US President Donald Trump has tweeted his congratulations to Prime Minister Scott Morrison after his "miracle" election win.
The coalition is edging closer to the 76 seats it needs to have a majority in the Australian parliament, with 74 at the end of counting on Saturday night, after a result that defied months of opinion polls consistently showing Labor ahead.
The result has been cheered by conservatives in the US and compared to Mr Trump's surprise 2016 presidential win when polls had predicted he would lose.
"Congratulations to Scott on a GREAT WIN!" the US president tweeted on Sunday morning, Australian time.
Scott Morrison says he will continue to back Donald Trump in his efforts to tackle North Korea.
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American political activist Pamela Geller trumpeted "the people are taking back their countries from the totalitarian left".
"SHOCKING Australia Election Results: Australia's Conservative Party Seizes Stunning Win: The Trump effect. Polls were wrong.... again," Ms Geller, founder of The Geller Report and president of Stop Islamisation of America, wrote on Twitter.
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Tanya Plibersek considers run for Labor leadership to replace Bill Shorten
Axios' Amy Harder told readers the election result indicates "Australia will continue to closely resemble the Trump administration's positioning on climate change.
"Climate advocates had said this election would be a referendum on the current leadership's positions on climate change, the results suggest that either voters don't care as much about the issue compared to others or they prefer less aggressive measures, as the current leadership is pursuing," Ms Harder wrote.
The opinion polls failed to predict a coalition election win.
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The New York Times described how "the conservative victory also adds Australia to a growing list of countries that have shifted rightward through the politics of grievance, including Brazil, Hungary and Italy.
"Mr Morrison's pitch mixed smiles and scaremongering, warning older voters and rural voters in particular that a government of the left would leave them behind and favour condescending elites."
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'Rather be a loser than a quitter': Tony Abbott concedes defeat to Zali Steggall
Pre-election polls had tipped the ALP would win the federal election and leader Bill Shorten would be the next prime minister.
"I have always believed in miracles," Mr Morrison told supporters on Saturday night.
