Scott Morrison has pulled ahead of Anthony Albanese as preferred prime minister but Labor remains in poll position despite a further fall in popular support, the latest Newspoll shows.
The Newspoll conducted for The Australian on the eve of the election campaign shows the contest between the two major parties tightening to its closest margin this year.
Labor's primary vote has fallen to its lowest level since October last year, dropping a point to 37 per cent on top of a three-point fall last week.
The Coalition's primary vote remains unchanged on a low 36 per cent. It would need to make up at least four points over the course of the campaign to be in a winning position.
The shift in underlying support for Labor has resulted in a one-point gain for the Coalition on a two-party-preferred basis with Labor ahead 53-47.
Mr Morrison has pulled ahead of the Labor leader as the better prime minister, the Newspoll shows.
Mr Albanese fell three points to 39 per cent while Mr Morrison rose a point to 44 per cent.
The Greens remain unchanged on 10 per cent, with One Nation level on 3 per cent, Clive Palmer's United Australia Party lifting a point to 4 per cent and "others" recording 10 per cent for the third poll in a row.
The poll of 1506 voters was conducted across Australia between April 6 and 9.