The nerve centres: inside the Coalition and Labor election campaign headquarters

The parties' election machines have been humming into gear for weeks. Here's the who who's of each operation

• Australian election voters' guide: everything you need to know
• Interactive seat explorer: familiarise yourself with the state of play
• Read Guardian Australia's full federal election coverage
• Get our free news app; get our morning email briefing

All the focus of an election is on the leaders' planes and travelling parties criss-crossing the nation for press conferences and photo ops, but behind every decision or smallest detail are the nerve centres of the whole operation - the Coalition and Labor campaign headquarters.

As endless column inches in recent weeks were devoted to when Scott Morrison would make the trip to the governor general's home in Yarralumla, the campaign headquarters (CHQ) for the major parties were quietly humming into gear, with key staff flooding into the central command units at the heart of the election machines.