CANBERRA (BLOOMBERG) - Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison is running out of time to improve his standing in the electorate ahead of an election due to be held on May 21, with new opinion polling showing his centre-right Liberal National Coalition badly trailing the opposition Labor Party.

A Newspoll survey published by The Australian newspaper on Monday (April 25) night showed Morrison had failed to make up any ground against Labor in the past week, with the opposition still leading the government 53 per cent to 47 per cent.

A separate opinion poll by Ipsos released in the Australian Financial Review had Morrison's party in a worse position, with Labor in front 55 per cent to 45 per cent.

However neither Morrison or opposition Labor leader Anthony Albanese are popular with voters, according to polling. Both Morrison and Albanese have a negative approval rating in the new opinion surveys, with Newspoll placing both leaders net approval at -12.

Meanwhile Ipsos said Morrison is the least trusted prime minister in 27 years, while just 31 per cent said Albanese had a "firm grasp on economic policy".

Morrison's government is campaigning to win a fourth term on May 21, off the back of a strong economy and record-low unemployment. However they are facing heavy criticism from Labor on lacklustre wage growth, rising costs of living and the recent announcement of a security agreement between China and the Solomon Islands, signed on Morrison's watch.

Despite trailing in opinion polling before the 2019 election, Morrison pulled off a surprise win for his government, which he described as a "miracle". But with the polling looking even grimmer ahead of the 2022 vote, the Coalition would require a larger polling error to pull off a second surprise victory.

The polling comes despite a rough start for Labor in the 2022 campaign, with Albanese stumbling on policy details and economic figures in the first week before being isolated with Covid-19 in the second. The Labor leader is expected to leave isolation on Thursday.

There is still a high possibility of a hung parliament after the 2022 election, with the primary vote for Labor and the Coalition well below 40 per cent. If neither party was able to win 76 seats in the country's 151-seat parliament, they would be required to negotiate with minor parties and independents to form government.