2016 Australian Federal Election Saturday July 02,2016

The 2016 Australian Federal Election is scheduled to be held on Saturday July 02,2016 to elect all 226 members of the 45th Parliament of Australia - 150 Members of House of Representatives and 76 Members of Senate

Voting is compulsory in Australia

Australians are heading to the polls to pick up a new government, in a hotly contested general election that caps off an extraordinarily volatile period in the country's politics.

Polling stations opened at 8am (22:00 GMT) on Saturday, with some 15.6 million electors taking part in a compulsory vote across the country

As of the close of nominations on 9 June 2016, there are 1,625 candidates in total – 994 for the House of Representatives and 631 for the Senate.

The number of Senate candidates is the highest ever at an Australian election, increasing from 529 in 2013

The election pits the conservative coalition government of Malcolm Turnbull against the centre-left Labor Party, led by Bill Shorten, with recent opinion polls suggesting a close race.

The ongoing political turmoil, coupled with the global uncertainty brought about by Britain's recent vote to leave the EU, prompted Turnbull, the prime minister, to urge voters to stick with the status quo.

In Sydney, 61-year-old Malcolm Turnbull voted along with his wife Lucy at the Double Bay Public School in his seat of Wentworth.

Labor, meanwhile, sought throughout the eight-week campaign to cast Turnbull's Liberal Party as deeply divided, with Shorten saying: "You cannot have stability without unity".

 In the 150-seat House of Representatives, Labour currently holds 55 seats, the coalition 90 and five seats are held by minor parties or independents

In May 2016, Malcolm Turnbull had announced double dissolution of Parliament which led to two months of election campaign filled with slogans and promises. 

WHAT HAPPENS IN THE EVENT OF A HUNG PARLIAMENT 

If neither of the major parties secures a majority in the federal election the country will be left with a hung parliament. 

It will be up to them to negotiate with independent MPs and form the next government.

While the politicians themselves will have to draw up arrangements, their efforts are overseen by the Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove.

The 2010 federal election returned a hung parliament. The then Labor leader Julie Gillard formed a coalition with independent and Greens MPs in its wake. 

If the parties cannot agree on terms for a coalition another election will be called as a last resort. 

Both Bill Shorten and Malcolm Turnbull have ruled out forming a coalition with the Greens.