Peter Dutton's approval ratings falls 10 points as work from home policy ban rattles voters

Peter Dutton’s approval rating among voters has plunged to its worst level since becoming opposition leader, polling shows.

The first YouGov poll since the federal election was called for May 3, provided to AAP, shows Mr Dutton’s satisfaction rating plummeting to minus 15.

His net satisfaction among voters slumped by 10 points in the two weeks since the last YouGov poll was released on March 21.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s personal standing among voters remains in negative territory, but his satisfaction level has improved from minus nine to minus six.

It’s the first time since June 2024 the prime minister has had a higher net-satisfaction rating than the opposition leader.

As the first week of the federal election campaign wraps up, Labor maintains its slim overall lead over the coalition, ahead 51 per cent to 49 on a two-party preferred basis.

Opinion ratings for Mr Dutton had dropped substantially since he unveiled policies, YouGov’s director of public data Paul Smith said.

“Peter Dutton’s personal satisfaction ratings have sunk like a stone to his lowest ever in YouGov’s public data poll since he tied himself to Trump-style policies of banning work from home and sacking 40,000 public sector workers,” he said.’

Mr Dutton has been under pressure on the campaign trail to detail where the public service cuts will be made.

The YouGov poll also showed Labor’s primary vote went backwards slightly since the election campaign started, dropping one point to 30 per cent, while the coalition’s also fell by two points to 35 per cent.

While the Greens and One Nation have remained stable at 13 and seven per cent respectively for their primary votes, independents have enjoyed a slight increase, rising by two points to 10 per cent.

Mr Albanese also solidified his lead as preferred prime minister, leading 45 per cent to 38 per cent, following a two-point drop in support for Mr Dutton as leader.

The polling comes as party leaders have tried to pitch themselves as best placed to deal with US President Donald Trump, following the decision to impose 10 per cent tariffs on Australian exports.

The ramifications of the tariff decision are expected to dominate discussion as the election campaign enters its second week.

Both party leaders are set to spend Friday campaigning in Sydney, with several seats in the city set to decide the election outcome.

The YouGov poll of 1622 people was conducted between March 28 and April 3, with a margin of error of 3.3 per cent.