Victorian Labor Premier Daniel Andrews has secured a third term of majority government in an emphatic victory which delivered an electoral disaster to the Liberal Party.
The ABC has projected Labor could come close to the 55-seat majority it enjoyed during its second term in power.
Speaking on Sunday, Mr Andrews said his "brand of politics" was not about him or his team, but the people they serve.
"Trying to be popular all the time doesn't work, because it's not right," he said.
"You've got to do what's right and that's what we've always strived to do."
He said his party's plan was for all Victorians, including those who did not vote Labor.
"We will govern for you. We will govern for your kids, for your health, for your education, your future," Mr Andrews said.
"Our positive plan is for every single Victorian."
Mr Andrews said the result confirmed Victoria's reputation as "the most progressive state" in the country.
"Johnny Howard had a view that we were the Massachusetts of our country," he said.
"No, no — Massachusetts is the Victoria of the United States."
"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."
When asked by reporters about commentary and criticism in the lead-up to the election, Mr Andrews said it was more important to listen to "the voices of ordinary Victorians".
"Some things are really big on Spring Street and they don't mean much on main street," he said.
Mr Andrew reiterated a pre-election assertion that a re-elected Labor government would reconvene parliament this year.
He told Insiders that Victorians had endorsed his government's plan.
"I grew up being taught, everyday, that with opportunity comes a profound obligation to do your best, to work hard, to do what matters," he said.
"That's exactly what I've delivered over these last eight years and I'm humbled and so grateful, so, so grateful, that Victorians have re-elected a majority Labor government."
He responded to a question about whether he would resign prior to the next state election by saying he would serve a full term.
"I'm so thrilled to be able to do it for another four years," he said.
'Doom and gloom' turned out not to be true
ABC election analyst Antony Green said the Andrews government had enjoyed a "solid re-election" despite swings against it.
With more than 60 per cent of the vote counted on Saturday night, Labor had recorded a swing of nearly 9 per cent against it in Melbourne's north-west.
But due to the party's significant margins, it did not result in any seats there being lost.
The party performed much better in Melbourne's east, where it defended seats won in 2018 and was projected to win Glen Waverley and the redistributed seat of Bayswater.
"Their results in eastern Melbourne are remarkable, to increase the number of seats they hold is unexpected compared to what was thought beforehand," Green said.
"So the doom and gloom that was predicted beforehand turned out not to be true."
Monash University senior politics lecturer Zareh Ghazarian said the result was a clear "vindication" of the Andrews's government.
"Voters have resoundingly given his government the thumbs up for not only the future agenda that they promoted during the campaign and before the campaign but also in terms of the way in which the pandemic was managed," Dr Ghazarian said.
Liberals urged to 'face up' to flagging support in suburbs
The Liberal Party had some rays of light as it managed to win back Nepean with former tennis pro Sam Groth and retain Kew with Jess Wilson.
But it failed to win enough seats in Melbourne's south-east to come remotely close to forming government.
Senior Liberal figures have urged the party to go through deep "soul searching" in the wake of the loss.
Reflecting on the party's failure to reclaim Box Hill, frontbencher David Davis said the party had failed to properly engage with diverse communities in Melbourne's suburbs.
"I think headquarters was not good with multicultural communities ... I think that that is one factor through some of those seats that we've got to really focus on," he said.
Federal Liberal MP Keith Wolahan, whose electorate of Menzies overlaps with Box Hill, said the party needed to develop a strategy to win back metropolitan seats.
"Our party has a problem in metropolitan areas for the same reasons that Labor's having a problem in inner-city areas," he said.
"Demographics are creating challenges for us and we need to face up to it and learn from it."
Opposition Leader Matthew Guy gave a brief concession speech on Saturday night, but did not identify failings in his party's campaign. On Sunday morning he released a statement saying he would step down as leader.
Dr Ghazarian said the "disaster" result for the Liberals suggested the problems it had confronted at the 2018 election were not an anomaly.
"The south-eastern electorates in particular where they should have had a chance such as Ashwood, Glen Waverley where they should have held … Labor had swings towards it," Dr Ghazarian said.
The late-night addition of postal votes was aiding the party in Mornington, where it was locked in a tight battle with teal independent Kate Lardner.
Dr Ghazarian said the party would have to "scramble for a new leader", but it may have fewer options if moderate Liberal figure John Pesutto is unable to win back his old seat of Hawthorn.
On Saturday night, Mr Guy made particular mention of Georgie Crozier, who he praised for her work as Shadow Health Minister holding the government to account.
Deputy Liberal leader David Southwick was also projected to retain Caulfield in a tight contest against Labor candidate Lior Harel.
Nationals and Greens pick up more lower house seats
The Liberal Party's Coalition partner had a much stronger night, with the Nationals on track to seize back Mildura and Shepparton from independent MPs Ali Cupper and Suzanna Sheed.
It meant by Sunday morning there was the prospect of no independents sitting on the crossbench.
Dr Ghazarian said it was "no mean feat" for the Nationals given the challenges of pushing out independent MPs from country areas once they became established.
"For the Nationals to do it twice, that's a remarkably strong result," he said.
The Nationals were also projected to win the Latrobe Valley seat of Morwell.
In inner-city Melbourne, Victorian Greens leader Samantha Ratnam hailed a "greenslide" for her party on Saturday night, despite hopes of gaining a swathe of new seats failing to materialise.
It was on track to retain Melbourne, Prahran and Brunswick, and the ABC projected it would seize Labor-held Richmond, aided by Liberal Party preferences.
Early in the night the party also appeared to be on track to win Northcote, but Labor pulled ahead in the count late on Saturday night, as pre-poll and postal votes flowed in.
Earlier in the week Ms Ratnam named Albert Park as one of the seats in the party's sights, but the seat is on track to be retained by Labor, with the seat's two-party contest between Liberal and Labor and the Green vote coming in third.
But on Sunday Ms Ratnam said her party's celebrations were warranted, given their success in the upper house.
Dr Ghazarian said the minor party's strong showing was tempered by the fact that Labor's decisive victory meant the Greens would not wield influence in a minority government.
"While they've increased their representation in parliament, they are still not going to be critical to the passage of bills of the lower house because Labor will have that majority," he said.
