"It's good to have a change" - Australians react after election
STORY: Labor Party Leader Anthony Albanese is set to become Australia's next prime minister, marking the end of almost a decade's rule for the conservative coalition.
Outgoing Prime Minister Scott Morrison conceded defeat on Saturday night and said he would also be stepping down as leader of his centre-right Liberal Party.
"I've always believed in Australians and their judgement and I've always been prepared to accept their verdicts and tonight they have delivered their verdict and I congratulate Anthony Albanese."
Partial election results showed independents gaining seats in the lower chamber of parliament.
The so-called "teal independents" with mostly women, who campaigned for more action on climate change, integrity and gender equality toppled the Liberal party in several urban strongholds.
and a strong showing from the left-wing Greens Party ate into Labor's vote share in many seats.
The makeup of the new parliament looks set to be much less climate-sceptic than the one that supported Morrison's pro-coal mining administration.
At Sydney's popular Bondi beach, Australians were upbeat about action on climate change under the country's new leadership:
"Lovely to see the independents, I think. Real change and a step forward for the environment."
"If we can get action on climate change, then that's going to be quite exciting."
It's still unclear whether the Labor party will govern with a majority or with the help of some independents or Greens.
Labor is still several seats short of winning more than half the seats in the lower house, with about a dozen electorates deemed too close to call.
Official results could be several days away, with the counting of a record 2.7 million postal votes to begin Sunday afternoon.