Vote Compass is back for the 2019 election to help you find out how your views compare to the policies of our political parties.

Key points: Use Vote Compass now to find out where you stand in the Australian political landscape

to find out where you stand in the Australian political landscape It takes about 10 minutes to complete

It takes about 10 minutes to complete It can provide fresh insights even for those who have used it before

If you answer some quick questions about your views, Vote Compass will provide a simple map of how your views compare to those of the parties.

Australia's current political landscape is very different from when the last election was held in 2016 — there are new policies, new issues, and of course a new prime minister. Vote Compass is all new too, so it can provide fresh insights even for those who might have used it before.

The topics covered in 2019 include:

Do you think negative gearing should be scrapped?

Do you think negative gearing should be scrapped? How many immigrants should Australia take?

How many immigrants should Australia take? Should live animal exports be banned?

Should live animal exports be banned? How much action would you like to see on climate change?

The tool works on your smartphone and takes less than 10 minutes to complete.

Left, right, centre — where do you stand?

Once you answer the survey questions in Vote Compass, it maps you onto a two-dimensional graph that represents the social and economic dimensions of political opinion in Australia.

Vote Compass maps your views along two dimensions — social and economic.

And here's how to think about what that "compass" actually means:

If your circle appears higher on the chart, your views are more socially progressive. If you're lower, then you're more socially conservative

If your circle appears higher on the chart, your views are more socially progressive. If you're lower, then you're more socially conservative If your circle appears towards the left of the chart, your views are aligned more with the economic "left" — and right means economic right, of course

This is the third time the ABC has used Vote Compass for a federal election.

About 1.3 million people used Vote Compass during each of the 2013 and 2016 election campaigns, making it the largest survey of voter attitudes ever undertaken in Australia.

What if I've done Vote Compass before?

In 2019, Vote Compass includes questions on immigration and climate change. ( ABC News )

In 2019, the 30 questions in Vote Compass cover a wide range of policy areas, and perennial issues about foreign aid spending and asylum seekers appear again.

But it also asks about policies that have dominated the recent political agenda — for example how much tax Australians should pay, how much of our energy should come from renewable sources, and female representation in Parliament.

Andrea Carson, a political scientist from La Trobe University and a member of the Vote Compass academic panel, says it is worth doing Vote Compass again because many issues had become more polarised since the last election.

"I think we'll see a real difference between the policy positions of the two major parties, particularly around economic fairness, education and taxation," Dr Carson said.

Plus, your views could have changed since 2016, so it's worth revisiting where you sit.

It's a policy comparison tool, not voting advice

ABC election expert Antony Green says Vote Compass is not about telling people how to vote. ( ABC News )

ABC election analyst Antony Green says Vote Compass is a voter engagement tool — it doesn't give voters advice, or attempt to predict how they will vote.

"It's important to remember that Vote Compass isn't a how-to-vote guide," he said.

"You don't fill it in and work out who to vote for. It just asks a series of questions on different policy issues and some people might be surprised to find out where they stand."

Vote Compass academic panel member Aaron Martin, a senior lecturer in political science at the University of Melbourne, notes that people make decisions about how to vote based on a range of different metrics and "policy position is just one of them".

In an election race where the next big sound bite or scandal sucks up a lot of the oxygen, the actual policies of the parties can get lost and voters can feel confused about all the polls and promises. Vote Compass is a step to help guide them through the whirlwind, Dr Martin says.

"We do that work for the voter, so it takes the burden off the voter, to have to find out what the parties' policies are on every given issue," he said.

We'll keep you updated on where Australians stand on the issues

Unlike a traditional opinion poll, the main goal of Vote Compass is to get Australians thinking and talking about important matters of public policy, rather than forecasting who might win the election.

But Dr Carson says Vote Compass does tell us what voters are thinking about different issues.

"It can tell us what people are thinking about negative gearing. If overwhelmingly people are in favour of a policy that's being advocated by one of the major parties, that might give us a sense of how that party is faring on a particular issue," she said.

ABC News will publish regular results from the Vote Compass survey during the election campaign across its digital, television and radio services, in order to help Australians understand how voters are feeling about the key issues and about our political leaders.

Vote Compass asks for your demographic data so that the results can be adjusted to reflect the Australian population. But your personal information is not linked to your survey answers.

Political scientists from the University of Melbourne, University of Sydney and La Trobe University will also use the data on voter attitudes for social science research purposes after the election.