Two seats close as vote counting continues

Final postal votes are being counted from the federal election, with 43 out of 151 seats now officially declared.

The deadline for postal votes was midnight on Friday and remaining batches are being collated on Monday.

The NSW seat of Macquarie is the closest contest among the 151 seats up for grabs in the House of Representatives.

Labor incumbent MP Susan Templeman sits 298 votes ahead of her Liberal rival Sarah Richards.

The Tasmanian seat of Bass is the second tightest clash, where Liberal candidate Bridget Archer holds a 570-vote lead over Labor incumbent Ross Hart.

In total, the Liberal-National coalition is expected to govern with a slim 77-seat majority, compared to Labor with a likely 68 seats. There are six crossbenchers.

The AEC cannot officially declare a result until it is mathematically impossible for the margin to be overtaken.