Early voting for the federal election and millions of Australians are expected to submit their ballot ahead of election day on 3 May.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition leader Peter Dutton have spent the last few weeks pledging billions of dollars in commitments as they try to sell voters their vision for Australia's future.
Here's an overview of the major national pledges so far. Scroll down as we've covered topics including Health, Small Business and Industrial Relations, Housing, the Cost of Living, Defence, Indigenous Affairs, Young People, Energy, and Migration.
HEALTH
Labor
Labor hopes to incentivise more doctors to bulk bill patients as part of an , which also includes $400 million to train more nurses and doctors.
The government will also open an — on top of the 87 already operating — by June 2026, at a cost of $644 million.
Women suffering from endometriosis, pelvic pain or menopause will have access to more specialised clinics as well as cheaper medicines, with Labor pledging a $573 million boost to women’s health.
This includes adding certain oral contraceptives, endometriosis medication and IVF medication to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).
The government has promised to cap the cost of most prescriptions to $25 (currently $31.60) — and $7.70 for concession card holders — by January 2026.
Labor will expand access to free mental health support as part of a $1 billion investment in mental health services, which will include upgrading or establishing more than 100 mental health clinics with varying specialities. These will be supported by training an extra 1,200 mental health professionals.
Coalition
The Coalition has matched Labor's Medicare promise, with a $9 billion commitment including $400 million in financial incentives for junior doctors who enter general practice.
Dutton has also pledged $400 million towards youth mental health.
This includes raising the number of subsidised psychology sessions from 10 to 20, restoring them to levels set by the Morrison government during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Coalition has also promised to go ahead with cuts to the price of medicines on the PBS as well as boost funding to women’s health care.
Greens
The Greens want to expand Medicare to include dental care and mental health.
SMALL BUSINESS / INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
Coalition
The Coalition has pledged to make the small business instant asset write-off a permanent tax deduction, boosting it to $30,000 for businesses with a turnover of up to $10 million.
Dutton also wants to increase the number of small businesses in Australia by 350,000 over four years by offering tax incentives that encourage reinvestment.
Under the entrepreneurship accelerator scheme, businesses would pay tax on 75 per cent of their first $100,000 of taxable income, and on 50 per cent of the second $100,000. The ratio of tax paid will increase in the subsequent two years of operation.
Small and medium size businesses will also be able claim up to $20,000 in staff meals each year.
Dutton has also , although he still plans to cut 41,000 Canberra-based jobs.
Labor
Labor has vowed to , and said it would enshrine them into law if it is re-elected.
It will also ban non-compete clauses, enabling workers earning under $175,000 to more easily switch jobs to a competing employer or to start a competing business.
In March, the government legislated an extension to the $20,000 instant asset write-off for small businesses but has not committed to making it permanent.
HOUSING
Both major parties have their sights set on making housing more affordable, although .
Labor
Labor will expand its 5 per cent deposit scheme so that every first home buyer is eligible. The government will act as a guarantor for buyers to purchase with a smaller deposit (instead of the usual 20 per cent) saving them from having to pay lenders mortgage insurance. There will be no income limits or caps on places.
It will also build 100,000 new affordable homes exclusively for first home buyers, with construction to start in 2026/27.
More first home buyers will be able to access the , which allows them to buy with a deposit of 2 per cent if they are willing to give the government a 30-40 per cent stake. Income caps will be increased from $90,000 to $100,000 for individuals, and property caps will also be increased.
In addition to these measures, the government has committed $100 million to refurbish and build more crisis and transitional housing for women leaving domestic violence or at risk of homelessness.
Labor hopes to speed up the construction of homes as part of its existing target to build 1.2 million homes by 2029, pledging $626 million towards apprenticeship incentives for construction workers.
Apprentices in housing construction will receive an extra $10,000 at intervals, with the first payment at six months and the last when they complete their training.
Coalition
For Australians struggling to put together a deposit, a Dutton-led government would allow Australians to access $50,000 of their superannuation to buy a first home.
It has also pledged $5 billion for building infrastructure such as sewerage and water to support the construction of 500,000 new homes.
First home buyers will also be allowed to claim tax deductions on interest payments against the first $650,000 of their mortgage. The scheme will be available for the first five years for those who purchase a newly built home.
Businesses employing apprentices in areas where there's a skills shortage can get $12,000 a year for the first two years.
Dutton says the housing crisis has been exacerbated by record levels of migration, peaking at 536,000 in 2022-23.
The Coalition has s, which will include lowering the permanent migration program by 25 per cent and a 30,000 reduction in the number of foreign students starting higher education each year.
Both major parties support a two-year ban on foreign investors from buying established homes, a policy that came into effect on 1 April 2025.
The Coalition will also scrap the government's $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund, which aims to deliver 55,000 social and affordable homes over five years.
Greens
The Greens will make housing a priority in the event of a hung parliament, calling for and the 50 per cent capital gains tax (CGT) discount.
Under its proposal, existing investors that negatively gear properties will be allowed to continue doing so but new investors will only be allowed to negatively gear one property in the future. CGT would be phased out.
The minor party is also pledging to cap rent increases to 2 per cent across two years.
COST OF LIVING
Labor
Australian households and businesses will receive an. The money will appear as a credit on people's power bills in two $75 instalments over the last six months of 2025.
In addition, the government legislated two tax cuts for all Australian taxpayers. This means anyone earning more than $45,000 will save $268 in 2026/27 and $536 the year after. The Coalition has vowed to repeal the measure.
Every taxpayer would also be eligible to claim an instant $1,000 tax deduction for work expenses, without filling out paperwork or receipts.
Labor has pledged to provide and scrap the activity test for families earning less than $530,000.
The government will also make medicines more affordable by capping most PBS prescriptions to $25 by January 2026 and $7.70 for concession card holders.
Coalition
The Coalition has matched Labor's promise for cheaper medicines.
It will also provide a to everyone earning between $48,000 and $104,000 when they lodge their 2025-26 tax return.
Motorists can also expect to save money at the bowser, with a temporary fuel excise cut for the next 12 months.
The $6 billion pledge will see fuel excise cut from 50 cents to 25 cents a litre, and is estimated to save a one-car household an average of $14 a week or roughly $700 over one year.
Australians who want to buy a new ute will also benefit from the Coalition's plan to due to take effect on 1 July.
Dutton says he also has an aspiration to tackle bracket creep — so that personal income tax brackets rise regularly in line with measures like inflation — which would mean people keep more of their income. But this would only be looked at after the budget is in order and he has not provided a timeframe for this.
Greens
The Greens are pushing for a $29 billion early childhood package, which would give families access to 50 hours of free childcare a week and extend pre-school to 30 hours a week for all three and four-year-olds.
Its policy platform includes capping rental increases and making unlimited rent rises illegal, wiping student debt, and heavily subsidising public transport so that buses, trains, ferries and tram trips only cost 50 cents.
It plans to raise $514 billion to fund these commitments by introducing a 10 per cent tax for 150 of Australia's billionaires, and 40 per cent tax on excess profits for corporations with over $100 million in turnover.
The party has also , which it says would lower housing costs.
DEFENCE
Labor
Labor has vowed to bolster defence spending by , growing it from 2 per cent of GDP to 2.33 per cent by 2033-34.
Both Labor and the Coalition have pledged to seek and return it to Australian hands. It was leased in 2015 to Beijing-controlled Landbridge Group for 99 years.
Coalition
Dutton is yet to pledge a defence spending target but is expected to make an announcement ahead of Anzac Day.
The Coalition has already promised to spend $3 billion on 28 extra fighter jets, increasing Australia's fleet of F-35s from 72 to 100.
Greens
The Greens want to save $77 billion by a "reliance on US, UK and Israeli weapons supplies". It plans to reallocate $4 billion towards the domestic production capabilities of defence weapons.
INDIGENOUS AFFAIRS
Both major parties have remained largely quiet about policies affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples throughout the campaign.
Coalition
The Coalition has promised a royal commission into sexual abuse in Indigenous communities and an audit into government spending on Indigenous affairs, according to a document detailing its party’s policies.
It has also pledged to reintroduce compulsory income management via the cashless debit card and an inquiry into land councils.
Dutton, who opposed the Voice to Parliament, had promised to hold a referendum on symbolic constitutional recognition, such as mentioning Indigenous history in the preamble of Australia's constitution, but later backed away from the idea.
Labor
In the March budget, Labor set aside $1.3 billion for Closing the Gap initiatives.
This included $70.9 million on boosting the number of first nations homeowners, $23.9 million on creating employment opportunities and growth for first nations businesses, and $21.8 million for family, domestic and sexual violence services.
During the second leader's debate, the prime minister argued schemes like Labor's free TAFE had real jobs and training outcomes — benefiting over 40,000 Indigenous people.
As part of Labor's Medicare boost, two new Headspace centres will be built in remote communities.
There is no mention of further reforms pushed for as part of the Uluru Statement of the Heart — including a treaty or truth-telling process — following the failure of the Voice to Parliament referendum,
"We accept the decision of the Australian people in that referendum," the prime minister said during the second leaders debate.
Greens
The Greens want to establish a National Truth and Juice Commission to acknowledge the ongoing injustices experienced by First Nations people.
Its policy platform includes a plan to revive First Nations languages, pledging $14 million to schools and First Nations teachers.
YOUNG PEOPLE
Labor
Roughly three million Australians will have , under a $16 billion pledge from Labor.
The government will also establish 100,000 fee-free TAFE places from 2027, and increase the income threshold at which students are required to start paying back their loans.
Apprentices in housing construction will receive an extra $10,000 paid in $2,000 instalments at regular intervals, starting at six months and finishing when they complete their training.
The government has upped it's mental health investment by $1 billion, but will not increase the number of psychology sessions.
They plan to establish 21 new youth specialist centres for more complex issues, on top of a pledge to expand, upgrade or build 58 Headspace centres.
Coalition
Dutton has pledged $400 million towards mental health, particularly youth mental health and expanding services such as Headspace which assists 12 to 25-year-olds.
The Coalition's plan includes reinstating 20 free Medicare-subsidised psychology sessions per year.
It plans to cap new international student enrolments to 240,000 a year, a reduction of roughly 80,000 from 2023 levels. It's a bid to ease housing pressures impacting young people.
Greens
The Greens have vowed to make education free and wipe all student debt.
The minor party is pushing for all psychology sessions to be subsidised as part of their bid to make mental health part of Medicare.
ENERGY
Labor
All Australian households and businesses will receive if the Albanese government is re-elected.
Labor will also offer households a 30 per cent discount on solar power batteries as part of a $2.3 billion pledge.
It has a target for renewables — like solar and wind — to make up 82 per cent of the energy grid by 2030. More transmission lines to transport electricity across the country will also be built.
Coalition
The Coalition has promised to build on the sites of old coal-fired power plants.
It has also pledged to flood the energy market with more gas to drive down power bills.
This includes fast-tracking new gas projects (including a decision within 30 days on Western Australia’s North West Shelf project), halving approval times and imposing a levy on gas companies who prioritise exports ahead of supplying the domestic market.
It estimates that forcing exporters to set aside gas for use in Australia will drive down household bills by 7 per cent and for industrial users by 15 per cent, according to modelling by Frontier Economics.
Greens
The Greens oppose new coal and gas projects as well as nuclear power. They support the electrification of households and businesses to drive down power bills and reduce emissions.
The minor party proposes grants of up to $1,000 and low-interest loans of up to $20,000 to install technologies such as induction cooktops, as well as similar grants for installing solar in households.
MIGRATION
Coalition
Dutton has confirmed a Coalition government will cut net overseas migration levels (the difference between the number of people entering and leaving Australia) by 100,000 places.
It plans to cut permanent migration by 25 per cent, shrinking the intake from 180,000 per year to 135,000 — a reduction of 45,000 visas.
A cap on public university enrolments by 25 per cent from 2026 would also apply. The changes will result in 30,000 fewer new students every year than under Labor's plan.
Dutton has previously said he could not provide details about which programs would be cut before election day but has confirmed the Coalition would not cut the annual parent visa intake, which Labor increased from 4,500 to 8,500 when it came to government.
Labor
Labor will continue its current plans to reduce migration as per Treasury forecasts, with no new announcements throughout the campaign.
It attempted to introduce international student caps late last year, hurrying through legislation which would set the target to 270,000 a year. However,
This forced the government to pass , which has enabled it to reduce numbers by slowing visa processing and assigning quotas for international students to each university.
Education Minister Jason Clare told SBS Malayalam executive producer Deeju Sivadas there is no official cap but the ministerial direction would be used to get international student numbers back to where they were pre-pandemic.
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