Anthony Albanese says PM likely to call election this weekend, promises to call Royal Commission into robodebt

The Prime Minister is expected to call the election within days - and must call one by April 18 - with May 14 or May 21 as the dates on which polling day will be held.

Despite the Speaker's office sending emails to MPs about next week's parliamentary order of business in Canberra, Mr Albanese on Saturday morning told reporters it was more likely Mr Morrison would call the election today or on Sunday morning than have another week of sittings.

"I can't see how a prime minister who really doesn't like scrutiny will allow the Parliament to come back on Monday, in the form of the House of Representatives, and that's what will have to happen," he said at a press conference in Sydney's inner-west.

"So either the election will be called today or the election will be called tomorrow morning."

The Prime Minister also appeared in a video on social media making a re-election pitch saying the government had saved lives and jobs in the pandemic.

"This is why as we go to this next election, what's firing me up? We're actually in a really strong position," he said in the video.

Mr Albanese defended the size of his party's policy platform, accusing the Coalition of lacking policy ideas beyond cash promises to win votes. He also reiterated a promise, made previously, that Labor in government would hold a Royal Commission into the robodebt program.

He repeated his accusation that the government was delaying in calling the election to use public funding to campaign and to appoint party allies to public service boards.

"The Prime Minister last year gave up on governing and said he was campaigning, we had a budget handed down that even the government doesn't talk about any more, because it was so thin, so devoid of any vision for economic reform, anything beyond one-off payments that end as soon as people cast their ballot papers," Mr Albanese said.

"The question for Scott Morrison is, what is his policy that he is taking to this election? Because I haven't seen any.

"There's no policy that he's put in place, and he's the government."

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The opposition leader said the Coalition were favourites to win this election and that Labor faced a "mountain to climb" to win government, having only done so from opposition three times since World War II.

"Governments get re-elected much more often than government changes hands in this country. And Scott Morrison has a considerable advantage going into this election," Mr Albanese said.

The opposition leader said Labor, accused by the government of failing to put forward policies in a "small target" election strategy, had already made promises about the National Broadband Network, infrastructure, industry, industrial relations, climate change and skills.

"You'll see more in the lead-up to polling day," Mr Albanese said.

Mr Morrison was reportedly expected to update the ministerial standards on Saturday in line with reviews conducted by the Prime Minister's Department deputy secretary Stephanie Foster, and sex discrimination commissioner Kate Jenkins.

The government's final hurdle to calling the federal election was cleared on Friday after the High Court refused to hear a challenge to the Prime Minister's intervention into NSW Liberal preselections.

The Prime Minister has until April 18 to call the election.

Mr Morrison signalled that he was prepared to run the full-term when asked about the election date on Friday morning.

"Well, electoral terms go for three years. The last election was on the 18th of May and the next election will be held at about the same time," Mr Morrison said.