The outcome of Australia's gay marriage postal vote is in, and the outcome is YES. Follow the reaction here.
1.30pm: That concludes our live updates, reacting to the outcome of Australia's historic gay marriage postal vote, with our trans-Tasman neighbours voting to join us in legalising gay marriage, with a 61.6% majority YES vote. Sydney, at 83%, recorded the highest YES vote of any city while the town of Blaxland, at the foot of the Blue Mountains recorded the highest NO vote, at 79%.
Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull is now promising to fast track new laws allowing gay marriage, with opposition leader Bill Shorten telling supporters after the vote that LGBT Aussies will be able to be married in Australia by next month.
1.22pm: Act now on gay marriage: Qld premier . The Queensland premier says federal parliament must immediately enshrine in law Australia's support for same-sex marriage.
"The decision by the majority of Australians to support marriage equality ... should be heeded by the federal parliament and their will put into law," Annastacia Palaszczuk said in a statement today.
"My government recognised this truth when we restored civil partnership ceremonies, removed by the LNP government, in Queensland in 2015. We didn't require a postal survey to do that."
1.15pm: Kylie...
12.58pm: PM Malcolm Turnbull: "It is our job now to get on with it, and get this done.
"I say to all Australians, whatever your views on this issue may be, we must respect the voice of the people."
"We asked them for their opinion and they have given it to us. It is unequivocal, it is overwhelming.
"Australians have voted for a generous view of themselves, for a modern Australia, where diversity is accepted, supported and respected," he told a marriage equality rally in Melbourne.
"And I just want to make one promise, one promise: today we celebrate, tomorrow we legislate."
12.53pm: NSW records lowest 'yes' vote in nation. NSW has recorded the lowest 'yes' result for any state or territory across the nation in the same-sex marriage survey.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics released the results of the voluntary postal survey on Wednesday revealing that 57.8 per cent of voters in NSW said 'yes' to same-sex marriage.
"This is a proud day for Australia in many respects, not because of the vote but because of the participation of our citizens," NSW Labor spokesman Michael Daley said in parliament.
The electorate of Sydney recorded one of the highest 'yes' votes in the nation with 83.7 per cent supporting gay marriage, while Blaxland at the foot of the Blue Mountains recorded the highest 'no' vote in NSW with 73.9 per cent opposed.
12.48pm: Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has told thousands of happy same-sex marriage supporters they should be able to get married in December .
"Yes, yes, yes", Mr Shorten screamed to the crowd gathered to hear the result of the same-sex marriage survey in Melbourne on Wednesday.
"It may have been 61 per cent who voted yes in the survey, but I want to say to all LGBTIQ Australians u are 100 per cent loved, 100 per cent valued, and after the next two weeks of parliament, 100 per cent able to marry the person that you love.
"Today we celebrate, tomorrow we legislate."
12.42pm: This is nice, out on the Sydney Harbour after the YES vote is confirmed...
1 NEWS Australia Correspondent Kimberlee Downs was in Sydney for the historic moment.
12.35pm: No voters have been left disappointed. Opponents of same-sex marriage say they will fight to defend any restrictions on freedom of speech and religion as federal politicians begin work on introducing laws allowing same-sex couples to tie the knot.
The Coalition for Marriage spokesman Lyle Shelton described the 61.6 per cent 'yes' vote in the voluntary survey on same-sex marriage as disappointing, but said the group would respect the decision.
"We will now do what we can to guard against restrictions on freedom of speech and freedom of religion, to defend parents' rights, and to protect Australian kids from being exposed to radical LGBTIQ sex and gender education in the classrooms," he said in a statement this afternoon.
12.28pm: HOW AUSTRALIA VOTED ON SAME-SEX MARRIAGE:
Yes: 61.6 per cent (7.8 million)
No: 38.4 per cent (4.9 million)
Proportion of Australians who voted: 79.5 per cent (12.7 million*)
12.23pm: There were tears, cheers, ear-to-ear grins, kisses, hugs and thousands of arms in the air as elated Melburnians celebrated victory in the same-sex marriage postal survey.
With champagne spraying and rainbow dust shooting into the sky, thousands danced to Kylie Minogue's "Celebration" outside the State Library of Victoria on Wednesday following the 'yes' result which blasted live from Canberra through massive speakers.
"This is the happiest day of my life. I've never felt this happy," James Mead, 35, said with tears streaming down his face.
1 NEWS Australia Correspondent Kimberlee Downs was in Sydney for the historic moment.
12.15pm: Australians have given same-sex marriage their overwhelming approval with a near 62 per cent 'yes' vote in a voluntary survey.
A majority 'yes' vote was recorded in 133 of the 150 federal electorates across the country, the Australian Bureau of Statistics announced in Canberra on Wednesday.
Every state and territory recorded a majority 'yes' result bar NSW, which returned less than 60 per cent approval.
The ACT had the highest 'yes' vote at 74 per cent.
More than 12.7 million people - nearly 80 per cent of eligible voters - took part in the survey.
Of those, 7.8 million voted 'yes' and 4.9 million said 'no'.
Parliamentary debate to legalise same-sex marriage could begin as early as Thursday.
A cross-party group of senators - led by Liberal Dean Smith and supported by senior Labor figure Penny Wong, amongst others - will introduce a private bill to the upper house on Wednesday afternoon.
This means debate could start on Thursday morning, the Senate's usual time for considering private bills.
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