Fresh from a whirlwind trip to Tokyo where he was introduced to the world stage, the new prime minister revealed his return to Australia coincided with the 20th anniversary of his mother's death.
After getting off the plane on Wednesday night he took a quiet moment to visit her grave and reflect on the past few days.
"Last night, I visited the cemetery to see her and to have a chat, it's a big deal," he told the Nine Network on Thursday.
Mr Albanese said the significance of his life story and winning the election on Saturday wasn't lost on him.
"When you grow up the way that I did, with a single mum in public housing, the expectation on your career path is not to rise to the position of prime minister," he said.
"I hope that my journey does give people a bit of an uplift.
"No one gets there by themselves, you get there because people believe in you, because people provide you with support."
Attending the Quad meeting with US President Joe Biden, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was a good start for the new Labor government, Mr Albanese said.
"It really hit home, when people start to call you prime minister and you realise that you're not looking around for someone else, it's actually you," he told the Seven Network.
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