Social Democrat Anthony Albanese has been sworn in as Australia's new prime minister.
"It's a big day in my life, but also a big day for the country when we make the change of government," Albanese said on Monday (local time) before the ceremony.
“I want to take the opportunity we have to shape change so that we take people with us on the path of change.
I want to bring the country together.”
The 59-year-old Labor party leader replaced the conservative incumbent Scott Morrison from the Liberals, who had governed for nine years, as the 31st prime minister before all votes were counted.
Albanese had promised a change in the country's climate policy, among other things.
Meeting of the "Quad" is coming up
The new head of government is expected to take part in an international meeting of the so-called “Quad” security group in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Albanese said he spoke with US President Joe Biden on Sunday evening and looks forward to meeting him on Tuesday along with leaders of Japan and India.
"This visit is consistent with what the Albanese Government sees as the three pillars of Australia's foreign policy: our alliance with the United States, our engagement in the region and our support for multilateral fora," he said.
The end result is still awaited
It is still unclear whether the centre-left Labor party can govern alone or whether it is dependent on coalition partners.
The final official end result could still take some time, since the record number of 2.7 million postal votes from the country with almost 27 million inhabitants must also be taken into account.
Voting is compulsory in Australia.