Federal election results 2025 as it happened: Albanese says he feels for Dutton as Ali France hails win ‘that took my breath away’

Thank you for joining us as we tracked the aftermath of Labor’s landslide election victory. While some seats remain too close to call, the Coalition has begun reflecting on its path forward as Labor celebrates a historic victory.

Here’s what happened today:

• Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce revealed he has prostate cancer as he prepares for surgery after retaining his New England seat.
• Acting Opposition Leader Sussan Ley, a contender for the top job in her party after Peter Dutton’s defeat, released a statement saying the role is now vacant, but did not declare her hand.
• Liberal candidate Tim Wilson said this afternoon that he was “incredibly optimistic” about winning the Victorian seat of Goldstein, as postal votes tend to favour the Liberal Party.
• Albanese revelled in his post-victory celebrations, swinging by Bar Italia in Leichhardt and Willie the Boatman brewery in St Peters – both in his Sydney electorate of Grayndler.
• Treasurer Jim Chalmers wouldn’t be drawn on his leadership ambitions after backing in Albanese for a third consecutive election.
• Nationals leader David Littleproud said he didn’t think “nuclear was the reason we lost this [election]” and that Labor had won by destroying Dutton’s character.
• NSW Opposition Leader Mark Speakman urged his party to reach out to women and migrant voters and vowed to stick to the “sensible centre” of politics.
• Labor’s Ali France, who ousted Dutton from his Brisbane seat of Dickson, said he had told her she’d make a great MP.
• Albanese said he felt for Dutton and thanked him for his generous concession speech last night.
• About a dozen seats remain too close to call.

I’m Millie Muroi – thank you joining us today. We’ll be back to business as usual tomorrow morning, providing you with live coverage of the news. For now, have a wonderful evening!

A handful of candidates and MPs are still sitting on the edge of their seats as vote counting continues into the night.

Here are some of the MPs waiting to find out whether they will be returned to Canberra:

• David Smith, former ACT senator and Labor incumbent MP for the relatively new electorate of Bean – added at the 2019 election – is facing a tight contest from independent candidate Jessie Price.
• Independent Zoe Daniel, an MP elected in 2022 when teal candidates swept in robustly for the first time, is facing off against Liberal candidate Tim Wilson for the Victorian electorate of Goldstein.
• Terry Young, incumbent LNP MP for Longman, a marginal Queensland electorate, is falling behind to Labor candidate Rhiannyn Douglas.
• Greens leader Adam Bandt looks likely to retain his seat of Melbourne, but is facing one of the strongest challenges by Labor candidate Sarah Witty, with the seat yet to be called.
• In another blow to the Greens, incumbent MP Max Chandler-Mather is trailing Labor candidate Renee Coffey as the Greens fight to retain the seat they unexpectedly picked up at the 2022 election.
• Labor MP for Wills Peter Khalil is hoping to cling to the Victorian seat which has seen an 8 per cent swing against Labor this election as Greens candidate Samantha Ratnam closes in.

Check which seats are yet to be called here.

One Nation was predicted to help turn the election in the Coalition’s favour, but the anti-woke push fell flat, reporter Mike Foley says.

Watch his analysis below:

Labor is facing a nervous wait in the typically safe seat of Bendigo after a strong result from the Nationals.

Local MP Lisa Chesters went into the election with a comfortable margin of 11.2 per cent but that has been almost entirely whittled away by Nationals candidate Andrew Lethlean after a massive campaign.

The seat remains too close to call and a final result could take days.

Lisa Chesters.Credit: Penny Stephens

The Australian Electoral Commission had begun the two-party preferred count with Labor and the Liberals, but have had to start again to direct preferences between Labor and the Nationals instead.

Chesters is ahead on primary votes at 33.85 per cent, a drop of 8.26 per cent since the last election. Labor campaign sources were not confident of retaining it once preferences are distributed. Losing Bendigo would be significant for the ALP.

It was transformed from a marginal battleground in the early 2000s to one of Labor’s safest electorates.

It is also the home of Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan and her electorate, with the Nationals campaigning on linking Albanese to the state government through issues such as crime.

Allan conceded on Sunday the seat her friend Chesters has held since 2013 was still too close to call.

The Nationals made Bendigo the centre of their Victorian campaign operations. They distributed leaflets showing Allan wearing a “yes” T-shirt from federal Labor’s failed Voice referendum. About 60 per cent of people in Bendigo voted “no”.

Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce has revealed he has prostate cancer as he prepares for surgery after retaining his New England seat.

In an interview with the ABC, Joyce said he received the diagnosis following a prostate-specific antigen blood test after his GP insist he take the test.

Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce said he was preparing for surgery following his prostate cancer diagnosis.Credit: The Sydney Morning Herald

“I had a PSA test, which all men should get,” he said.“Prostate cancer, if you get it early, is very, very treatable. In fact, about 97 per cent successful ... I’ll have the operation on Monday and I will then have a couple of days in hospital and will recuperate after that.”

Joyce said he was positive about his recovery and capacity to act in his role as a politician as the election served as a “welcome distraction”.

“If I thought it was very serious, of course I’d resign, but my doctors [and] surgeons say, ‘you’re very lucky you’ve got it early’,” he said.

Acting Opposition Leader Sussan Ley, a contender for the top job in her party after Peter Dutton’s defeat, has released a statement saying the role is now vacant.

She did not declare her hand, but did not rule out running for the top job.

Acting Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has not said whether she will eye the top job.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

“As per our party rules following an election defeat, the Liberal party room will meet in order to elect a leader of the opposition and deputy leader of the opposition,” she said.

“These positions will be declared vacant at this meeting. As acting leader of the Liberal Party, and deputy leader for the past three years, I want to pay particular tribute to Peter Dutton, and thank him for his 25 years of deeply valued service to our country.”

Liberal candidate Tim Wilson says he is “incredibly optimistic” about winning the Victorian seat of Goldstein despite his opponent being 90 votes in front, saying postal votes tend to favour the Liberal Party.

In a long video posted to his Instagram account this afternoon, Wilson said he was battle-weary but that he expected incumbent independent Zoe Daniel’s margin to continue shrinking as more postal votes were counted. About 4.40pm, Daniel was only 90 votes ahead.

“The largest booth is postal votes,” he said, for which there were about 27,000 applications. “They normally track to us somewhere between 60-40 to two-thirds one-third. That’s the reason we remain incredibly optimistic. Every single batch of votes counted, [Daniel’s lead] continues to collapse.”

While many new and re-elected MPs across the country are celebrating the results of the election, there are some candidates still waiting nervously as counting continues in about a dozen seats that are still too close to call.

Here are the electorates where the outcome is yet to be confirmed, and the share of votes counted:

Bean (ACT) - 83 per cent counted, ALP ahead.

Bendigo (VIC) - 83 per cent counted, too close to call.

Bradfield (NSW) - 78 per cent counted, too close to call.

Brisbane (QLD) - 65 per cent counted, ALP ahead.

Bullwinkel (WA) - 74 per cent counted, too close to call.

Flinders (VIC) - 77 per cent counted, too close to call.

Franklin (TAS) - 84 per cent counted, too close to call.

Goldstein (VIC)- 79 per cent counted, too close to call.

Griffith (QLD) - 69 per cent counted, too close to call.

Longman (QLD) - 72 per cent counted, too close to call.

Melbourne (VIC) - 62 per cent counted, too close to call.

Monash (VIC) - 78 per cent counted, too close to call.

Wills (VIC) - 70 per cent counted, too close to call.

See every seat that has changed hands this election here.

Albanese swung by Willie the Boatman, a brewery and pub in the suburb of St Peters in his electorate of Grayndler this afternoon – accompanied by his trusty companion. See the pictures below.

Albanese and Marles swung by Willie the Boatman brewery in St Peters.Credit: Sitthixay Ditthavong

Albanese’s dog, Toto, also made an appearance with her bandana that reads “no one held back, no one left behind”.Credit: Sitthixay Ditthavong

Labor volunteers greeted Albanese the day after his landslide election victory.Credit: Sitthixay Ditthavong

Toto lapped up the prime minister’s pats as he spoke with Labor supporters.Credit: Sitthixay Ditthavong

There was a hungover delirium inside Monique Ryan’s campaign office in Glenferrie Road, Malvern, this morning, where more than 100 teal-clad volunteers – bleary-eyed from partying into the wee hours – gathered for a morning-after regroup.

Some brought cakes and slice, some brought their kelpies.

The army behind Ryan’s win in Kooyong knocked on 55,000 doors, put 2300 corflutes on fences and included 1000 volunteers on election day alone.

At midday today, there were still 10,000 postal votes to count and Ryan’s campaign manager, Conal Feehely, said there were “mathematical possibilities” the independent MP could lose her hold.

Ryan added: “The prediction so far is that we’ll be OK ... but it’s not in the bag, and I don’t take anything for granted.”