Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is set to call a federal election on Friday for a polling day in May, sources suggest.
The announcement will kick off a five-week campaign period for both the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton.
The timing follows Tuesday's federal budget and comes as speculation grows in Canberra about when the election would be called.
May 3 had been widely anticipated as the most likely date among the possible options.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is set to call a federal election on Friday for a polling day in May, sources suggest
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Due to Australia's three-year term limits, a parliamentary election must be held by May 17.
Opinion polls indicate a tight race, with the opposition Liberal-National coalition holding a slight lead over Labor.
The timing of Albanese's announcement appears strategic, with several Labor sources telling The Guardian it would draw attention away from Peter Dutton's budget reply speech scheduled for Thursday night.
The opposition leader had been expected to use this platform to further detail his alternative vision for the country.
The Prime Minister's office suffered an embarrassing blunder on Thursday when the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet prematurely announced the election.
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A post on X claimed the government was "now operating in accordance with caretaker conventions, pending the outcome of the 2025 federal election".
The message was swiftly deleted after the error was spotted.
Caretaker mode only begins after parliament is dissolved, which has not yet occurred.
The post was published mistakenly and removed shortly after going live.
The announcement will kick off a five-week campaign period for both the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton (pictured)
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During media appearances on Thursday, Albanese remained coy about the exact timing of his announcement.
"It'll be called pretty imminently, I can assure you of that," he told Triple M Hobart.
"I can confirm that I'm not calling it today, but I will call it soon," the Prime Minister added.
He said: "I think that Australians want to get on with it. Certainly my Caucus colleagues do, wanting to get into the campaign."
