Emotional celebrations erupted across Australia Wednesday as voters emphatically endorsed same-sex marriage after more than a decade of divisive debate, and political leaders immediately took the first steps to enshrine the historic shift in law.

Thousands of marriage equality supporters took to parks and squares across the vast continent, hugging, dancing and singing under clouds of glitter when the results of the two-month-long postal survey were announced.

Almost 62 per cent of the 12.7 million people who participated voted “yes” to the question “Should the law be changed to allow same-sex couples to marry?”

Just 38.4pc voted “no”, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which carried out the poll.

Nearly 80pc of eligible voters took part in the poll, with the “yes” vote winning a majority in all of Australia's states and territories.

“This means everything, this means everything,” shouted Chris at a huge rally in Sydney, fighting back tears and hugging his partner, Victor.

“It has been fantastic. I have been with my partner for 35 years and he was so joyed up that he burst into tears,” added another reveller, Gerry Boller.

Irish-born Qantas Airlines chief Alan Joyce, who is openly gay and campaigned strongly for the “yes” campaign, also fought back tears as he spoke of his delight.

“I was so proud of Ireland in May 2015 when they became the first nation in the world to vote for marriage equality... But today I am even more proud of Australia, the country of my selection,” he said in Sydney.

'Yes for love'

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, a moderate conservative who backed the “yes” camp, hailed the result of the non-binding vote and vowed to move a bill in favour of marriage equality by Christmas.

Australians “voted yes for fairness, yes for commitment, yes for love,” Turnbull said at a press conference in Canberra.

“Now it is up to us, here in the Parliament of Australia, to get on with it. To get on with the job the Australian people have tasked us to do and get this done, this year, before Christmas. That must be our commitment.”

Within hours of the vote result, Dean Smith, a senator from Turnbull's Liberal Party who is gay, introduced a bill that would legalise gay marriage while allowing religious institutions and clergy to refuse to celebrate same-sex unions if it conflicts with their beliefs.

Hardline opponents in Turnbull's party have pressed for more extensive religious protections to allow commercial service providers to reject same-sex weddings and let parents pull their children from school programmes they feel undermine heterosexual traditions.

They have support notably from Muslim and some conservative Christian communities which returned a high percentage of “no” votes in the survey.

But Turnbull rejected those calls this week and he and the opposition Labor Party are expected to back a bill based on Smith's proposal when it comes to a “conscience vote” in the two houses of parliament.

A survey of federal politicians by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation published Tuesday found that 72pc of House members and 69pc of Senators would support the change to marriage laws.

Turnbull called the postal vote in the face of opposition from hardliners who refused to back a national plebiscite on the issue.

The move was opposed by proponents of same-sex marriage, who wanted direct legislative action.

They said the lengthy vote process was both a waste of money ─ it cost just under $76 million ─ and exposed gay people and their families to hate speech.

“No” campaigners said they would continue defending their cause.

“In a democracy, just because you win it doesn't mean you... bulldoze forward,” said Senator Eric Abetz, a prominent “no” campaigner.

“Keep in mind there are 4.8m of our fellow Australians that actually voted no... Do we say they should no longer be heard? Or do we actually ask them questions as to how can their concerns be alleviated so we can move forward as a nation?”

But the solid margin for the “yes” vote and the high turnout looks to limit the influence of “no” campaigners.