Australian Federal election 2025 recap: Anthony Albanese wins landslide, hails ‘profound opportunity’

It seems democracy sausages have been in short supply at a number of polling booths across the country, devastating voters.

There were none at Peter Dutton’s home electorate booth of Albany Creek and sausage sizzles were in short supply at at least one of the three booths visited by Anthony Albanese.

And, at Byford Secondary College this afternoon tragedy struck as a trickle of late voters made their way to the polling booths when the democracy sausage stall ran out of goods and were forced to shut up shop.

One punter arrived that little bit too late, his face falling as he realised he’d arrived at a barren, sausageless wasteland.

With a little over two hours to go until polls close on the east coast of Australia, it’s worth taking a look back at the moments that have shaped the 2025 election campaign.

The importance of certain markers has been obvious in the moment; the significance of others became clear in retrospect.

​Read Michelle Grattan’s recap of a few of those that have shaped this campaign and its battle for votes.​

Kate Chaney and her Liberal rival Tom White are predicting a tight contest in the fight for Curtin, saying the result may not be known tonight, expecting potentially just a few hundred votes separating the two.

Curtin, won by Teal MP Ms Chaney in 2022, is regarded as a barometer for how Peter Dutton and the Liberals perform today.

The Opposition Leader openly admitted throughout the campaign it was very unlikely he would emerge Prime Minister tonight if the conservatives could not win back the one-time conservative fortress.

Read Joe Spagnolo’s full story

Federal elections come and go every three years, so if you need a refresher on how it all works — and the key 2025 seats to watch — we have you covered.

Oliver Lane has compiled this must read on how it works, the promises made and the seats to watch.

​Read the full story here. ​

Anthony Albanese has made a third polling booth stop for the day, in the seat of Reid which neighbours his electorate.

He chatted with MP Sally Sitou as they walked into Five Dock Public School to chants of “Albo! Albo!”

Asked how he was feeling, he said it was now up to the people.

“We’ll wait and see what the outcome is,” he said.

“But we should be really proud that we live in a vibrant democracy where everyone gets their say and everyone gets one vote, one value.

“Around the world, democracy is something that shouldn’t be taken for granted. We should cherish it. We should nourish it.

“And for everyone handing out today and participating in the democratic process as well, no matter who they’re handing out for, that’s a good thing that they’re participating.”

The Prime Minister is calm about what might happen now, knowing he’s done all that he can and there is little more to do than wait for the verdict of voters.

He’ll spend the evening at Kirribilli with Jodie Haydon and his son Nathan and some staff, until the result has - he hopes - taken a clear direction.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton has cast his ballot at his home seat of Dickson at a polling station in Albany Creek.

Mr Dutton said he and volunteers had “positive” and “encouraging” feedback on booths in the lead up to Saturday.

“I think a lot of quiet Australians will turn out today to support the Coalition,” he told media after the vote.

“I look forward to the outcome.”

The Opposition Leader votes at the same Grayson Hall polling place every election.

Mr Dutton was accompanied by his wife Kirilly and three children at the booth.

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Pollies need all the luck they can get today as Aussies head to the polls and Monique Ryan has been graced with a little extra this morning, after being pooped on by a bird.

The Independent MP for Kooyong, in the inner-east of Melbourne, Victoria, was all smiles as she was stopped by a reporter outside a polling booth, when the bird struck.

A video posted to X by the ABC shows the reporter begin to ask a question, when Ms Ryan’s face scrunches up in confusion as she looks to the trees above.

Read more here.

Anthony Albanese has headed to Marrickville West Public School to vote, along with his partner Jodie Haydon and son Nathan.

The Prime Minister said he was feeling good.

He also got stopped for an impromptu interview by a New Zealand journalist who asked about Kiwis living in Australia being able to vote.

As he left, Greens volunteers started shouting about the Middle East, calling out, “How do you sleep at night?” and “Ceasefire in Gaza”.

Polls have been open along the East Coast now for almost six hours now, and almost four hours in the West.

Here are some pics from across the country.

The posters outside the voting booth at Leichhardt Town Hall in Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s seat of Grayndler are a sea of Green and Red, with a smattering of blue.

Several voters exiting the polling station cite the climate crisis as their biggest worry.

“I feel like the climate crisis is just going to make the cost-of-living crisis worse,” said a young mother, who did not want to be named, while holding her toddler’s hand.

“I’m not sure any of them (parties) are going far enough,” she said.

A young woman who gave her name as Olivia said the environment was also her top issue, alongside queer and trans rights.

“Labor covers a lot of these things for me, but what they’re not covering right now is the war in Palestine,” she said, adding that a lot of her friends would be voting Greens because of their stance on the conflict in the Middle East.

Local woman Suvendi Pereira said she had given her first preference to the Greens because of their views on this issue.

“It’s an issue of humanity,” she said.

“I sent a questionnaire to all the parties about their position on Gaza and I voted accordingly.”