Australia will hold a general election on Saturday, with polls indicating Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's ruling centre-left Labor is ahead of opposition leader Peter Dutton's conservative Liberal-National coalition.

But citizens usually look to media outlets and election experts - like Australia's national broadcaster ABC - to call the unofficial results on election night. In the last election in 2022, the ABC announced the results at 9:30pm - just three and a half hours after polls closed on the east coast.

As Australians prepare to vote in the federal election, here's your guide to everything from how and where to vote to what the major parties are promising on key issues like health, housing, climate,