On Sunday, the Liberal Party will stage its official election campaign launch.

Labor's will not be until another eight days after that, on Monday August 16.

A campaign launch? Just five days before the actual election?

How does that work?

Well, some people feel that a big launch works better closer to the poll date, because it minimises the time that elapses between the party's formal avowal of all its policies and the subsequent thrilled assent by voters at the ballot box.

Stops them falling unconscious in between, is the idea.

Plus, there are some practical administrative considerations.

For instance, in this campaign, the ALP needs to find creative solutions to its former-leader problem before it can stage a formal launch (Item: Stage a French-clock exhibition somewhere in South America. Item: Ring Bob and tell him they're giving away bathrobes at Westfield Bondi Junction. Item: Pretend to be from Jane's Defence Weekly and write to Kevin asking for 30,000 words on Asia-Pacific regional security by the day after the launch. Item: Make eye contact with Mark Latham and then just run away for the next three months).

But the belatedness of these campaign launches might cause some head-scratching among those of you who are feeling that this campaign has already been going for longer than should be strictly necessary.

Here's what the major parties won't tell you.

Convention between the big parties and the Department of Finance dictates that travel allowance for politicians and their staff - transport expenses, accommodation, and so on - continues to be paid until a party is deemed to be in campaign mode.

Historically, parties have deemed themselves to be in campaign mode whenever the hell they feel like it.

Usually remarkably close to the end of the actual campaign, though.

In the 2001 election, John Howard's "We Will Decide..." campaign launch was on October 28 - 12 days before the November 10 election.

Kim Beazley's was on October 31 - just nine days out.

In 2004, when Howard notoriously spent $6 billion in about 20 minutes, he was doing so 14 days before the election; Mark Latham's wife Janine welcomed him on to Labor's stage three days later on September 29, 11 days before polling day.

Kevin07 launched his campaign nine days out, the Coalition 12 days out, in 2007.

This election, in which Julia Gillard formally launches her election campaign just five days before it concludes, amounts to something of a record as far as I can tell.

Rest assured that the longer they leave it, the more you are paying to put up staffers in hotels, shunt politicians around the country, and generally foot the bill for much of the activity you are presently observing.

After the campaign launches, parties themselves are responsible for all their own expenses.

But by prolonging the period that elapses before the launch, think how much money they're saving.

All the more cash to spend on those ads that you love so much.

Annabel Crabb is ABC Online's chief political writer.