7NEWS to deliver most comprehensive coverage of the Federal Election: Natalie Barr and Michael Usher to host alongside Hugh Whitfeld and Mark Riley

7NEWS

23-04-2025

The country's most comprehensive election coverage is on the Seven Network, as 7NEWS assembles Australia's best election team and political panel, backed by cutting-edge technology, to call the election first.
7NEWS: Australia Decides – The Results Live will be led by co-hosts Michael Usher and Natalie Barr, alongside veteran 7NEWS Political Editor Mark Riley, who brings over three decades of experience across 11 Federal Elections.
Live from 7NEWS Election Central will be some of Canberra's most high-profile power players, including Bill Shorten, Tanya Plibersek, Jane Hume, Michaelia Cash, Clare O'Neil Warren Mundine and Clive Palmer, offering diverse perspectives and robust analysis.
Comprehensive coverage
Seven's election broadcast kicks off first at 4:00pm AEST Saturday, May 3, on Seven and 7plus, with a special national edition of 7NEWS.
From 5pm AEST, join Monique Wright and David Woiwod for a lighter look at election day with 7NEWS: Australia Decides — Election 2025 crossing live to key battlegrounds, and to pick apart the campaign that was, flanked by some of the country's brightest political minds.
Watch 7NEWS live at 6pm for all early seat calls and key updates from 7NEWS National Desk Director Hugh Whitfeld at the 7NEWS Power Board, as well as the rest of the day's news, sport and weather.
At 7pm AEST, Michael Usher and Natalie Barr host the main event, 7NEWS: Australia Decides — The Results Live, from 7NEWS Election Central.
Seven's unbeatable election team will be live right through the night, with real-time analysis and seat-by-seat breakdowns, crossing to the electorates and people that matter, until the race is called.
Calling it first
In an Australian-first, 7NEWS will provide up-to-the-minute results and unparalleled insights using the 7NEWS Power Board, backed exclusively by the same technology used by CNN.
Hugh Whitfeld, alongside esteemed political scientists Simon Jackman and Luke Mansillo, will use this new technology to break down votes faster and more clearly than anyone else, providing Australians with unparalleled booth-by-booth analysis.
As seats are called, the 7NEWS Election Needle will move in real time to determine who is most likely to form government at any given moment, based on expert analysis and data from a team of more than a dozen journalists, statisticians, political scientists and researchers.
On election night, Australia's election engine room will be at 7NEWS Election Central.
A brand-new situation room will house the country's top number crunchers, pollsters and spinners, alongside 7NEWS presenter Tim McMillan — providing exclusive insight into how each camp is thinking and feeling.
7NEWS will have every battleground seat covered on election night, with live breaking updates from reporters inside campaign HQs and from the electorates that matter, across every state.
Unbeatable online
For the most informed analysis, up-to-the second data and live updates from where the action is, stay on 7NEWS.com.au, The West and The Nightly, on election night.
Thanks to new technology from US data firm InterKnowlogy, readers will have exclusive access to interactive electorate maps, seat counts and the 7NEWS Election Needle.
The exclusive data will be informed by some of the country's most respected political journalists, providing breaking updates first, detailing election night ins and outs, as they happen.
Get involved on 7NEWS ' Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube pages for immediate breaking updates, and behind-the-scenes analysis from inside the 7NEWS situation room.
7NEWS — Australia's #1 news service — has assembled the biggest election team in Australia to deliver the most comprehensive and advanced coverage of the Federal Election, putting viewers well ahead of the rest, across Seven, 7plus, 7NEWS.com.au and social platforms.
7NEWS: Australia Decides — Election 2025, LIVE from 4pm AEST, Saturday, May 3
Local broadcast times on Seven and 7plus:
Saturday, 3 May
New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Australian Capital Territory, Tasmania
4.00pm – 5.00pm 7NEWS Election Day *Live*
5.00pm – 6.00pm 7NEWS: Australia Decides – Election 2025 *Live*
6.00pm – 7.00pm 7NEWS *Live*
7.00pm – Late 7NEWS: Australia Decides: The Results *Live*
Saturday, 3 May
South Australia, Northern Territory
4.00pm – 5.00pm 7NEWS Election Day
5.00pm – 6.00pm 7NEWS: Australia Decides – Election 2025
6.00pm – 7.00pm 7NEWS *Live*
7.00pm – Late 7NEWS: Australia Decides: The Results *Live*
Saturday, 3 May
Western Australia
3.00pm – 4.00pm 7NEWS: Election Day
4.00pm – 5.00pm 7NEWS: Australia Decides – Election 2025
5.00pm – 6.00pm
6.00pm – 7.00pm 7NEWS *Live*