Factbox: Party leader profiles

During a campaign trail you'll likely see the same faces splashed all over the news.

During a campaign trail you'll likely see the same faces splashed all over the news.

Julia Gillard:

Julia Gillard is Australia's first female Prime Minister and was sworn in on June 24.

Ms Gillard was born in Barry, Wales, on 29 September, 1961. Her family emigrated to Adelaide in 1966.

She is the second foreign-born Prime Minister of Australia, after William "Billy" Hughes, who took office for the first time in 1915.

Before entering politics, the MP was an industrial law solicitor.

She ran for, and was elected in, the Victorian seat of Lalor in 1998.

Shortly after her election, Ms Gillard was handed the portfolio of Immigration and Population in the Simon Crean-led Shadow Ministry. 2003 saw her leave that role to take on first Indigenous Affairs, then health.

Prior to the 2007 federal election, the Member for Lalor took on the Employment and Industrial Affairs portfolios, both of which she retained in Government until becoming PM, as well as the role of Deputy Prime Minister.

She had been Deputy Leader of the ALP since 2006.

Ms Gillard and partner Tim Mathieson are not married, and have no children.

Wayne Swan:

Wayne Swan was born in the country town of Nambour in Queensland in 1954 and grew up on the Sunshine Coast.

He was educated at Nambour Primary School and Nambour State High School.

He moved to Brisbane to undertake a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) degree from the University of Queensland and later went on to lecture in public policy at the Queensland Institute of Technology for 12 years.

Mr Swan was elected to Parliament as the Member for the Brisbane seat of Lilley from 1993 to 1996, and from 1998 to the present.

Prior to entering parliament he chaired Labor's Caucus Economics Committee, was the State Secretary of the Queensland Branch of the Australia Labor Party and campaign director for Wayne Goss' historic election victories in 1989 and 1992.

He became the Shadow Minister for Family and Community Services from 1998 to 2004 before becoming Labor's Shadow Treasurer from 2004.

Mr Swan is married to Kim and has three children.

Tony Abbott:

Tony Abbott was elected Member for Warringah at a by-election in March 1994.

Prior to entering Parliament he was Executive Director of Australians for Constitutional Monarchy in the early 90s.

From 1990-93 he was press secretary and political advisor to the Leader of the Opposition, Dr John Hewson.

He toyed with a career in journalism, and was a feature writer for 'The Bulletin' and 'The Australian'.

On the election of the Howard Government in 1996 he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs.

Following the 1998 election he was appointed to the new portfolio of Minister for Employment Services.

Mr Abbott was appointed Minister for Health and Ageing on the 7 October 2003.

After the election in 2007, Mr Abbott became Shadow Minister for Families, Community Services, Indigenous Affairs & the Voluntary Sector, followed by Shadow Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs.

Mr Abbott became Leader of the Opposition in December 2009.

He lives in Forestville with wife Margaret and three daughters.

Julie Bishop

Julie Bishop lived in the electorate of Curtin for over 26 years, but she grew up on a cherry and apple orchard in the Adelaide Hills.

She attended Basket Range Primary School and St Peter's Girls' School for her secondary education. She was Head Prefect in Year 12.

Ms Bishop graduated with a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Adelaide in 1978, and at the age of 26 become partner of an Adelaide law firm.

In 1996, she attended Harvard Business School in Boston completing the Advanced Management Programme for Senior Managers.

The MP was elected to the House of Representatives as the Member for Curtin in 1998 and served as a Cabinet member in the Howard Government as Minister for Education, Science and Training. She was also the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women's Issues.

In the mid-1990s Ms Bishop was appointed a director of SBS (TV and Radio).

In 2000 and 2002 Julie was an electoral observer for the Commonwealth of Nations in the parliamentary and presidential elections in Zimbabwe.

Julie Bishop has been Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party since the Howard Government lost the federal election in 2007.

Warren Truss:

Warren Truss is a third generation farmer from the Kumbia District near Kingaroy, Queensland.

Before entering Parliament, he was a Kingaroy Shire Councillor from 1976 to 1990, including seven years as Mayor.

He was Deputy Chairman of the Queensland Grain Handling Authority and a member of the State Council of the Queensland Grain Growers Association.

Mr Truss is a former State and National President of the Rural Youth Organisation.

He entered Federal Parliament in March 1990 as a National Party Member representing the electorate of Wide Bay.

In 2007, he was chosen as the Federal Parliamentary Leader of The Nationals.

Mr Truss was a Minister in the Howard Coalition Government for 10 years and was appointed Minister for Customs and Consumer Affairs in October 1997, and a year later, Minister for Community Services.

In the late 90s, he assumed the position of Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, where he served for six years.

Mr Truss became Minister for Transport and Regional Services in July 2005 and appointed as Minister for Trade a year later.

He is married to Lyn and lives in Maryborough in Queensland.

Bob Brown:

Bob Brown was born in 1944 and was educated in rural New South Wales.

He became captain of Blacktown Boys High School in Sydney and graduated in medicine from Sydney University in 1968.

Mr Brown practiced medicine in Canberra for two years and then in London.

He was catapulted to the national spotlight when he became the Director of the Wilderness Society in 1978, which organised the blockade of the dam-works on Tasmania's Franklin River in 1982-3.

He was among over 2,000 people arrested or jailed and spent 19 days in Risdon Prison.

In 1986 he was shot during protests against logging at Tasmania's Farmhouse Creek.

Mr Brown was first elected to the Australian Senate for Tasmania in 1996, having previously been the State Government's member for Denison.

The MP was re-elected to the Senate in 2001 and became parliamentary leader of the Australian Greens in 2005.

He lives with his partner Paul in central Tasmania.