Voting in the 2025 federal election is wrapping up — and vote counting has begun.
So, how long will it take until we know who our next prime minister will be?
Here's everything you need to know.
When will vote counting start?
All votes cast near a voter's home division on election day — and the majority of pre-poll votes cast for the House of Representatives — will be counted from 6pm AEST tonight.
House of Representatives votes are counted first.
That includes a first preference count followed by a two-candidate preferred count — which can give an early indication of who is most likely to win each seat.
When will counts be reported?
There's no hard and fast timing.
Each count — from polling places, pre-poll centres and initial postal vote counts — will be published once they're finalised.
The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) said that smaller polling places will have results posted from around 7pm local time with mid to large-sized polling places from around 8 to 8.30pm local time onwards.
Pre-poll counts, which are much larger in volume, usually start being displayed from around 9.30pm local time until late.
Close seats will be prioritised wherever possible as the counting period progresses.
Senate results can only be calculated and declared after a process of scanning and verifying of ballot papers is completed, which can take a number of weeks.
When will the overall result be called?
The first indications of results in individual House of Representatives divisions are always made by electoral analysts and commentators — not the AEC.
They can generally give a projection of which party is likely to form government sometime tonight.
Official seat declarations will come in the days after election night.
The AEC must count each ballot paper at least twice in a process known as 'fresh scrutiny' and will not declare a House of Representatives seat unless it's mathematically certain.
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