With Kevin Rudd now the prime minister, Australians are waiting for the announcement when will the federal election be held. Former PM Julia Gillard scheduled it Sept 14, but Mr Rudd hinted it could be held earlier.

Given that August is just more than five weeks away, Aug 24 is the likely earliest date but it may not be the best date since the Australian Electoral Commission said that a simultaneous referendum and election could not be held before Sept 14. That means, Mr Rudd would need to call for a federal election at the latest by July 23 for the polls to take place on Aug 24.

Aug 31 and the next three weekends are also available, but Mr Rudd has indicated he does not want a clash with the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur scheduled on Sept 13-14.

But the first weekend o September coincides with the G20 meeting in Russia on Sept 5-6, while Sept 28 is also a no-no date because it is the grand finals weekend of the AFL big game, and the next weekend in the NRL championship.

If Mr Rudd would pick Oct 11, he would have to call the election by Tuesday, Sept 10.

Actually, Nov 30 is the last possible date a federal election could be held, and there are 22 Saturdays between Nov 30 and now. Australian law mandated a campaign period of not less than 33 days, which already rules out four Saturdays.

However, moving it to November would make it appear that Mr Rudd is avoiding an election, and it may negate the gains made by Labor over the weekend based on new survey results that show Mr Rudd has overtaken Opposition leader Tony Abbott as the preferred prime minister.

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