The major parties have assigned close to 300 operatives to the upcoming federal election campaign, with infrastructure, advertising and personnel already in place for whenever Prime Minister Scott Morrison calls the poll.

Labor is about to marshal its campaign squad of about 180 at its Parramatta headquarters for another training and simulation day before Parliament returns in February. The party held its first campaign trial back in August to test IT systems, allocate desks and identify logistical gaps, and plans to move into the office space right after the April budget.

It is now less than 18 weeks until the election, expected to be on May 11 or May 18. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

After many years of basing its campaign in Melbourne - and a controversial decision to run the show from Canberra in 2016 - the Coalition will move its HQ to Brisbane. Queensland is the key battleground state in this election and the government needs to hold marginal seats there.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten will start a quasi campaign aboard the "Bill Bus" at the end of this week, touring the Queensland coast just as Mr Morrison did last year - though sources stressed Mr Shorten would travel by bus the entire time.