Key independent Rob Oakeshott says he's hopeful both Labor and the Coalition will agree to a final document outlining parliamentary reforms "in the next hour".
Mr Oakeshott and fellow rural independents Tony Windsor and Bob Katter want both sides of politics to sign off on the deal before they announce who they'll back to form a minority government.
The trio had coffee at parliament house in Canberra early Monday afternoon before heading back into meetings.
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Mr Oakeshott told reporters he was hopeful a deal could be done on parliamentary reform "in the next hour or so if I can get back to the meeting".
On Sunday, the manager of opposition business in the lower house, Christopher Pyne, said he was worried some of the reforms could "inadvertently strengthen the executive" at the opposition's expense.
Mr Pyne met with Mr Oakeshott for an hour on Monday morning to discuss the sticking points, which include the role of the speaker and the "pairing" of votes in the lower house.
A spokesman for Mr Pyne later described the meeting as "very positive".
Labor signed onto all the proposed parliamentary reforms on Saturday, but the independents are demanding both parties agree to the one final document.
Mr Katter told reporters he'd now received a response from both Labor and the coalition on his list of 20 "key policy points".
But he wouldn't comment on which party had offered the best deal.
His list of demands includes the scrapping of Labor's proposed mining tax and emissions trading scheme, moving towards renewable energy via the use of biofuels and limiting the market power of supermarket giants Woolworths and Coles.
Earlier on Monday, Mr Windsor suggested the independents probably wouldn't reveal whether they were going to back Prime Minister Julia Gillard or Opposition Leader Tony Abbott until Tuesday morning.
The trio wanted to meet with both leaders again on Monday before making their final decision, he told ABC Radio.
"My guess is that on the basis of all of that we'll make a determination probably tomorrow morning."
