Australian voters won't be going to the polls until at least May 18, as Scott Morrison buys himself more time to sell his economic and national security messages.
But the date might not matter, with an Ipsos poll released on Sunday night suggesting Labor holds a significant lead over the government.
The poll commissioned by The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald says Labor leads 53-47 on a two-party preferred basis.
If the results, which have a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 per cent, were replicated in a uniform swing, Labor would win 83 seats in the 151-seat lower house.
The poll also suggested Mr Morrison remains the preferred prime minister, with 46 per cent of those polled liking him compared to 35 per cent choosing Opposition Leader Bill Shorten.
Almost one in five voters were undecided.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison delivering his Federal Budget Lunch address in Sydney on Friday. Source: AAP
On Sunday, Mr Morrison dodged questions about election timings when holding a press conference in North Richmond, pledging $200 million for a third Hawkesbury River crossing.
He said the three dates of May 11, 18 and 25 still stood.
"The election will be called in April and the election will be held in May," he told reporters.
"We're not doing this with any haste and we're not doing it with any delay."
Voters will continue to be bombarded with government advertising, with 15 campaigns approved by an independent board since January at an estimated cost to the taxpayer of $47 million.
Labor has accused the prime minister of pushing back the election date so the cash-strapped coalition parties can exploit taxpayer-funded advertising.
"This government wants to spend tens of millions of dollars on TV advertising to pump up their own tyres," Mr Shorten told reporters in Melbourne on Sunday.
"That's why they're buying time, so they can spend some more of Australians' money."
"It's a farce": Anthony Albanese and Leader of the Opposition Bill Shorten. Source: AAP
The prime minister shrugged off the critique.
"Bill (Shorten) can be as frustrated and anxious and grumpy as he likes, but you know, we are running to the plan that we've set as a government," Mr Morrison told reporters in Sydney.
"We're looking forward to the weeks ahead and it won't be before too long that obviously we will go to the polls."
He dismissed complaints about spending public money on partisan ads, saying Labor did the same thing when they were in office.
Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan said the government needed time to sell its budget to the Australian people.
"If the opposition think they're not going to sell their budget reply because it's so hopeless, well that's fine, they can try and do some other things," he told reporters in Canberra.
"But the government gave a very good budget, and we want to make sure that the Australian people understand it."
Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese told Sky News his party was "ready for everything".
"While the government has been fighting itself, we've been preparing policies and putting them forward in a constructive way."
Prime Minister Scott Morrison will wait another week before calling a federal election. Source: AAP
Delaying the election could mean that voters do not receive tax cuts included in the federal budget, which are due to take effect in July.
It is looking increasingly likely that parliament won't return in time to pass the necessary legislation, but the education minister is unfazed.
"We will be doing everything we can to make sure that Australians get the tax cuts that they deserve," he said.
The Senate is scheduled to continue with budget estimates this week, hearings that could potentially be damaging for the government.
Nationals members and conservative Liberals are hoping for a conclusion to the environmental assessment on the proposed Adani Carmichael mine in Queensland, which they can take to the election as a win for jobs and the economy.
The Adani Abbot Point coal terminal on February 9 and an anti-Adani protest. Source: AAP
Despite the delay, Liberal strategists and staff have begun arriving at their campaign headquarters in Brisbane while Labor staffers are setting up their base in Parramatta in western Sydney.
The Prime Minister is expected in Brisbane on Monday to address a business lunch.
Back in Canberra, the Senate is scheduled to hold a week of budget estimates, which could prove politically damaging for the government.
Meanwhile, former prime minister Tony Abbott is reportedly facing "diabolical" internal polling in his Sydney seat of Warringah, which could see him swept out of the Liberal blue ribbon seat.
