Australians will go to the polls on 18 May after Prime Minister Scott Morrison ended weeks of speculation and fired the starter's gun on the official election campaign.
Mr Morrison announced the date after visiting the Governor-General Peter Cosgrove early on Thursday morning, asking him to dissolve the 45th Parliament and issue the writs for an election.
Mr Morrison urged the public to base their vote on economic policy, arguing there was "so much at stake" at the election.
"At this election there is a clear choice. It is a choice that will determine the economy that Australians live in, not just for the next three years but for the next decade," Mr Morrison told reporters at Parliament House.
