Three weeks after ousting Labor from a stronghold seat, the Greens' first general-elect lower house representative Adam Bandt has been officially declared the federal member for Melbourne.
The ALP had held the inner-city seat since 1904 but the resignation of Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner paved the way for Mr Bandt's ascension.
An empty Australian Electoral Commission office became the scene for celebration on Friday as green balloons and streamers were thrown over a beaming Mr Bandt and his partner Claudia Perkins by his supporters and campaign team.
After few public celebrations following Tuesday's knife-edge federal result, Mr Bandt said the declaration was more than symbolic.
"We know we're not going to go to the polls in the next 30 days, which is very reassuring to us," he told the declaration ceremony.
"It's an enormously humbling but also thrilling experience to be declared elected for a number of reasons, not least of which now I don't have to use a visitors' pass anymore to get in and out of Parliament House."
More importantly, he said the Greens had netted the highest-ever primary vote for a third party at a federal election with about 11.7 per cent so far counted.
Mr Bandt said the last three weeks of negotiations had resulted in a good outcome for the Greens and stable government but described the challenges ahead as "huge".
The former industrial lawyer is the first Greens MP to be anointed into the house of representatives at a general election after Greens MP Michael Organ won the NSW seat of Cunningham at a by-election in 2002.
With 49,864 votes, Mr Bandt recorded a 20 per cent swing at booths near the University of Melbourne colleges and a Richmond housing commission.
At one Fitzroy booth he netted at least 46 per cent of the vote, which he said augured "incredibly well" for the November state election.
Signs are set to go up on Monday morning in Mr Bandt's King Street electoral office.
"It all starts to get official and it all starts to get very real now," he said.
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