An email from Prime Minister Tony Abbott's chief of staff, Peta Credlin, to backbench MPs has triggered speculation that an early election could be in the offing.
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The email to members and senators, obtained by the ABC and verified by Fairfax Media, suggests that Coalition MPs may wish to update their "working photographs with the Prime Minister this week to use in local electorate materials".
Ms Credlin goes on to say that a time has been created in the Prime Minister's programme between 4pm and 5pm for "any MP wanting an updated photograph".
Mr Abbott, for his part, played down the prospect of an early election on Thursday, telling people speculating about an early poll to "have a Bex and a good lie down".
He added that the government had been elected to govern for three years and that the most recent sitting fortnight had been one of the government's most productive.
Photos with the prime minister of the day are commonly used in communications from MPs in newsletters and on their websites.
But some in the Coalition believe the email is a clear sign that preliminary preparations are being made for an early poll.
One Liberal source said the offer to MPs to update their photographs was clearly so that they could be used in election materials.
"Who knows when they might be needed. But look at yesterday's press conference, with all those flags ... it will be a presidential-style campaign," the source said.
"They are clearly exploring the potential."
Other Liberals, however, played down the possibility of an early election and said much work needed to be done before a poll was called.
If an election is to be held before July 16, 2016, it would need to be the result of a double dissolution, which means all 76 senators will have to stand for re-election, insead of a typical election, where half of upper house seats become available.
That, in turn, means there is a greater chance of independent and minor party candidates being elected and sharing control of the balance of power in the upper house - and therefore being able to stymie the agenda of the government of the day.
Some Coalition hard-heads say that fact makes an early election unlikely.
Earlier this week, Labor leader Bill Shorten dared Mr Abbott to "bring on" an early election during an address to his colleagues and said there was a good chance Parliament would not return from the pending winter break until after a poll has been held.
