Currently two major and two minor parties dominate the landscape of federal politics.
The Labor Party, who are in government, the Liberals and Nationals who make up their opposition and the Greens.
But what do they actually stand for?
Fewer Australians than ever voted for a major party at the last election.
While some of these votes went to minor parties, many went to independents — we'll be covering who they are later this week.
The Labor Party
Labor is one of the two major parties that dominate Australian politics and is currently in government.
Typically, it is more to the left of the political spectrum and its driving values include strengthening workers rights, access to healthcare and education and a strong social safety net for the most vulnerable.
It first formed government in 1904 and is responsible for historic policies like Medicare, government provided paid parental leave and the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
Labor, as the name would indicate, is backed by the labour movement, aka unions.
That attracts both praise and criticism.
Critics say Labor is too close to the unions and they don't crack down on them enough, while fans of the party say the connection to the labour movement means the party better represents the interests of everyday workers.
The party is led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
This election, Labor's commitments include:
- Increasing the bulk-billing incentive
- Cutting HECS debts by 20 per cent
- Building more childcare centres
- Making contraception and menopause treatment cheaper
The Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is the other dominant major party.
It is currently in opposition and has been in a long-term partnership with the Nationals called the Coalition.
These two parties are always in a coalition because without it neither would have a hope of forming majority government.
It advocates for smaller government, with less regulation to improve efficiency in the private sector and the party places a lot of importance on the freedom of the individual, to do, say and believe what they want.
The modern version of the party was founded in 1944 and implemented gun control laws after the Port Arthur Massacre in the 90's, established the goods and services tax (GST) and set up Australia's nuclear submarine pact with the US and UK: AUKUS.
The Liberals are often viewed as aligned with business, and like the relationship between Labor and the unions, this draws both praise and pushback.
Some say the party represents the needs of small businesses and others argue it advances the interests of big business over those of the wider community.
Its leader is Peter Dutton.
This election, the Liberal Party's commitments include:
- Establishing a series of nuclear power plants over the coming decades
- Cutting 46,000 public servant jobs and limiting how much they can work from home
- Cutting permanent migration by 25 per cent
- Matching Labor's commitment to increase bulk-billing rates
The Nationals
The Nationals help make up the opposition to the current government; they've joined up with the Liberals as a coalition because otherwise they'd have little hope of ever forming majority government.
The Nationals are more than 100 years old and sit to the right of the political spectrum.
Initially formed to represent the interests of those living in regional and rural areas, their values are similar to the Liberals but with more of country twist:
- Focus on individual achievement
- Freedoms for private businesses
- Farming
The party is currently led by David Littleproud and they were most recently in government under Liberal PM Scott Morrison.
A Nationals MP always fills the role of deputy prime minister when the Coalition is in government.
The party is also supportive of the mining and resources industry, something that has been heavily criticised by the other major minor party in the parliament: The Greens.
The Greens
The Greens were born out of the environmental movement in the 80's.
It has never had enough MPs to form a government but the party has played a key role in the Senate or in minority governments, where it's held the balance of power.
This happens when the government needs the votes of a minor party/independents to get its agenda through the parliament.
The Greens' main values are protecting the environment, social justice and increasing government support payments like JobSeeker.
It sits further to the left of the political spectrum compared to the Labor Party.
The party has proposed freezing rent increases, taxing billionaires at a higher rate and bringing dentistry into Medicare.
But, critics say these ideas are either too expensive or not realistic.
The party secured three new MPs in the lower house at the last election and boosted its numbers in the Senate.
This election, the Greens are promising to bring dental into Medicare and ending coal and gas extraction in Australia.
