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Australia heads to the polls this Saturday to elect a new government, with the cost-of-living crisis weighing heavily on voters' minds as they choose their next federal parliament.

The ruling centre-left Labor Party, led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, is seeking re-election in Saturday’s federal vote. According to Reuters, opinion polls place Labor slightly ahead, but projections indicate the party may fall short of securing a clear majority.

Let's take closer look to the details of the Australian elections. 

Voting schedule and process of elections 

Federal elections of Australia will take place on May 3, 2025, voting is compulsory for all citizens over the age of 18.

Due to multiple time zones in Australia more than 7,000 polling stations across the country will open from 8 am to 6 pm.

Over 500 early voting centres across Australia opened on April 22 and will close by May 2. As of Thursday, around 4.8 million Australians had already voted. Overseas citizens can vote at embassies or consulates, though it’s not mandatory — but they must inform the AEC if they choose not to.

Once the polls close, counting begins right away and results are updated in real time on the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) website.

Mechanism of elections

Elections take place in every three years through preferential voting system. Voters have to cast their votes through two ballot papers one for each house of parliament.

A green ballot to rank candidates for the House of Representatives and a white one to choose senators, listing parties at the top and their candidates below. For the white ballot, voters can either pick a party listed at the top or rank individual candidates shown at the bottom.

To win, a candidate must secure over 50 percent of first-preference votes. If no one does, the least popular candidates are eliminated one by one, and their votes are reallocated based on next preferences until someone crosses the threshold.

There are 76 senators and 150 members of the House of Representatives.

Who are the main candidates for the elections? 

The main contenders in the federal election are Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of the Labor Party (ALP) and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, representing the Liberal-National Coalition.

The major issues in the 2025 federal elections are - cost of living, housing prices and energy.

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