Labor leader Bill Shorten spent election eve volunteering with charity groups, serving food to homeless people in Sydney.
As the sun was setting on the longest election campaign in Australian history, Shorten joined Reverend Bill Crews' charity the Exodus Foundation at 9pm on Friday to serve hot meals to homeless people in Woolloomooloo.
Labor has pledged to halve homelessness by 2025 and address the national housing affordability crisis if it wins government on Saturday.
Shorten says he'll reverse the over $1 billion in cuts to frontline community services made in the last three Coalition budgets, including $500 million from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations and youth and community health programs. He'll also appoint a minister for housing and homelessness.
There are currently 105,237 homeless people in Australia, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The Coalition invested $230 million over two years to extend the National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness, a federal-state initiative that funds frontline homelessness services, but funding is due to run out in June 2017.
Labor will also provide $4 million if elected to stop the closure of inner Sydney's Haymarket Clinic, which provides refuge to homeless people.
Charities say neither party has invested enough in tackling homelessness and housing affordability.
St Vincent de Paul is calling for the establishment of a $10 billion social and affordable housing fund, as well as reforms to negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions.
"Housing should be a human right for all and not a speculative sport for some. Currently, with 200,000 households waiting for social housing, it is clear that this has to be a priority for the next government," St Vincent de Paul CEO John Falzon said.
