MALCOLM Turnbull will be able to form government without the support of independents.
The most likely outcome is that Mr Turnbull will govern with 76 votes, a majority of one.
But he could extend that to 77 if the Coalition can recover in the Queensland seat of Herbert.
Counting will resume today in Cowan, in Perth's northern suburbs, one of five seats across the nation still in the balance more than a week after the federal election.
Last night, with 78 per cent of votes counted, Labor candidate Anne Aly was ahead of Liberal incumbent Luke Simpkins by just 397 votes.
Dr Aly has seen her lead more than halved over the past week as postal and absentee votes came through to the Australian Electoral Commission's Wangara counting centre. Despite 55 per cent of the postal votes favouring Mr Simpkins, she remained "hopeful" yesterday that she could retain the lead.
"I'm hoping we'll get there. A lot of the number-crunching that's been done seems to suggest we will, but it has been the election of unexpected outcomes," she said.
"I've done the hard yards and when you're campaigning you kind of brace yourself for an outcome you don't have control over." The AEC said the overall result would rely on returns from a small number of seats which might require a full distribution of preferences.
That can only be done from next Friday once all votes have been received, and counting for the Senate will go on for a couple of weeks.
The ABC yesterday called the seat of Forde, south of Brisbane, for the Coalition, while the Liberal National Party moved ahead of Labor in the central Queensland electorates of Capricornia and Flynn.
Labor's Steve Georganas hit the lead in a knife-edge contest in the electorate of Hindmarsh in South Australia, but it remained tough going in the Queensland electorate of Herbert where the Liberal Party's Ewen Jones is still trailing the ALP by 302 votes.
Labor leader Bill Shorten refused to concede defeat. "I don't think the AEC has declared at 76 seats has it?" he said.
Tasmanian independent Andrew Wilkie made an appearance to deny he had done any deal to support a Coalition government.
Other independents Bob Katter and Cathy McGowan have undertaken to side with the coalition in any no-confidence motions or votes against government money Bills.
STATE OF THE NATION LNP: 74 (76 predicted) ALP: 66 (69 predicted)
OTHER: 5 79.6 per cent counted
UNDECIDED SEATS Flynn, QLD LNP ahead 266 votes 81.7% counted Capricornia, QLD LNP ahead 148 votes 84.9% counted Hindmarsh, SA ALP ahead 247 votes 82.4% counted Herbert, QLD ALP ahead 302 votes 82% counted Cowan, WA ALP ahead 397 votes 78.4% counted