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Working people will be the big winners of a deal that paves the way for Labor's signature industrial relations laws to pass parliament, the prime minister says.

Following late-night negotiations on Saturday, Senator David Pocock agreed to back the workplace legislation overhaul and enshrine multi-employer bargaining.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said support for the bill meant stagnant wages should rise.

"Today is a huge day for working people, and the decision by the crossbenchers to back Labor's bill - which will guarantee more-secure work and better pay - is the right one," he told reporters in Canberra on Sunday.

"The (industrial relations) bill will ensure that there's a more level playing field."

Labor has been pushing for the laws to be passed before the end of the year despite only one sitting week remaining.

Under agreed changes to the legislation, the government will set up an independent body to review social support payments before every federal budget.

Small businesses with fewer than 20 employees will be excluded from single-interest multi-enterprise bargaining.

Businesses with fewer than 50 employees will have extra safeguards if they want to opt out of multi-employer bargaining, while the minimum bargaining period will also be increased from six to nine months.

Senator Pocock said the bill was rushed but the changes were a good step forward.

"This is a great outcome and really strikes the right balance to get wages moving for those who need it but also to have some really important safeguards in place, particularly for small businesses," he said.

Mr Albanese said having an independent committee to examine social payments would be a vital process.

"I would always want to do more for people who are disadvantaged," he said.

"We don't like seeing circumstances whereby people are doing it tough, but what we know is that we need to be responsible."

Opposition workplace relations spokeswoman Michaelia Cash said she was disappointed a deal had been struck on the bill, warning businesses would be unfairly affected by the changes.

"This bill will have a detrimental impact on the Australian economy ... I'm disappointed on behalf of the employers of this country, I'm disappointed on behalf of employees of this country," she said.

Greens employment spokeswoman Barbara Pocock said the government needed to take action on lifting welfare payments.

"We don't need committees, we need to make sure it actually happens," she said.

Business groups maintained their criticism of the bill, saying the agreed changes didn't go far enough to alleviate concerns.

Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Andrew McKellar said the laws would not lead to increased wages.

"(They) will only add cost and complexity to Australian businesses at a time when they are dealing with deteriorating conditions," he said.

But ACTU secretary Sally McManus welcomed a deal being struck that allowed the bill to pass.

"It gives people hope that we can start unwinding the large numbers of insecure jobs that we have in this country," she said.

Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke said the negotiations had been an intense process.

"(Senator Pocock) would have preferred that everything was dealt with next year, when we said we wanted to make decisions this year," he told ABC's Insiders program.

The minister said it was likely the lower house would have to sit on Saturday to pass the laws when they cleared the Senate later this week.

© AAP 2022

Premier Daniel Andrews has forgone celebratory beers after his Labor government was returned for a third term with a resounding election win.

But the crushing victory spelled the end of Matthew Guy's second turn as opposition leader as he announced he wouldn't put himself forward again for the role.

A sleep-deprived Mr Andrews, who made a catchphrase of getting on the beers during his media appearances during COVID-19 lockdowns, said he marked the election win with a few glasses of wine on Saturday night.

"I did not get on the beers but many others did, which I thoroughly endorse," he told reporters on Sunday morning.

The win gives Labor another four years in office after holding power in the state for 19 of the last 23 years while also marking the end of Matthew Guy's tenure as Liberal leader.

In a statement on Sunday morning, Mr Guy said he would not be standing again for the role.

"As soon as it is clearer which Liberal Party candidates will form the next parliamentary party room, I will call them together to elect their new leadership team," he said.

Earlier, Mr Andrews riffed on former Liberal prime minister John Howard's oft-quoted description of Victoria as the "Massachusetts of Australia", given its left-leaning tendencies.

"Massachusetts is the Victoria of the United States, be very clear about that," he said.

"We are a progressive state, we are a thoughtful state, we are the centre of critical thinking, we are the centre of all the big ideas in our nation."

Echoing a theme of his victory speech, the premier described the election as a triumph of hope over hate and stressed he would govern for every Victorian, including those who didn't vote for his party.

"Our politics may well be divided, but our community is united," he said.

Deputy Premier Jacinta Allan said the Victorian community had now twice "strongly endorsed" building the Suburban Rail Loop project, which the coalition vowed to shelve if elected.

Labor is on track to win at least 49 seats, above the required majority of 45, while the coalition is poised to secure 24 seats and the Greens at least four.

Eleven seats remained too close to call on Sunday morning, although Labor was predicted to win or was ahead in seven of the electorates.

If it takes all seven, Labor will finish one ahead of its "Danslide" 2018 election victory result with 56 seats.

The result was Mr Guy's second consecutive election loss to the premier.

The latest two-party preferred estimate has Labor leading the coalition 54.3 per cent to 45.7 per cent, a three per cent swing towards the Liberal-Nationals.

Labor's primary vote (37.1 per cent) has suffered a statewide swing of almost six per cent but the Liberals (29.7 per cent) also shed 0.7 per cent from 2018.

The Greens, Nationals and various micro parties have scooped up their primary votes.

The Greens are likely to win at least one extra inner-Melbourne seat, which leader Samantha Ratnam described as a "Greenslide".

The party was well ahead of Labor in Richmond on Sunday morning, while it remained in the running in Northcote.

Teal independent Melissa Lowe had hoped to win the inner-Melbourne seat of Hawthorn against Liberal John Pesutto but she was behind by several hundred votes as postal ballots rolled in.

Labor gained the seat of Glen Waverley and the newly created seat Bayswater and was ahead in Hastings, but it lost Nepean to the Liberals.

The Nationals also picked up Shepparton, Mildura and Morwell in regional Victoria from country independents.

About two-thirds of votes had been counted by late Sunday morning.

© AAP 2022

Victorians are waking up to a third term of the Andrews government after Labor secured a majority in the state's lower house.

Labor was on track to win at least 49 seats, above the required 45-seat majority and six less than its "Danslide" victory in 2018.

The coalition is poised to secure 24 seats and the Greens at least four.

Eleven seats remained too close to call on Sunday morning, although Labor was predicted to win or was ahead in seven of the electorates.

Premier Daniel Andrews promised to govern for every Victorian, including those who didn't vote for his party, and described Labor's victory as a triumph of hope over hate.

He reaffirmed he would serve a full four-year term as leader, making him the longest-serving Victorian Labor premier in history.

But the premier wouldn't be drawn on whether the victory was a moment of vindication after his second term was dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic and his government's management of it.

"It is not about being vindicated, it is about our positive plan being endorsed," Mr Andrews told ABC TV on Sunday morning.

Matthew Guy must now decide whether he stays on as Liberal leader after losing to Mr Andrews in two consecutive elections.

Mr Guy gave no hints about his future as he conceded defeat just before 11pm on Saturday but remained optimistic about the coalition's future.

"We intend to hold the government in the next term to account for what they have committed and for the important issues that are raised on behalf of Victorians to them in the parliament," he told supporters in his electorate of Bulleen.

The latest two-party preferred estimate has Labor leading the coalition 54.3 per cent to 45.7 per cent, a three per cent swing towards the Liberal-Nationals.

Labor's primary vote (37.1 per cent) has suffered a statewide swing of almost six per cent but the Liberals (29.7 per cent) also shed 0.7 per cent from 2018.

The Greens, Nationals and various micro parties have scooped up their primary votes.

The Greens were likely to win at least one extra inner-Melbourne seat, which leader Samantha Ratnam described as a "Greenslide".

The party was well ahead of Labor in Richmond on Sunday morning, while it remained in the running in Northcote.

Teal independent Melissa Lowe had hoped to win the inner-Melbourne seat of Hawthorn against Liberal John Pesutto but she had fallen behind by a few hundred votes as postal ballots rolled in.

Labor gained the seat of Glen Waverley and the newly created seat Bayswater and was ahead in Hastings but lost Nepean to the Liberals.

The Nationals also picked up Shepparton, Mildura and Morwell in regional Victoria from independents.

© AAP 2022