Apart from deciding who will lead the country for the next three years, the political futures of high-profile MPs, including one former prime minister, are on the line on Saturday.
Of the 151 individual seats to be decided, all eyes will be on these 10 contests.
The 10 most interesting seats to watch on election night. Source: SBS News
Warringah
Margin: 11.1
As he’s often said himself during the campaign, former prime minister Tony Abbott is in the fight of his political life against independent candidate Zali Steggall. While Ms Steggall has painted herself as a conservative in many respects, she’s focused on the need for action on climate change – something Mr Abbott says the science isn’t yet settled on. Progressive lobby group GetUp has also targeted the former prime minister over his stance on climate change in the high stakes contest.
Warringah candidates Zali Steggall and Tony Abbott shake hands ahead of their debate at Queenscliff Surf Club. Source: AAP
Internal polling conducted in the northern Sydney electorate reportedly puts the former winter Olympian within reach of achieving a 12 per cent swing – enough to end Mr Abbott’s 25 year federal political career. But will more voters decide to stick with what they know when they get in the ballot box?
Dickson
Margin: 1.69
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton apologised for saying Ali France was using her disability as an excuse. Source: AAP
After unsuccessfully challenging for the prime ministership last year, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has been campaigning hard to save his own seat. The hard-right Liberal has held the seat on the fringes of Brisbane since 2001, but the margin was slashed at the last election, partly because of a redistribution.
Mr Dutton’s campaign got off to a rocky start, accusing his Labor opponent Ali France of using her disability as an excuse not to live in the area. He reluctantly apologised, but the episode gave Ms France’s profile a boost. The Labor candidate, who lost her leg after being hit by a car trying to push her son out of the way, has been campaigning for more than a year.
Kooyong
Margin: 12.8
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has grown his primary vote at each election, so closing the 12.8 per cent margin is a long shot for his contenders. But there’s a reason the Liberals are throwing resources at this usually safe seat in Melbourne’s wealthy eastern suburbs. Human rights advocate Julian Burnside is running for the Greens, while former Clean Energy Finance Corporation boss Oliver Yates is standing as an independent. Their addition to the ballot paper has created plenty of uncertainty about the result.
Indi
Margin: 4.83
Independent candidate Helen Haines and Liberal candidate Steve Martin are fighting it out in Indi. Source: SBS News
Helen Haines is attempting to make history by keeping Indi in independent hands after the retirement of incumbent Cathy McGowan. The Liberals believe they have a good chance of regaining the seat, preselecting engineer Steve Martin in the regional Victorian seat, while the Nationals are running Mark Byatt, a key figure in tourism and development in the region.
Wentworth
Margin: 17.8
It’s a replay of the October by-election to replace former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull. Then, independent Kerryn Phelps was victorious over the Liberals’ Dave Sharma, but, this time, the protest vote fuelled by their previous local member’s dumping from the top job, may not be as strong.
Independent MP Kerryn Phelps was a key architect of the Medevac legislation. Source: AAP
Mr Sharma has continued campaigning since the October loss, positioning himself as a moderate voice in the party who believes more action is needed to address climate change.
On the other hand, Ms Phelps scored a win with the passage of the Medevac Bill to give doctors more say in the transfer of sick refugees, but will it be enough to convince voters in this blue-ribbon Sydney electorate to endorse an independent again?
Farrer
Margin: 20
Sussan Ley. Source: AAP
It might seem strange for a seat held by the Coalition by such a fat margin to be on this list. But the bookies currently have independent candidate Kevin Mack, the mayor of Albury, as favourite over incumbent Sussan Ley. Anger over water management is fuelling voter backlash with Mr Mack calling for a royal commission into the Murray-Darling basin plan.
Reid
Margin: 4.7
The departure of Liberal incumbent Craig Laundy and delays preselecting his replacement, child psychologist Fiona Martin, gave Labor candidate Sam Crosby, a former pollster, a head start. With the electorate considered firmly in play this election, it’s attracted plenty of attention from both leaders who have made regular visits during the campaign.
Both Labor and the Liberals have invested a lot of campaign time in the Sydney seat of Reid. Source: AAP
Herbert
Margin: 0.02
Decided by just 37 votes in 2016, the contest in Herbert is again expected to be tight. Labor’s Cathy O’Toole currently holds the seat and is up against a new LNP candidate, Phillip Thompson, a former serviceman and 2018 Queensland Young Australian of the year. With the future of coal mining a key issue in the central Queensland seat, preferences from Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party are expected to prove crucial to deciding the result.
Flinders
Margin: 7.01
Crossbench MPs Kerryn Phelps, Julia Banks and Rebekha Sharkie are among independent candidates in close contests. Source: AAP
After quitting the Liberal Party in the wake of leadership turmoil, Julia Banks, has decided to switch electorates to challenge Health Minister Greg Hunt in Flinders. Having grown up in the electorate which covers the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, Mr Hunt has held the seat since 2001. Ms Banks is expected to benefit from preferences from the Greens and Labor.
Banks
Margin: 1.4
Along with Reid, this is one of the most multicultural electorates and is held by Immigration Minister David Coleman. He’s up against union official Chris Gambian for Labor. Both parties have made an effort to connect with migrant constituents, using Chinese social media and recruiting bilingual volunteers.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Immigration David Coleman at a "congestion busting" announcement in Hurstville. Source: AAP
Other key seats to watch
QUEENSLAND
Capricornia
Margin: 0.63
The LNP’s Michelle Landry holds this large rural and regional seat based on Rockhampton in central Queensland. She’s up against third-generation coal miner Labor's Russell Robertson with One Nation preferences expected to be crucial.
Longman
Margin: 4.45
Labor's Susan Lamb increased her slim 2016 winning margin 2016 to 4.45 per cent in a byelection prompted by the dual citizenship saga.
Forde
Margin: 0.63
Logan-based industrial and small business seat south of Brisbane, it has been held by Bert van Manen (LNP) since 2010. He faces a tough fight with Labor candidate Des Hardman in a seat which has swung back and forth between the major parties since it was created in 1984.
Flynn
Margin: 1.04
The LNP’s Ken O’Dowd hold on the huge central Queensland seat covering the port of Gladstone since 2010 is being challenged by Labor's Zac Beers. Preferences from One Nation and United Australia Party are expected to favour Mr O’Dowd.
Dawson
Margin: 3.37
Nationals MP George Christensen has held this north Queensland seat since 2010. Labor has been targeting the seat, with candidate Belinda Hassan. Conservative minor party preferences should flow strongly to Christensen.
Petrie
Margin: 1.65
Held by the LNP's Luke Howarth since 2013, the seat is vulnerable to Labor candidate Corinne Mulholland, who is campaigning strongly on health issues. Greens preferences could push Labor over the line.
Bonner
Margin: 3.39
Labor is hoping to seize this inner south Brisbane seat from LNP's Ross Vasta, but they’ll most-likely need a double-figure showing by the Greens.
VICTORIA
Corangamite
Margin: 3.1
The redrawing of the boundary makes the task much harder for Liberal MP Sarah Henderson, who now only has a notional 0.03 margin.
Macnamara (formerly Melbourne Ports)
Margin: 1.38
Labor's Michael Danby is retiring after more than 20 years in the seat, which has been redrawn to reduce the margin to an estimated 1.2 per cent. Labor's Josh Burns is up against the Liberals' Kate Ashmor, a local lawyer, and the Greens' Steph Hodgins-May, who in 2016 came within 477 votes of taking the seat.
Dunkley
Margin 1.43
The redistribution has made this south-east Melbourne seat held by Chris Crewther for the Liberals since 2016 into a marginal Labor seat. Labor's Peta Murphy will need to lift her primary vote from the 2016 result to win.
La Trobe
Margin: 1.46
The Liberals' Jason Wood has been the on-again off-again member since 2004. The redistribution appears to have strengthened his hand but a 3.5 per cent margin still makes it a target seat for Labor, whose candidate is Simon Curtis.
Chisholm
Margin: 1.24
Whatever the result, the first female Chinese MP is set to be elected. With the incumbent Julia Banks running in Flinders, the Liberals preselected Gladys Liu. Labor has also preselected a Chinese woman, Jennifer Yang, who has served as a local mayor.
NEW SOUTH WALES
Cowper
Margin: 4.56
Former independent MP Rob Oakeshott, who helped deliver Julia Gillard minority government in 2010, is taking another shot at politics in the wake of Nationals MP Luke Hartsuyker retirement. He faces the Nationals' Patrick Conaghan in the marginal NSW mid-north coast seat, and could benefit from Labor and Greens preferences.
Gilmore
Margin: 0.73
In one of the messiest contests in this election, Scott Morrison’s handpicked candidate, former Labor national president, Warren Mundine is taking on the man who was previously preselected for the Liberals Grant Schultz, who is now running as an independent. Labor ‘s Fiona Phillips is hoping to benefit from the Coalition chaos.
Robertson
Margin: 1.1
The Liberals' Lucy Wicks has held this NSW central coast seat since 2013, but with it now sitting on a 1.1 per cent margin, Labor's Anne Charlton could draw on the preferences of Greens candidate Cath Connor and edge over the line.
Lindsay
Margin: 1.1
Labor has chosen former NSW state minister Diane Beamer as its candidate following the scandal over sitting member for Lindsay Emma Husar's "unreasonable" treatment of staff. Husar has decided not to contest the seat as an independent. Melissa McIntosh is contesting the seat for the Liberals.
Page
Margin: 2.3
This largely rural NSW seat is held by the Nationals' Kevin Hogan by 2.3 per cent. Hogan sits on the crossbench in parliament, having become disgruntled with the coalition leadership revolving door. The seat, which is the fifth poorest in the nation, has swung between Nationals and Labor since its creation in 1984. Labor's Patrick Deegan, a social worker who hails from Casino, is a solid chance at regaining the seat.
Eden-Monaro
Margin: 2.9
This southern NSW seat was once considered a bellwether (going to the party that wins government) but Labor's Mike Kelly brought that to an end in 2016. The 2019 race will be fascinating as the Liberals and Nationals are standing candidates, which will maximise the chances of a coalition win.
TASMANIA
Bass
Margin: 6.1
This north-eastern Tasmanian seat has swung wildly in recent elections. It was won by Labor's Ross Hart in 2016 but the redistribution has made it slightly more difficult for Labor.
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Hasluck
Margin: 2.1
This Perth metropolitan seat has been held by federal minister Ken Wyatt since 2010. But his margin has been chipped away to 2.1 per cent. Labor candidate James Martin has a financial industry background and almost two decades in the Army Reserves. Speculation the 66-year-old incumbent was thinking about retiring won't help his cause.
Stirling
Margin: 6.1
Liberal MP and minister Michael Keenan is retiring which should increase the chances of Labor picking up this Perth northern suburbs seat. Labor candidate Melita Markey has been a long-time advocate for asbestos victims. She’ll need to beat Liberal candidate, former soldier Vince Connelly, who defeated four women for preselection.
Swan
Margin: 3.6
Former Labor leader Kim Beazley's daughter Hannah is contesting this Perth inner southern suburbs seat, held by Liberal veteran Steve Irons since 2007.
Pearce
Margin: 3.6
Attorney-General Christian Porter should hold this northern Perth seat, which he first won in 2013, but Labor has made inroads at a state level as young families move into new suburbs. Labor's Kim Travers spent almost three decades in the police service and is a long-time mental health advocate.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Boothby
Margin: 3.5
Nicolle Flint won the seat in 2016 after the retirement of Andrew Southcott and holds it with a notional margin of 2.8 per cent after the redistribution. Labor has been targeting Flint over her support for a leadership spill against Malcolm Turnbull. It has preselected local Nadia Clancy.
Mayo
Margin: 5.0
First-term Centre Alliance MP Rebekha Sharkie retained the Adelaide Hills and SA coast seat in a by-election after being struck down in the citizenship scandal. She faces another challenge from Liberal blue-blood Georgina Downer.
Additional reporting by AAP
