So who has won and who has lost from federal election 2016?

He might not become prime minister, but the Opposition Leader has outperformed expectations and looks strongly placed to keep his job. 

Conservative commentator Andrew Bolt anointed Mr Shorten as a prime minister in waiting for three years time on Saturday night, and he has won adulation from Labor MPs and party members for the better than expected election result. 

Mr Shorten, who was the subject of leadership chatter over summer, is widely believed to have outperformed Mr Turnbull over the past eight weeks and might yet take the top job in the future. 

Australia, meet your new Senate kingmaker.

The South Australian senator looks likely to have won extra positions in the upper house, as well as at least once seat in the House of Representatives. 

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will spend a lot of the next three years negotiating with the Senate crossbench, and Nick Xenophon is likely to be his first call. Already we know he is uncertain on a number of key measures.

She's back.

The controversial former member for Oxley looked almost certain to gain a Senate spot on Saturday night as counting continued.

One Nation was close to having two Queensland Senate spots, which would see both Ms Hanson and Malcolm Roberts elected.

"People want Australian values, they want their culture, they want their way of life," Ms Hanson said on Saturday night.

"I suppose they see me as a person who really cares about them, who really cares about this country."

After losing his re-election bid in 2013, the former Defence Materiel Minister took a job in Opposition Leader Bill Shorten's office and mounted a long comeback campaign. 

He has edged out a key Turnbull backer in Liberal MP Peter Hendy to re-take the seat, which covers large sections of New South Wales.

Dr Kelly said the victory was a win for local communities and he pledged to be a forward-thinking, committed local member. 

Labor's Linda Burney is set to become the first Indigenous woman elected to the House of Representatives. 

The historic development comes after a successful move from NSW state politics to the Federal Parliament, as Burney claimed the seat of Barton early on Saturday night. 

She paid tribute to the multicultural community and said the area was "back in the hands of Labor" after a loss to the Liberals in 2013. 

"We have made history in this country. We have made history by electing the first Indigenous woman," Ms Burney said.

"This is the most humbling moment of a political person's life, when you see what people give."

Rebekha Sharkie has become the first member of the Nick Xenophon Team to take a seat in the lower house, taking Mayo from the one-time Liberal Party minister Jamie Briggs.

Mr Briggs resigned from his ministry in December after a late night incident in a Hong Kong bar involving a public servant travelling in the same group. 

He was widely expected to lose the seat, formerly held by Howard government foreign minister.

The Country Fire Authority industrial dispute in Victoria is being blamed for limiting Labor's success in Bill Shorten's home state. 

Mr Andrews, who was overseas when the dispute broke out, was under pressure to secure an agreement with the CFA and the United Firefighters Union, but the fall-out saw key marginal seats stay with the Coalition. 

Federal Labor is unimpressed with Mr Andrews' handling of the matter and he is expected to face sustained criticism as the opposition comes close in the federal election. 

Despite winning re-election in his seat of Grayndler, Labor's stronger than expected showing against the government makes Bill Shorten's position as Opposition Leader safer. 

Mr Shorten beat Mr Albanese in the party's leadership vote in 2013, and despite rules requiring a ballot of rank and file members and MPs, Mr Albanese's chances of toppling Mr Shorten have taken a blow by the result. 

It was reported on Saturday that shadow treasurer Chris Bowen won't nominate for the leadership if Mr Shorten stands again.

Despite attempting their political comebacks one term after quitting Federal Parliament, Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott both look unlikely to win.

Mr Windsor's battle against Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce was one of the highest profile battles of the campaign, but Mr Joyce claimed victory on Saturday night and welcomed strong results for his Nationals Party. 

Mr Oakeshott entered the campaign at the halfway point, challenging sitting Cowper MP Luke Hartsuyker. 

Despite securing an 8.9 per cent swing, Mr Oakeshott appears to have fallen short with the former higher education minister retaining the seat.

After the 2013 Western Australia Senate election debacle, Electoral Commissioner Tom Rogers said voters could be confident of a smooth election process this year. 

Late on Saturday night, Mr Rogers apologised to some voters who had experienced "unusually long waits" at polling booths. 

"The AEC notes that, while peak periods for voting occur each election day, a number of factors appear to have contributed to some particularly long wait times. Notwithstanding the increase in early voting rates, around 10 million Australians attended 7000 polling places around the country to have their say," Mr Rogers said.

"The AEC is aware of some speculation around the level of staffing at polling places for this federal election. This election saw the AEC allocate more staff in polling places than in past elections."

The Liberal incumbents in Bass, Braddon and Lyons have all been defeated after one term, with former army officer and key Tony Abbott backer Andrew Nikolic one of the first MPs to concede defeat. 

Elected in 2013, Mr Nikolic emerged as a conservative voice within the Coalition and briefly served as government whip in 2015, replaced when Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull rolled Tony Abbott.

Lyons MP Eric Hutchinson and Brett Whiteley in Braddon both supported Mr Abbott in the September leadership spill, losing their seats as Labor won big in Tasmania and independent MP Andrew Wilkie was re-elected.