Election campaign planning is in full swing in the Liberal and Labor parties, even though it is increasingly likely a poll will not be held until the second half of the year.
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Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said last week that he expected the election to be held in August, September or October, and the government remains some way off finalising its tax reform package.
But federal Labor has moved to an election footing, with most of the key staff who will work in campaign headquarters in place and training days already underway.
A core group of close to 70 party operatives met in the William Street, Melbourne offices last week to hear from national secretary George Wright, who will be campaign director, as well as the team leaders who will run key units within the so-called "CHQ".
And preparations for Liberal Party headquarters are also well-advanced, with the party to once again be based in Melbourne, and key positions in the party's advertising, polling, tactics, social media and strategy already filled.
Like Labor's, the Liberal office will be a 24 hour a day operation during the election and is expected to staffed by about 100 people.
Liberal federal director Tony Nutt, a Howard-era veteran who was campaign chief in the victorious 2014 NSW and 2010 Victorian elections, will head up campaign HQ for the government.
Pollster Mark Textor will again be drafted in and veteran operatives such as Darcy Tronson and John Griffin are also expected to return.
During the 2013 election, Labor was wracked by tensions between Kevin Rudd's travelling party and the campaign headquarters, which was largely staffed by Julia Gillard loyalists who grew increasingly frustrated by the then-prime minister's unpredictable changes to the daily program and his inability to stay on message.
This time around, Labor is more unified, though there are some suggestions that Bill Shorten's chief of staff Cameron Milner, who will divide his time between travelling and CHQ, has already put noses out of joint internally.
The public face of Labor's campaign is expected to be either trade spokeswoman Penny Wong or housing spokeswoman Katy Gallagher.
Labor has not replaced Kimberley Gardiner, who was set to head up its communications team but recently left Bill Shorten's office, but most other senior positions have been filled.
Long-serving staffer Ryan Hamilton will be the deputy communications chief; Paul Erickson will head the target seats team; Wayne Swan's daughter Erin is in charge of social media; Sebastian Zwalf will head the advertising team; Amit Singh and Sam Trobe will heading up the policy team and Matt Jose will run a Canberra office.
On the road, Mr Shorten's press secretary Ryan Liddell is expected to head up the travelling party, while fellow flack Sam Casey is also expected to travel.
The Moss group, an ad agency that worked on the most recent NSW and Victorian elections, has also been appointed.
