The starter gun has been fired for Victoria's official election campaign as the state government and opposition rally behind the Melbourne Airport Rail project.
Governor Linda Dessau signed the writs on Tuesday morning, ending the 59th parliament and formally triggering the election process.
The writs for the November 26 poll have been returned to the Victorian Electoral Commission and will be issued later in the day.
The government will enter caretaker mode at 6pm and can no longer make major policy decisions, sign contracts or make significant appointments.
It comes as Labor dismissed an independent report into Melbourne Airport Rail that urged it to consider delaying the $8 billion to $13b project.
Infrastructure Australia has evaluated the business case for the link, which will take passengers from the airport to Melbourne's CBD in less than 30 minutes, and recommended more work to improve cost estimates.
It found most benefits from the link won't materialise until the recently widened Tullamarine Freeway reaches capacity, forecast in 2036.
"Consequently, the business case forecasts lower passenger volumes on a volume-to-capacity basis for the first 10 years of operation, before ramping up substantially in the 2040s," the report said.
"This indicates that construction could be deferred to better align with forecast demand."
The Victorian and federal governments have each committed $5b to build Melbourne Airport Rail by 2029 and state Labor has indicated it won't change the construction timeline.
"Others have talked about a rail line to Melbourne Airport for decades - the Andrews Labor government will get on and deliver it," a spokeswoman said.
The report suggests the next government should also ponder ways to shift road users to Melbourne Airport Rail earlier, including road congestion charges for drivers and competitive train fares.
In Cheltenham, Opposition Leader Matthew Guy said the coalition does not support congestion charges on the Tullamarine Freeway but backs the project.
"Perth is getting one, Sydney's got one, Brisbane's got one - it's now time for Melbourne to have one," he told reporters after spruiking a $100 million plan to hand out grants for community solar panels and batteries.
A $15m lifeline for Netball Australia, announced on Monday, was one of the Victorian government's last official acts before it entered caretaker mode.
Mr Guy has vowed to honour the contract but said he wouldn't have signed it himself.
"That $15 million could have paid for ... 750 knee replacements," he said.
Victorians will be able to apply for postal votes from Wednesday and cast ballots at early voting centres from November 14.
Electoral Commissioner Warwick Gately confirmed the Victorian Liberals had been cleared of illegally distributing postal vote applications and declared the matter resolved.
"What was distributed was a pre-filled general postal voter application," he told ABC Radio Melbourne.
"It was not a postal voting application. We've clarified that.
"There is no rule preventing a party promoting an application to be a general postal voter."
