on a daily basis" with the Trump administration over tariffs, and pointed to his two phone calls with the US president and early meetings between the two countries' defence and foreign ministers.
Additional reporting by agencies
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