Each week, our correspondents will bring you the moments not to miss from both sides on the road to polling day.
The start of the week saw Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese go head-to-head in two leaders' debates in just three days.
Cost of living, wages, an integrity commission and national security dominated the discussions.
The at times, while the third and on Channel Seven was less rowdy but equally as spirited.
The next day, Scott Morrison made an early departure for Tasmania.
This was his third trip to the Apple Isle during the campaign to sandbag the ultra-marginal Liberal-held seat of Bass, signalling just how important this electorate is for the Coalition.
He appeared next to local member Bridget Archer for a $55 million mental health announcement.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Liberal member for Bass Bridget Archer visit the Launceston Head to Health facility on 12 May 2022. Source: AAP / MICK TSIKAS/AAPIMAGE
She called for "kindness" after being asked about the impact of the national debate on transgender children and their mental health.
Mr Morrison then went to the Ashgrove Cheese Dairy in the state's northern seat of Lyons.
The seat is held by a 5.2 per cent margin by Labor's Brian Mitchell, but the Liberals are hoping they have a chance to flip it.
Former diplomat says he was 'manhandled' by PM's security
The mood shifted significantly when one of Australia's first high commissioners to Solomon Islands, 76-year-old Trevor Sofield
He said he wanted to speak to Mr Morrison about his concerns about the mishandling of the relationship with the Pacific Island nation.
But the prime minister's security detail prevented him getting close, and they quickly whisked Mr Morrison away from the venue.
Mr Sofield later told reporters he was "manhandled" by Australian Federal Police.
Election campaigns are tightly stage-managed and it's uncommon to see both leaders interacting with members of the public who are not already vetted.
And perhaps the incident that occurred the very next day can provide an explanation as to why election campaigns are now run in this heavily choreographed manner.
Kim Jong-un impersonator gatecrashes PM's event
While in the Melbourne seat of Chisholm, a man dressed as the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un gatecrashed the prime minister's press conference, just minutes after he left the venue.
The Kim Jong-un impersonator claimed that a vote for the Liberals would result in Australia being controlled by the Chinese government.
"Thank you for supporting Gladys Liu. If you want the Communist Party to control Australia vote Liberal," he said.
Queensland Senate candidate and vocal critic of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Drew Pavlou took credit for the stunt on social media shortly afterwards.
The standout moment though of the week was a claim by Mr Morrison himself.
When asked about his interactions with the public, there was a noticeable shift in Mr Morrison's language.
He admitted he can be and promised to change his leadership style if re-elected.
He has only got a week left to convince voters.
Labor asked to detail its position on wages
With one word the Opposition leader again left his economic policy credentials open to question this week.
"Just back to wages. You said you don't want people to go backwards. Does that mean you would support a wage hike of at least 5.1 per cent just to keep up with inflation?" he was asked by a reporter in Melbourne.
The Opposition leader's reply: "Absolutely".
After months of Labor promising that people will be paid more if it is elected this was a moment to try and lock down some detail.
Since making that comment, significant column inches have been written trying to determine whether that is Labor's policy or an off-the-cuff comment.
The government has seized on "absolutely" to play into the broader economic narrative warning such a move would push up interest rates.
Anthony Albanese has refused to confirm whether Labor would put that 5.1 per cent figure in its submission to the Fair Work Commission.
Coal, coral and co-existence
This week has revealed the fine line Labor is walking on climate policy this election.
The opposition's centrepiece was a trip by Anthony Albanese to the Great Barrier Reef, where he took a boat to Fitzroy Island to put more dollars into the protection of the natural wonder.
While he stood under the palm trees talking about the importance of listening to the science on the bleached state of parts of the reef over summer, he was holding firm on Labor's carbon reduction targets.
There has been scientific and political pressure for deeper and more urgent 2030 cuts to limit warming and its effects on the reef, but his trip to coal country outside Gladstone in Central Queensland earlier in the week explains why Labor just won't go there.
Anthony Albanese was fighting to be heard above the noise from a lubricant recycling refinery to announce $100 million dollars in federal funding for battery manufacturing in Australia.
Opposition leader Anthony Albanese and Labor candidate for the seat of Flynn Matt Burnett arrive for a press conference after touring the Northern Oil Refinery in Gladstone on 12 May 2022. Source: AAP / LUKAS COCH/AAPIMAGE
When a local reporter asked him about the concerns for the jobs of people living in the electorate if Labor wins government, he talked of boom times to come in the renewable sector.
Afterwards a few of locals in Gladstone said they were doubtful that message would cut through in the community. They weren't sold on the promise of a well-paid job in the green economy.
While the debate over climate policy has been much more muted this campaign, the position taken by Labor will have different impacts in different pockets of the country.
With early voting underway, Mr Albanese and his partner Jodi have been going direct to the source, popping up at pre-polling centres in Brisbane and Adelaide.
And the Opposition leader has also roped in his state buddies too, announcing hospital funding in Boothby with new Labor leader Peter Malinauskas and stepping up with Victorian Labor Premier Daniel Andrews for a project to remove level crossings.
Climate wars
The climate wars made a brief appearance in the campaign, when the prime minister accused Labor of putting in place a carbon tax by stealth through its policy, something Labor says is bogus.
On the other hand, earlier in the campaign the candidate running for the Coalition in the seat of Flynn - which takes in Gladstone, Colin Boyce - reignited the debate over net zero by suggesting there was wiggle room in the prime minister's 2050 commitment.
Anthony Albanese is strongly backing his candidate in that seat, Gladstone Mayor Matt Burnett, declaring "he'll win Flynn because he's so connected and embedded in the community".
It is a strong comment, given the LNP holds the seat on a safe margin of 8.7 per cent.
Back on Fitzroy Island in Far North Queensland one towel-clad beachgoer fresh from exploring the reef exclaimed at the Opposition leader's arrival, "I thought I was escaping the election campaign by coming here".
As the Labor leader chatted and crunched white coral under his feet, another punter asked if he was going in for a dip.
"I'm so jealous," Mr Albanese said.
"If I get in, this mob ...," he trailed off, pointing at the nearby SBS cameraman.
Even in the most tempting of environments, optics are paramount.
