Dunkley byelection LIVE updates: Labor, Coalition go head-to-head in crucial Victorian seat

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he had received the message from voters on cost-of-living pressures as they cast their ballots in the federal seat of Dunkley, with the byelection a key test of levels of support for the government among middle Australia.

Cost-of-living issues dominated the byelection campaign in the outer suburban Melbourne electorate, with both Labor and Liberal camps anticipating a close contest amid expectations Labor would just cling on to the seat.

It serves as a broader temperature check on the government’s standing with suburban voters hard-hit by the cost-of-living crisis after revamping the stage 3 tax cuts and with just over a year, at most, until the next federal election. It is also a test of Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s plan to win back outer-metropolitan electorates as the linchpin of the Coalition’s strategy to return to government.

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In a final pitch to Dunkley voters, Albanese said the decision to revamp the stage 3 tax cuts – a policy shift that required Labor to break an election promise – demonstrated his government was listening to “middle Australia”.

“We know that this community, particularly low and middle-income earners, have been doing it tough with cost-of-living pressures. So, we’ve responded to that,” Albanese said from Derinya Primary School in Frankston on Saturday morning.

“The tax cuts that have passed the Senate this week will ensure that every single taxpayer in Dunkley gets a tax cut, not just some.”