Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese claimed a decisive victory in general elections on Saturday.

"Thank you to the people of Australia for the chance to continue to serve the best nation on Earth," the Labor leader told supporters at a campaign party in Sydney. 

Earlier, Australia's state broadcaster ABC said the Labor party "certainly" won, amid vote counting.

"Labor will form government in the next parliament. It's a big swing that's on at the moment. I can't see how it turns around," ABC election analyst Antony Green told viewers.

Opposition leader concedes defeat

Peter Dutton, the leader of the opposition Liberal-National coalition, conceded defeat, congratulating Albanese on his win in a phone call.

Dutton was also projected to lose his own seat in parliament.

Voting is mandatory for every citizen in Australia, one of the few democracies worldwide with such a requirement.

There are about 18 million eligible voters, and around 8 million of them had already cast ballots before Saturday.

The election comes at a time of heightened geopolitical and trade uncertainty sparked by US President Donald Trump's policies. Trump has also hit Australia with a 10% levy on all its exports to the United States.

Surveys showed that high prices were the top voter concern, with Australians enduring one of the sharpest rises in the cost of living in recent years. An acute shortage of housing has also inflated rents, exacerbating public discontent. 

"Australians have chosen to face global challenges the Australian way, looking after each other while building for the future," Albanese said in his victory speech on Saturday.

"We do not need to beg or borrow or copy from anywhere else. We do not seek our inspiration overseas. We find it right here in our values and in our people." 

What did the parties promise voters?

Albanese, 62, has become the first Australian prime minister in 21 years to lead a political party to two consecutive election victories.

He has promised modest tax cuts, cheaper health care and new homes for first-time buyers. He has also pledged more subsidized child care, electricity bill rebates and a 20% reduction in student debt.

Labor also wants to replace fossil fuel-fired electricity generators with renewable energy sources as part of its efforts to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Albanese's conservative rival and leader of the opposition Liberal-National coalition, Dutton, 54, has vowed to slash fuel tax, curb gas prices, and invest in infrastructure for half a million homes.

Dutton also touts a $200 billion (€177 billion) plan to build seven large-scale nuclear reactors by 2050, while ramping up gas production, and slowing the rollout of solar and wind projects. He also pledged to cut thousands of public sector jobs.

Dutton had led in opinion polls as recently as February. But some polls showed he was losing support because of Trump, whom he praised earlier this year as a "big thinker" with "gravitas" on the global stage.

Edited by: Sean Sinico and Zac Crellin