Australians could head to an early election as the federal government reintroduces its hotly-contested housing bill into parliament.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is expected today to announce plans to send the Housing Australia Future Fund Bill back into the lower house when Parliament returns next week.
One of the government's signature policies, the bill previously passed the House of Representatives but stalled in the Senate.
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The fund would provide $500 million annually to build social housing.
While the Coalition opposes it as wasteful, the Greens have also proved a roadblock, saying the bill doesn't offer enough.
The minor party wanted $5 billion a year for housing, which they later scaled down to $2.5 billion - both pitches the federal government knocked back.
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Should the bill fail to pass the upper house again, the government could seek to use it as a trigger for a double dissolution election.
This would see the governor-general dissolve both houses of parliament, and send voters to the polls early.
During a double dissolution election, all seats in the Senate go up for grabs, instead of half as in a standard election.
The last time Australia had a double dissolution election was in 2016, which was the first since 1987.
Only seven have ever been held since Federation.
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