Gillard, Abbott exchange praise

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has addressed supporters amid a tense wait for election results, while Coalition leader Tony Abbott told a cheering crowd the government has lost its majority.

Both candidates addressed their party faithful at election's end functions in the knowledge that its outcome was anybody's guess.

"What we know from tonight's result is that there would be a number of independents playing a role when parliament is formed," PM Gillard told Labor supporters at party headquarters in Melbourne.

She congratulated Abbott on the strength and determination he showed throughout the campaign.

"He is a formidable adversary, made of stern stuff," she said.

Abbott also extended his congratulations to Gillard, but the gesture drew jeers and boos from Coalition supporters in the Four Seasons hotel ballroom in Sydney.

Abbott called the night a 'victory for the Australian people,' announcing that Labor had lost its majority.

Gillard said that Australians' sense of fairness and decency centred around the ability to hold down a job, adding that Labor had fought hard to save Australian jobs.

She reiterated her focus on education, saying that every child deserved quality schooling.

The PM went on to thank three independent candidates upon whom Labor would rely to gain a majority.

Her comments drew derisive laughter from the crowd, as well as the barbs of SkyNews anaylsts who accused her of trying to curry favour with them.

Former Liberal leader John Hewson called the move 'overt sucking up'.

"I also thank each and every candidate, each and every senator, each and every member who has stood for Labor in this campaign," she added.

It is a privilege and an honour to seek the trust of my fellow Australians and represent them," she said.

"There are anxious days ahead," she added.

"But in those anxious days I will continue fighting ... to form a government in this country," she said.