The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) has announced it will not operate a national tally room at this year's federal election.

The decision has come because no television networks intend to use the tally room for their election-night broadcasts.

Electoral Commissioner Ed Killesteyn says the tally room plays no role in the actual delivery of election results but essentially was a backdrop for the media.

"The tally room would cost around $1.2 million to stage again, and this is an amount that has become very hard to justify at this or future elections," he said.

"The networks' decision diminishes the tally room's perceived role as a focal point of the election and has caused me to consider carefully its residual purpose.

"I acknowledge there is a good deal of history attached to the tally room as a Canberra institution; however, I have decided that a $1.2 million outlay purely based on an historical legacy is not a sufficiently strong reason to continue operating the tally room."

Mr Killesteyn says the tally room board is two storeys high, making it a difficult piece of memorabilia to keep.

"We'll think long and hard about what we do with this tally board which was always the main centre piece," he said.

"I think it's important to recognise its significance in our democracy.

"Once the election is past then I'll turn my mind to that."

The AEC says it will provide comprehensive online election results, with constant updates appearing on its website on election night.