Austria's far-right Freedom Party won on Sunday a parliamentary election for the first time after a campaign that leant heavily into voters' concerns over immigration levels.

Sunday's election result leaves Austria’s political future uncertain as it’s questionable how stable the next coalition government will be.

It finished ahead of the governing conservatives Sunday after tapping into anxieties about immigration, inflation, Ukraine and other issues.

Victory for the FPO, which is critical of Islam and pledges tougher rules on asylum seekers, follows far-right gains in countries including the Netherlands, France and Germany.

Its most likely partner the conservative Austrian People's Party (OVP), which finished runner up and also wants to impose tougher immigration rules. Otherwise a more centrist OVP-led coalition could take shape.

Austria’s Freedom Party leads in the vote count, but may not be able to find coalition partners to form a government under provocative leader Herbert Kickl.

The formation of a new Austrian government won’t be an easy task, with potential for political uncertainty and deadlock, both during coalition negotiations and in governance, ING economist Franziska Biehl says in a note.