Julian Assange's return to Australia marks the culmination of a dramatic shift in Australia's position on the controversial WikiLeaks founder.
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After 12 years of advocacy by his supporters, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the freeing of Mr Assange as "the product of careful, patient and determined" diplomacy by his government.
"This is what standing up for Australians around the world looks like. It means getting the job done, getting results and getting outcomes. Having the determination to stay the course," Mr Albanese said.
For years, calls for the Australian government to intervene in Mr Assange's case fell on deaf ears.
Mr Albanese, who personally advocated for Mr Assange's freedom, told the Parliament on Wednesday he was "very proud" to have secured Mr Assange's release.
"Over the two years since we took office, my government has engaged and advocated - including at leader level - to resolve this.
"Regardless of your views about his activities - and they will be varied - Mr Assange's case has dragged on for too long [and] there was nothing to be gained by his continued incarceration."
Mr Assange entered a plea deal with the US Department of Justice at hearing on the Pacific island Saipan on Wednesday, with US ambassador Kevin Rudd by his side, after seven years holed up in London's Ecuadorian embassy and five years in Belmarsh Prison in the UK.
Mr Rudd and United Kingdom high commissioner Stephen Smith were due to land in Canberra on board Mr Assange's charter flight on Wednesday evening.
"I thank them for their work, and others, at the respective embassy and high commission, for helping us reach this conclusion," Mr Albanese said.
"This work has been complex and it has been considered."
Mr Albanese thanked Independent MP Andrew Wilkie, Labor MP Josh Wilson, Greens senator David Shoebridge and Tasmanian Liberal senator Bridget Archer, co-chairs of the Bring Julian Assange Home parliamentary group, "for their commitment to this issue".
Mr Wilkie said he was sure that "millions of people around the world are thrilled that this matter has finally been brought to an end".
"It was certainly the view that the Opposition Leader ventilated last year, when even Peter Dutton said this has gone on long enough," he said.
The group was formed with just a few members in 2019 and grew to dozens.
"We were quite alone. And since then, until this government, a number of governments had been disinterested in Julian Assange, or even downright hostile," Mr Wilkie said.
While the Prime Minister had "a long history" of personally supporting the cause, Mr Wilkie said, "it took a while for his party to get on board". It didn't happen straight away after the most recent election.
The real turning point, he said, was Mr Albanese's push for his cabinet to support a motion in the House of Representatives calling for Assange's release, which was passed in February.
"That was probably the single most significant political turning point and showed us that the government was... on board," Mr Wilkie said.
