Labor appears set for a historic by-election win in the NSW seat of Bega, while the Liberals have suffered a swing against them in former premier Gladys Berejiklian's seat of Willoughby.
A predicted Labor victory would be its first in Bega, held by the Liberals since its reintroduction in 1988 and occupied by retiring member Andrew Constance since 2003.
Opposition Leader Chris Minns previously said the seat would be "almost impossible" for his party to win, but early tallies in the south coast electorate on Saturday night gave a swing of more than 14 per cent to Labor's Michael Holland over Liberal Fiona Kotvojs.
Dr Holland said on Sunday the "huge swing" was "totally unexpected" but "the result really gives a reflection of the community's response to the current Liberal government".
He will seek to "sort out health services on the far south coast" of NSW, as well as regional and rural health services in general, and focus on rebuilding bushfire-hit communities in the Bega electorate.
"That's what the people in the electorate here really want ... long term policies of things we can't solve in the next 13 months, but we will solve when elected at the next general election," Dr Holland says.
Premier Dominic Perrottet said on Sunday the government will reflect and learn from "some disappointing results across the board".
By-elections are notoriously hard for governments but Bega's result was "particularly disappointing", Mr Perrottet said.
With votes from just under a third of the electorate counted as of 10.45pm on Saturday, Dr Holland had received 57.1 per cent of two-candidate preferred votes, compared to Ms Kotvojs' 42.9 per cent, according to the NSW Electoral Commission.
The Liberals went into the by-election with a margin of 6.9 per cent.
A likely loss in Bega will push the government further into minority and force it to rely more heavily on the votes of independent or minor party MPs.
Jason Yat-Sen Li looks set to retain Strathfield for Labor, leading Liberal candidate Bridget Sakr 54.4 per cent to 45.6 per cent with about 37 per cent of the electorate's votes counted.
Mr Perrottet insisted Labor's vote had gone backwards in the electorate and vowed Ms Sakr would win the election next year.
Mr Minns says the electorate is always difficult but Mr Li fought hard to retain it, despite Independent Elizabeth Farrelly taking "a lot of the votes, particularly in those Labor booths".
The Nationals are on track to hold former deputy premier John Barilaro's seat of Monaro despite a swing of more than six per cent.
With about 44 per cent of the vote counted, Nichole Overall led Labor's Bryce Wilson 55 per cent to 45 per cent.
Two-candidate preferred results for Willoughby, which Labor did not contest, are not yet available.
Liberal Tim James has so far secured about 43.4 per cent of first preference votes, trailed by Independent Larissa Penn on 32.1 per cent, with just over 40 per cent of the blue-ribbon electorate's votes counted.
The by-elections were viewed as a test for the premier and his government's handling of the state's Omicron wave.
The stakes were also high for Mr Minns, who has pitched himself as the man to make Labor a real election chance after more than a decade in opposition.
Mr Minns said voters had sent the premier a message on Saturday that the government needs to change direction.
Counting will resume on Monday, and postal votes will be counted from next weekend, with final results not expected until later this month.
© AAP 2022