Federal election results Australia: Anthony Albanese wins second term as Prime Minister

Anthony Albanese has won a second term as Australia’s Prime Minister.

7NEWS called the election for Anthony Albanese just after 6pm on Saturday, declaring there was no chance of Peter Dutton becoming the nation’s leader.

Mr Albanese is the first Prime Minister since John Howard in 2004 to be returned for a second term.

Trailing in the polls going into the start of year, Labor regained ground on the coalition throughout 2025 following global uncertainty triggered by US President Donald Trump and his tariffs on trading partners.

Campaigning on reducing living costs, Mr Albanese made health a focal point during the election, frequently brandishing his Medicare card and pledging to expand access to bulk billing and urgent cares clinics.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton was considered the frontrunner going into the election campaign, but a lack of detail surrounding key policy costings and a voter association with the policies of Mr Trump caused his his poll numbers to plummet.

Mr Dutton urged voters throughout the election to ask themselves if they were better off now compared to three years ago, but the public has opted for a second term of the status quo.

The election was dominated by issues on the cost of living, following several interest rate rises and high inflation, with the prime minister also going on the attack of Mr Dutton’s record as health minister during the previous coalition government.

Despite being ahead throughout the campaign, Mr Albanese still sought to play the underdog card, with Labor still scarred by its 2019 election loss which polls predicted it would win easily.

But with Saturday’s win, Labor has exorcised its demons of the electoral past and will look to implement its second-term agenda.

- with AAP