Australian PM Scott Morrison claims historic win after Labor loses 'unlosable' election

It is still unknown if Morrison will form a majority or minority government, but swings to the coalition across large Australian states, especially Queensland, have ensured he will remain prime minister.

In a triumphant speech Saturday night, Morrison said he had "always believed in miracles."

"And tonight we've been delivered another one," he told jubilant supporters in Sydney.

After losing an election which many analysts described as "unlosable," Labor leader Bill Shorten conceded and announced he would be stepping down as head of the party.

"I know that you're all hurting, and I am too," Shorten told party supporters in Melbourne. "I'm proud that we argued what was right, not what was easy ... Politics should be the battle of ideas."

The result will be devastating for the center-right Labor Party, which had been ahead in every opinion poll during the campaign and had expected to easily form a government after Saturday's vote.

"This was the unlosable election for the Labor Party. That's how this was considered," ABC's Patricia Karvelas said from the Melbourne Labor event.

"It's an extremely good result for the government and a repudiation of public opinion polls and what most people were expecting," emeritus professor of politics at the Australian National University John Warhurst told CNN.

"It's a credit to Scott Morrison as an effective campaigner," Warhurst said.

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