Recounting for the Queensland seat of Herbert will begin in Townsville on Thursday.
The Australian Electoral Commission decided to do the full recount after the initial count ended with Labor's Cathy O'Toole just eight votes ahead of the sitting coalition MP Ewen Jones.
The process will take two weeks, meaning Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull could be forced to wait the fortnight to find out if he has 76 or 77 seats in parliament.
Having 77 members in the House of Representatives will give Mr Turnbull the ability to appoint a coalition MP as Speaker while still retaining an absolute majority on the floor of parliament.
The AEC said the recount would involve a count of all first preference votes and a re-examination of informal votes, a two-candidate preferred count and a full distribution of preferences.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
Any margin less than than 100 votes is cause for an automatic recount.
