Malcolm Turnbull has been given the royal nod to form a government as he edges closer towards a parliamentary majority and prepares for a Nationals coalition agreement wishlist.
The prime minister met with Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet secretary Martin Parkinson in Canberra on Monday, a day after Labor leader Bill Shorten conceded defeat in the federal election.
As counting continues, three contests remain close - Hindmarsh, Herbert and Capricornia - with the latter creeping closer towards coalition hands.
The ABC has called Capricornia for the Nationals' Michelle Landry, which would give the coalition the 76 seats it needs for a majority government.
However, a spokesman for Ms Landry told AAP she wasn't prepared to claim victory yet, while 691 votes ahead with 4500 to count.
Labor claimed the West Australian seat of Cowan on Monday, as the Liberal National Party went to an unassailable lead in the Queensland seat of Flynn.
Mr Turnbull wrote to Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove on Monday formally advising him of being in a position to form a ministry.
He will have to replace at least two junior frontbenchers, Wyatt Roy and Peter Hendy, who lost their lower house seats, and possibly Tourism Minister Richard Colbeck who could lose his Tasmanian senate seat.
He will also have to renegotiate the coalition agreement with the Nationals.
The Nationals' 22 MPs, led by Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, will meet on Tuesday to discuss any changes to the agreement, which is essential to forming government.
Mr Joyce will then meet with the prime minister on Wednesday.
There is pressure on the Liberal leader to give the Nationals an extra frontbench role, after the party gained an extra seat in the election, and conservative Liberals are seeking a stronger position in the ministry line-up.
The coalition agreement has traditionally been kept confidential, although some elements of the last deal struck in 2015 were publicly released.
Labor leader Bill Shorten said the agreement should be publicly released.
"It's not a good start for this government if their first action is to have a secret deal," Mr Shorten told reporters in Melbourne.
He said the Nationals had previously forced Mr Turnbull into backing a plebiscite on same-sex marriage, keeping the baby bonus and putting in place a flawed system to tackle climate change.
As attention turns to what policies the government will be able to deliver, a new analysis by the Australia Institute found there are a number of opportunities for co-operation on budget savings.
These include raising tobacco tax, cracking down on multinational tax avoidance and reducing research tax offsets.
"Successful governments work with the Senate," Australia Institute director Ben Oquist said.
In his letter to the governor-general, Mr Turnbull told Sir Peter he had the commitment of two independents, Bob Katter and Cathy McGowan, while Andrew Wilkie had indicated he would not support a vote against confidence or supply unless there was a case of illegality.
"I accept your advice that you are in a position to form a ministry that has the confidence of the House of Representatives," Sir Peter wrote in reply.
The governor-general is expected back in Australia on Saturday after representing the nation in France on Bastille Day, allowing the new Turnbull ministry to be sworn in early next week.
