Here’s everything you need to know.

When will vote counting start?

All votes cast near a voter’s home division on election day — and the majority of pre-poll votes cast for the House of Representatives — will be counted from 6pm AEST tonight.

That includes a first preference count followed by a two-candidate preferred count — which can give an early indication of who is most likely to win each seat.

When will counts be reported?

The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) said that smaller polling places will have results posted from around 7pm local time with mid to large-sized polling places from around 8 to 8.30pm local time onwards.

Senate results can only be calculated and declared after a process of scanning and verifying of ballot papers is completed, which can take a number of weeks.

When will the overall result be called?

They can generally give a projection of which party is likely to form government sometime tonight.