The result of the federal election is taking shape, with ABC chief elections analyst Antony Green saying he "can't see Labor forming government".

Key points: Polls have closed across the country with the Government faring better than expected in Queensland

Polls have closed across the country with the Government faring better than expected in Queensland Antony Green said he did not know if the Coalition would form a majority, but tipped the Government to be re-elected

Antony Green said he did not know if the Coalition would form a majority, but tipped the Government to be re-elected Go to the ABC's live results page

With half the votes at counted about 9:30pm (AEST) on election night, Green said his numbers suggested the Coalition was the only one that could reach a majority.

"At this stage, we think the Morrison Government has been re-elected," he said.

"We can't see an alternative to a Morrison Government in the numbers we're seeing at the moment."

Despite a definitive result expected to come later than usual due to record numbers of pre-poll votes, Green said those votes counted later would not turn around the trend towards the Coalition in Queensland and Victoria.

It could, however, determine whether the Coalition could win an outright majority.

"[That] is where the pre-poll vote will become important," Green said.

"At this stage, it is very hard to see anything other than the Coalition staying in government, but we don't know whether that is a majority or minority government."

Green said the early results suggested the swing to Labor that many polls predicted was not happening.

"It looks like the Government has lost one or two seats to independents, may lose one or two seats to Labor, but it's [also] picking up a bunch of seats from Labor," he said.

"If Labor doesn't win this election, they can look at their figures in Queensland and ask what went wrong in Queensland.

"At the moment, Queensland is what the problem is [for Labor]. … At the moment, it looks like Queensland is the Coalition's path back to power. We are not calling the election but we are not seeing Labor sweep into office."

In the Sydney seat of Warringah, former prime minister Tony Abbott has lost to independent Zali Steggall.

The Liberals had held the seat by a large margin of 11.1 per cent, with Mr Abbott serving as the Warringah MP since 1994.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 1 minute 21 seconds 1 m 21 s Tony Abbott proclaimed a Coalition election victory as he conceded he had lost Warringah. (Photo: AAP)

But Green acknowledged "what's happening in Warringah is not what's happening in the rest of the country".

Late on election night, with over half the votes counted, the ABC election computer projected 74 seats for the Coalition in the House of Representatives, just shy of the 76 required to form a majority.

Despite a record number of pre-poll votes being submitted before today, the official count could not begin before the clock ticked over to 6:00pm.

"Any ballot box opened before 6:00pm on election night can have its votes voided," Green said.

"Maybe the law should be changed, but no electoral commissioner would consider breaking the current law."

Voters in WA were the last to cast their votes this evening, joining the rest of the country in the election waiting game.

Now the campaign is officially over, all that is left to do is monitor the results.

Paradoxically, the huge influx of pre-poll votes could cause a delay in the final result announcement.

While most pre-poll votes will be counted when voting closes today, some, including declaration votes, are not counted until the days after the election.

"It's a huge logistic activity," Australian Electoral Commissioner Tom Rogers told the ABC earlier this week.

"We'll be doing our very best, but there may well be some delays on the night."

'I take nothing for granted'

Mr Morrison met with voters at Norwood Primary School in Launceston, Tasmania. ( AAP: Mick Tsikas )

Earlier today, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he still felt energised after the month-long campaign and that he hoped to keep working for the country.

He took to Twitter to thank his supporters and those he met on the campaign trail.

Mr Shorten voting with his wife this morning. ( ABC News: Matt Roberts )

"I'm taking nothing for granted and as Prime Minister my pledge is always to continue to back you and all Australians to achieve your aspirations," he said.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten voted this morning at Moonee Ponds West Primary School and said he would be ready to "hit the ground" from tomorrow if he won.

He posted a last-minute bid for votes in the dying hours of the day.

"One final push. To stop the cuts, end the chaos and deliver change, vote Labor," he wrote on Twitter.

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