When will the Federal Election take place this year?

Prime Minister Scott Morrison seems to be playing the long game when it comes to announcing the date of the next federal election.

But the wait is set to be over within hours with a May 21 date expected.

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So what do we know about when the election will take place?

When will the election take place?

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The latest possible election date is May 21.

The prime minister must give at least 33 days between calling the election and the polling date itself.

As a result, Mr Morrison cannot wait longer than April 18 to visit the governor-general and call the election.

Even if he wants to call it earlier, his only two options remaining are May 14 or May 21.

It must be held on a Saturday.

When recently pressed on the election date, Mr Morrison replied it would be "mid-May".

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When will Scott Morrison call the election?

Traditionally, Prime Ministers call elections on weekends, usually mid-morning on a Saturday.

But Mr Morrison defied tradition last time by calling the election on a Thursday morning.

Legally, Mr Morrison can call it at any time of day, but it must be done soon and likely in the coming days.

How long will the election campaign go on for?

There's no formal election campaign period.

The official campaign is just the time between the election being called and the day itself.

It is a minimum of 33 days, which means if he calls it tomorrow, it cannot be held before Saturday, May 14.

But whether it will be a four-week campaign or a six-week campaign will be up to when he announces it. 

That being said, every party is more or less behaving like the election has already begun.

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