The following lists events that happened during 2018 in Australia.

Incumbents

Monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...

–

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

–

Sir Peter Cosgrove General Sir Peter John Cosgrove, (born 28 July 1947) is a retired senior Australian Army officer who served as the 26th governor-general of Australia, in office from 2014 to 2019. A graduate of the Royal Military College, Duntroon, Cosgrove f ...

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

–

Malcolm Turnbull Malcolm Bligh Turnbull (born 24 October 1954) is an Australian former politician and businessman who served as the 29th prime minister of Australia from 2015 to 2018. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Turnbull gra ...

(until 24 August), then

Scott Morrison Scott John Morrison (; born 13 May 1968) is an Australian politician. He served as the 30th prime minister of Australia and as Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia from 2018 to 2022, and is currently the member of parliament (MP) for t ...

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

–

Barnaby Joyce Barnaby Thomas Gerard Joyce (born 17 April 1967) is an Australian politician who served as the 17th deputy prime minister of Australia under Malcolm Turnbull from 2016 to 2018 and under Scott Morrison from 2021 to 2022. He was the leader of th ...

(until 26 February), then Michael McCormack **

Opposition Leader The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

–

Bill Shorten William Richard Shorten (born 12 May 1967) is an Australian politician currently serving as Minister for Government Services and Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme since 2022. He previously served as leader of the opposition ...

* Chief Justice –

Susan Kiefel Susan Mary Kiefel (; born 17 January 1954) is the chief justice of Australia, in office since 30 January 2017. She has served on the High Court since 2007, having previously been a judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland and the Federal Co ...

State and Territory Leaders

Premier of New South Wales The premier of New South Wales is the head of government in the state of New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_ ...

–

Gladys Berejiklian Gladys Berejiklian (born 22 September 1970) is an Australian former politician who served as the 45th premier of New South Wales and the leader of the New South Wales division of the Liberal Party from 2017 to 2021. Berejiklian became a member ...

–

Luke Foley Luke Aquinas Foley (born 27 July 1970) is a former Australian Labor Party politician who served as the Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of New South Wales from 2015 to 2018. Foley was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Counci ...

(until 8 November), then

Michael Daley Michael John Daley (born 1 November 1965) is an Australian politician who was the Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of New South Wales from November 2018 to March 2019. He is currently a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assemb ...

Premier of Queensland The premier of Queensland is the head of government in the Australian state of Queensland. By convention the premier is the leader of the party with a parliamentary majority in the unicameral Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The premier is ap ...

–

Annastacia Palaszczuk Annastacia Palaszczuk ( , Polish: Annastacia Pałaszczuk, ; born 25 July 1969) is an Australian politician who has been the 39th premier of Queensland since 2015 and the leader of the Queensland branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) since ...

–

Deb Frecklington Deborah Kay Frecklington (born 3 September 1971) is an Australian politician who is the member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland for Nanango, having won the seat at the 2012 state election. She was the Leader of the Queensland Opposit ...

Premier of South Australia The premier of South Australia is the head of government in the state of South Australia, Australia. The Government of South Australia follows the Westminster system, with a Parliament of South Australia acting as the legislature. The premier ...

–

Jay Weatherill Jay Wilson Weatherill (born 3 April 1964) is an Australian politician who was the 45th Premier of South Australia, serving from 21 October 2011 until 19 March 2018. Weatherill represented the House of Assembly seat of Cheltenham as a member o ...

(until 19 March), then

Steven Marshall Steven Spence Marshall (born 21 January 1968) is an Australian politician who served as the 46th premier of South Australia between 2018 and 2022. He has been a member of the South Australian Division of the Liberal Party of Australia in the ...

–

(until 19 March), then

Peter Malinauskas Peter Bryden Malinauskas ( ; born 14 August 1980) is an Australian politician, serving as the 47th and current premier of South Australia since March 2022. He has been the leader of the South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party (AL ...

(from 9 April) *

Premier of Tasmania The premier of Tasmania is the head of the executive government in the Australian state of Tasmania. By convention, the leader of the party or political grouping which has majority support in the House of Assembly is invited by the governor of T ...

–

Will Hodgman William Edward Felix Hodgman (born 20 April 1969) is an Australian diplomat and former politician who has been the High Commissioner of Australia to Singapore since February 2021. He was the 45th Premier of Tasmania and a member for the Divisio ...

–

Rebecca White Rebecca Peta White (born 4 February 1983) is an Australian politician. She has been the Leader of the Opposition in Tasmania and Leader of the Parliamentary Labor Party in Tasmania since July 2021, having previously served in that role from ...

Premier of Victoria The premier of Victoria is the head of government in the Australian state of Victoria. The premier is appointed by the governor of Victoria, and is the leader of the political party able to secure a majority in the Victorian Legislative Assembl ...

–

Daniel Andrews Daniel Michael Andrews (born 6 July 1972) is an Australian politician serving as the 48th and current premier of Victoria since December 2014. He has been the leader of the Victorian branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) since December ...

–

Matthew Guy Matthew Jason Guy (born 6 March 1974) is an Australian politician. He has been a Liberal Party of Australia Member of the Parliament of Victoria since 2006, representing Northern Metropolitan Region in the Legislative Council (2006–2014) an ...

(until 6 December), then

Michael O'Brien Michael or Mike O'Brien may refer to: Politicians * Michael O'Brien (Fianna Fáil politician), Irish former councillor and mayor of Clonmel * Michael O'Brien (Ohio politician) (born 1955), American politician in the state of Ohio * Michael O'Brien ...

Premier of Western Australia The premier of Western Australia is the head of government of the state of Western Australia. The role of premier at a state level is similar to the role of the prime minister of Australia at a federal level. The premier leads the executive br ...

–

Mark McGowan Mark McGowan (born 13 July 1967) is an Australian politician, the 30th premier of Western Australia, and the leader of the Western Australian branch of the Labor Party. McGowan was born and raised in Newcastle, New South Wales. He attended t ...

–

Mike Nahan Michael Dennis Nahan (born 2 July 1950) is a former Australian politician who was Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia's Western Australian branch and Leader of the Opposition from the 2017 state election until his resignation in June 201 ...

Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory The chief minister of the Australian Capital Territory is the head of government of the Australian Capital Territory. The leader of the party with the largest number of seats in the unicameral Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly usu ...

–

Andrew Barr Andrew James Barr (born 29 April 1973) is an Australian politician who has been serving as the 7th Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory since 2014. He has been an Australian Labor Party member in the ACT Legislative Assembly sinc ...

–

Alistair Coe Alistair Bruce Coe (born 9 January 1984) is an Australian politician and a former leader of the Liberal Party and Leader of the Opposition in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). He was a member of the ACT Legislative Assembly from 2008 to 2 ...

Chief Minister of the Northern Territory The chief minister of the Northern Territory is the head of government of the Northern Territory. The office is the equivalent of a state premier. When the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly was created in 1974, the head of government wa ...

–

Michael Gunner Michael Patrick Francis Gunner (born 6 January 1976) is an Australian politician and was the 11th Chief Minister of the Northern Territory from 2016 to 2022. He is a Labor member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly, having held his ...

–

Gary Higgins Gary John Higgins (born 26 May 1954) is an Australian former politician. A member of the Country Liberal Party, he was elected to represent the seat of Daly in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly at the 2012 election. After the 2016 ele ...

Governors and Administrators

Governor of New South Wales The governor of New South Wales is the viceregal representative of the Australian monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governors of the ...

–

David Hurley General David John Hurley, (born 26 August 1953) is an Australian former senior officer in the Australian Army who has served as the 27th governor-general of Australia since 1 July 2019. He was previously the 38th governor of New South Wales, ...

Governor of Queensland The governor of Queensland is the representative in the state of Queensland of the monarch of Australia. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governor performs constitutional and ceremonial func ...

–

Paul de Jersey Paul de Jersey, (born 21 September 1948) is an Australian jurist who served as the 26th governor of Queensland, in office from 29 July 2014 to 1 November 2021. He was Chief Justice of Queensland from 1998 to 2014. Education De Jersey was edu ...

Governor of South Australia The governor of South Australia is the representative in South Australia of the Monarch of Australia, currently King Charles III. The governor performs the same constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level as does the governor-gen ...

–

Hieu Van Le Hieu Van Le, ( vi, Lê Văn Hiếu; born 1 January 1954) was the 35th governor of South Australia, in office from 1 September 2014 to 31 August 2021. He served as the state's lieutenant-governor from 2007 to 2014. He also served as chair of th ...

Governor of Tasmania The governor of Tasmania is the representative in the Australian state of Tasmania of the Monarch of Australia, currently King Charles III. The incumbent governor is Barbara Baker, who was appointed in June 2021. The official residence of the ...

–

Kate Warner Catherine Ann Warner (born 14 July 1948) is an Australian lawyer and legal academic who was the 28th Governor of Tasmania from 2014 to 2021. Early life and education Warner was born Catherine Ann Friend in Hobart, Tasmania, and attended St M ...

Governor of Victoria The governor of Victoria is the representative of the monarch, King Charles III, in the Australian state of Victoria. The governor is one of seven viceregal representatives in the country, analogous to the governors of the other states, and ...

–

Linda Dessau Linda Marion Dessau (born 8 May 1953) is an Australian jurist, barrister, and the 29th and current governor of Victoria since 1 July 2015. She is the first female and the first Jewish holder of the office. She was a judge of the Family Court ...

Governor of Western Australia The governor of Western Australia is the representative in Western Australia of the monarch of Australia, currently King Charles III. As with the other governors of the Australian states, the governor of Western Australia performs constitutiona ...

– Kerry Sanderson (until 1 May), then

Kim Beazley Kim Christian Beazley (born 14 December 1948) is an Australian former politician and diplomat. He was leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and leader of the opposition from 1996 to 2001 and 2005 to 2006, having previously been a cabinet ...

* Administrator of the Australian Indian Ocean Territories –

Natasha Griggs Natasha Louise Griggs (born 24 January 1969) is an Australian former politician and the administrator of the Australian Indian Ocean Territories from 2017 to 2022. Griggs was first elected at the 2010 federal election as a member of the Hou ...

Administrator of Norfolk Island The administrator of Norfolk Island acts as a representative both of The Crown and of the Government of Australia, as well as carrying out other duties according to the ''Norfolk Island Amendment Act 2015''.Eric Hutchinson Eric Hutchinson (born September 8, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter best known for his songs "Rock & Roll", "OK, It's Alright with Me", "Not There Yet", "Watching You Watch Him", and "Tell the World". Hutchinson was named an AOL "About to ...

Administrator of the Northern Territory The Administrator of the Northern Territory is an official appointed by the Governor-General of Australia to represent the government of the Commonwealth in the Northern Territory, Australia. They perform functions similar to those of a state go ...

–

Vicki O'Halloran Vicki Susan O'Halloran (born 20 June 1964) is an Australian businesswoman and community worker, who was CEO of Somerville Community Services in the Northern Territory from 1998 to 2017. On 31 October 2017, she was sworn in as the 22nd administrat ...

Events

January

*18 January –

Malaysia Airlines Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB; ms, Penerbangan Malaysia Berhad), formerly known as Malaysian Airline System (MAS; ), and branded as Malaysia Airlines, is the flag carrier airline of Malaysia and a member of the Oneworld airline alliance. (The ...

Flight MH122 from Sydney to

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

is forced to make an emergency landing in

Alice Springs Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' Al ...

after experiencing engine problems. *20 January – Authorities evacuate the

Royal National Park The Royal National Park is a protected national park that is located in Sutherland Shire in the Australian state of New South Wales, just south of Sydney. The national park is about south of the Sydney central business district near the l ...

south of Sydney as two fires burn out of control, with smoke visible across the city. *26 January – Tens of thousands of protesters march in Sydney and

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

in " Invasion Day" rallies. *31 January – The

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

publishes information from hundreds of classified Cabinet documents which were found in two second-hand filing cabinets purchased at a sale of ex-government furniture.

February

*1 February –

David Feeney David Ian Feeney (born 5 March 1970) is a former Australian politician. He was the Labor member for the division of Batman in the House of Representatives from 7 September 2013 to 1 February 2018. Before that, he was a member of the Australian ...

resigns as MP for

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book '' Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939 ...

, after he is unable to find documentation confirming that he had renounced his British citizenship. *6 February –

News Corp News Corporation, stylized as News Corp, is an American mass media and publishing company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The second incarnation of the original News Corporation, it was formed on June 28, 2013, following a ...

reveals that Deputy Prime Minister

is expecting a baby with a former staffer, following the break-up of his marriage. *11 February – The Melbourne's Domain Parkland and Memorial Precinct—including

Kings Domain Kings Domain is an area of parklands in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It surrounds Government House Reserve, the home of the governors of Victoria, the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, and the Shrine Reserve incorporating the Shrine of Remembrance. ...

, Alexandra Gardens,

Queen Victoria Gardens The Queen Victoria Gardens are Melbourne's memorial to Queen Victoria. Located on 4.8 hectares (12 acres) opposite the Victorian Arts Centre and National Gallery of Victoria, bounded by St Kilda Road, Alexandra Avenue and Linlithgow Avenue. Q ...

, the

Melbourne Observatory Melbourne Observatory is an observatory located on a hill adjacent to the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. The observatory commenced operations in 1862 and was decommissioned from official Government work in 1945. The observatory has since continu ...

, the

Shrine of Remembrance The Shrine of Remembrance (commonly referred to as The Shrine) is a war memorial in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, located in Kings Domain on St Kilda Road. It was built to honour the men and women of Victoria who served in World War I, bu ...

and

Government House, Melbourne Government House is the official residence of the governor of Victoria, currently Linda Dessau. It is located in Kings Domain, Melbourne, next to the Royal Botanic Gardens. Government House was opened in 1876, on land that had originally been ...

—was added to the

Australian National Heritage List The Australian National Heritage List or National Heritage List (NHL) is a heritage register, a list of national heritage places deemed to be of outstanding heritage significance to Australia, established in 2003. The list includes natural and ...

. *12 February – The

Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry The Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry, also known as the Banking Royal Commission and the Hayne Royal Commission, was a royal commission established on 14 December 2017 by the Austra ...

, headed by

Kenneth Hayne Kenneth Madison Hayne (born 5 June 1945) is a former Justice of the High Court of Australia, the highest court in the Australian court hierarchy. Early life and education Hayne was born in Gympie, Queensland and attended Scotch College, Melbour ...

, opens in Melbourne. *23 February – **

announces he will stand down on 26 February as leader of the National Party and therefore as

Deputy Prime Minister of Australia The deputy prime minister of Australia is the deputy chief executive and the second highest ranking officer of the Australian Government. The office of deputy prime minister was officially created as a ministerial portfolio in 1968, altho ...

following pressure from government and public figures over his relationship with a former staffer. **A voluntary recall of rockmelons is started after several deaths from

listeriosis Listeriosis is a bacterial infection most commonly caused by ''Listeria monocytogenes'', although '' L. ivanovii'' and '' L. grayi'' have been reported in certain cases. Listeriosis can cause severe illness, including severe sepsis, meni ...

contracted from consuming the fruit. , nineteen infections and six deaths have been linked to rockmelon-related

listeria ''Listeria'' is a genus of bacteria that acts as an intracellular parasite in mammals. Until 1992, 17 species were known, each containing two subspecies. By 2020, 21 species had been identified. The genus is named in honour of the British pi ...

. *26 February – New South Wales MP Michael McCormack wins the National Party of Australia leadership election and becomes

, brought about by the resignation of Barnaby Joyce, defeating Queensland MP

George Christensen George Robert Christensen (born 30 June 1978) is a former Australian politician and former journalist who was a member of the Australian House of Representatives from 2010 to 2022, as the member of parliament (MP) for the division of Dawson. He ...

March

*3 March – The

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a l ...

led by

wins a second term of government but with a reduced majority at the

2018 Tasmanian state election The 2018 Tasmanian state election was held on 3 March 2018 to elect all 25 members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly. The four-year incumbent Liberal government, led by Premier Will Hodgman, won a second consecutive term. It defeated the Lab ...

. *5 March - The

Australian Border Force The Australian Border Force (ABF) is a federal law enforcement agency, part of the Department of Home Affairs, responsible for offshore and onshore border control enforcement, investigations, compliance and detention operations in Australia. T ...

conducts an early morning raid on a family home in

Biloela, Queensland Biloela ( ) is a rural town and locality in Shire of Banana, Central Queensland, Australia. It is situated inland from the port city of Gladstone at the junction of the Burnett and Dawson highways. Biloela is the administrative centre of Banana ...

and forcibly removes a

Sri Lankan Tamil Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, live in significant numbers in the Eastern ...

asylum seeker family and takes them into immigration detention in Melbourne before being transferring them to

Christmas Island Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an Australian external territory comprising the island of the same name. It is located in the Indian Ocean, around south of Java and Sumatra and around north-west of the ...

. The family's plight garners ongoing media attention and prompts supporters to launch the

Home to Bilo The Murugappan family, also known as the Nadesalingam family, consists of Nadesalingam Murugappan (Nades), his wife Kokilapathmapriya Nadesalingam (Priya) and their two daughters. They are Sri Lankan Tamils seeking asylum in Australia. The couple ...

campaign. *10 March – A state of disaster is declared in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, after flooding between Cairns and

Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 30 ...

, with some catchment areas receiving over 700mm in four days. *14 March –

Peter Dutton Peter Craig Dutton (born 18 November 1970) is an Australian politician who has been leader of the opposition and leader of the Liberal Party since May 2022. He has represented the Queensland seat of Dickson in the House of Representatives sin ...

calls to treat

White South African White South Africans generally refers to South Africans of European descent. In linguistic, cultural, and historical terms, they are generally divided into the Afrikaans-speaking descendants of the Dutch East India Company's original settle ...

farmers as refugees, stating that "they need help from a civilised country". and was met with "regret" by the South African

foreign ministry In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The enti ...

. The Australian High Commissioner was subsequently summoned by the South African foreign ministry, which expressed its offence at Dutton's statements, and demanded a "full retraction". *17 March – **The

under

wins the

2018 South Australian state election The 2018 South Australian state election to elect members to the 54th Parliament of South Australia was held on 17 March 2018. All 47 seats in the House of Assembly or lower house, whose members were elected at the 2014 election, and 11 of 22 ...

, defeating the Labor Party and incumbent Premier

. **The Labor Party wins the Batman by-election, maintaining its numbers in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

. **The

wins the Cottesloe by-election, maintaining its numbers in the

Western Australian Legislative Assembly The Western Australian Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Western Australia, an Australian state. The Parliament sits in Parliament House in the Western Australian capital, Perth. The Legislat ...

. *18 March – Hot and windy conditions see a

bushfire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identi ...

destroy over 70 buildings at Tathra on the

New South Wales South Coast The South Coast refers to the narrow coastal belt from Shoalhaven district in the north to the border with Victoria in the south in the south-eastern part of the State of New South Wales, Australia. It is bordered to the west by the coastal es ...

, while 18 homes are destroyed by a grass fire in

Western Victoria Western Victoria is a wine grape growing zone in the southwestern part of the state of Victoria in Australia. It extends approximately from the South Australia border to Ballarat and from Horsham to the coast. It includes the defined wine reg ...

. *24 March –

Qantas Qantas Airways Limited ( ) is the flag carrier of Australia and the country's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the List of airlines by foundation date, world's third-oldest airline sti ...

launches the first direct passenger flight between Australia and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

, beginning its service between

Perth Perth is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth most populous city in Aust ...

and

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. *25 March – Australian cricket captain Steve Smith is suspended, and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull calls for action from

Cricket Australia Cricket Australia (CA), formerly known as the Australian Cricket Board (ACB), is the governing body for professional and amateur cricket in Australia. It was originally formed in 1905 as the 'Australian Board of Control for International Crick ...

, after members of the Australian team admit to ball tampering during a match against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

April

*20 April – Craig Meller resigns as CEO of

AMP Limited AMP is a financial services company in Australia and New Zealand providing superannuation and investment products, financial advice, and banking products (through AMP Banking) including home loans and savings accounts. Its headquarters is in ...

after revelations in the banking royal commission that the financial services company charged clients for financial advice which was not provided, and then misled the

Australian Securities & Investments Commission The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is an independent commission of the Australian Government tasked as the national corporate regulator. ASIC's role is to regulate company and financial services and enforce laws to pro ...

May

* 7 May – Ancient

HTLV-1 Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 or human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV-I), also called the adult T-cell lymphoma virus type 1, is a retrovirus of the human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV) family that has been implicated in several kinds of diseas ...

virus detected in indigenous communities in Australia, raising concerns and calls to stop the spread. *9 May – **An estimated 100,000 union workers march through Melbourne's CBD in protest of workplace conditions in a rally to kick off the

Australian Council of Trade Unions The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), originally the Australasian Council of Trade Unions, is the largest peak body representing workers in Australia. It is a national trade union centre of 46 affiliated unions and eight trades and ...

's "Change the Rules" campaign. **The

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Australia's Constitution. The High Court was established following passage of the ''Judiciary Act 1903''. It ...

rules in '' Re: Gallagher'' that

Katy Gallagher Katherine Ruth Gallagher (born 18 March 1970) is an Australian politician who has been serving as the Minister for Finance, Minister for Women, Minister for the Public Service and Vice-President of the Executive Council in the Albanese Gover ...

was ineligible to be chosen as a Senator, as her submission of a renunciation of British citizenship was not sufficient to meet the "reasonable steps" clause of

Section 44 of the Constitution of Australia Section 44 of the Australian Constitution lists the grounds for disqualification on who may become a candidate for election to the Parliament of Australia. It has generally arisen for consideration by the High Court sitting in its capacity as t ...

. Four lower house MPs in the same situation subsequently resign: Labor's Justine Keay,

Susan Lamb Susan Lamb (born 23 March 1972) is an Australian politician. She was the member for the Division of Longman originally elected at the 2016 election on 2 July 2016 until her resignation on 10 May 2018 as a part of the 2017–18 Australian parliam ...

and Josh Wilson, and

Centre Alliance Centre Alliance, formerly known as the Nick Xenophon Team (NXT), is a centrist political party in Australia based in the state of South Australia. It currently has one representative in the Parliament, Rebekha Sharkie in the House of Represent ...

Rebekha Sharkie Rebekha Carina Sharkie ( Che; born 24 August 1972) is an Australian politician and member of the Centre Alliance party. She is a member of the Australian House of Representatives, representing the Division of Mayo in South Australia. At the 20 ...

. *11 May – **Over 10,000 homes are left without power, and over 120mm of rain causes flooding in the Hobart city centre and at the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College (University of Tasmania), Christ College, one of the unive ...

, as severe weather sweeps across southern

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. **Four children and three adults are found shot dead at a house in Osmington, Western Australia in what police believe is a murder-suicide, and Australia's worst mass shooting since the

Port Arthur massacre Port Arthur massacre may refer to: *Port Arthur massacre (China), an 1894 event in which Japanese troops killed several thousand Chinese in the Liaodong Peninsula *Port Arthur massacre (Australia) The Port Arthur massacre was a mass shooting t ...

in 1996. *22 May – The Archbishop of Adelaide, Philip Wilson, is found guilty by Newcastle Local Court of covering up child sexual abuse cases which occurred in the 1970s. * 23 May - NSW Labor leader

makes comments about

White flight White flight or white exodus is the sudden or gradual large-scale migration of white people from areas becoming more racially or ethnoculturally diverse. Starting in the 1950s and 1960s, the terms became popular in the United States. They refer ...

. His view that an influx of people of non-European descent had driven many White Australians to leave parts of Sydney. He was condemned by Premier

June

*4 June –

Woolworths Supermarkets Woolworths Supermarkets (colloquially known in Australia as "Woolies") is an Australian chain of supermarkets and grocery stores owned by Woolworths Group. Founded in 1924, Woolworths today is Australia's biggest supermarket chain with a ma ...

announces it will reduce the level of plastic packaging in its stores, in particular, eliminating straws and plastic wrapping on fresh produce. *13 June – Northern Territory Independent Commissioner Against Corruption is appointed. *23 June – The

wins the Darling Range by-election, increasing its numbers in the

July

*1 July – The

Australian Space Agency The Australian Space Agency is an agency under the Australian Government responsible for the development of Australia's commercial space industry, coordinating domestic activities, identifying opportunities and facilitating international spa ...

formally commences operation with Megan Clark as inaugural Head. *26 July – A proposed merger of

Fairfax Media Fairfax Media was a media company in Australia and New Zealand, with investments in newspaper, magazines, radio and digital properties. The company was founded by John Fairfax as John Fairfax and Sons, who purchased '' The Sydney Morning Hera ...

and

Nine Entertainment Co Nine Entertainment (registered as Nine Entertainment Co. Pty Ltd) is an Australian publicly listed media company with holdings in radio and television broadcasting, newspaper publications and digital media. It uses Nine as its corporate brandi ...

is announced. * 28 July – A "Super Saturday" of an unprecedented five simultaneous federal by-elections takes place. They are held in the divisions of Braddon,

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

Longman Longman, also known as Pearson Longman, is a publisher, publishing company founded in London, England, in 1724 and is owned by Pearson PLC. Since 1968, Longman has been used primarily as an imprint by Pearson's Schools business. The Longman bra ...

Mayo Mayo often refers to: * Mayonnaise, often shortened to "mayo" * Mayo Clinic, a medical center in Rochester, Minnesota, United States Mayo may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Mayo Peak, Marie Byrd Land Australia * Division of Mayo, an A ...

, and

, with no change to numbers in the House of Representatives.

August

*5 August – Outgoing race discrimination commissioner Tim Soutphommasane slams the 'resurgence of far-right politics' in Australia. *6 August –

Sky News Australia Sky News Australia is an Australian news channel owned by News Corp Australia. Originally launched on 19 February 1996, it broadcasts rolling news coverage throughout the day, while its prime time lineup is dedicated to opinion-based programs f ...

is heavily criticised for providing a platform to

Blair Cottrell Blair Cottrell (born November 1989) is an Australian far-right extremist, often described as a neo-Nazi. He is the former chairman and founding member of the United Patriots Front (UPF) and the Lads Society. He has been convicted of several ...

, leader of the

far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of bein ...

, organisation

United Patriots Front The United Patriots Front (UPF) was an Australian far-right extremist group that opposed immigration, multiculturalism and the religion of Islam. Formed in 2015, the group has been largely dormant since their Facebook page was deleted follow ...

in a one-on-one discussion about immigration on ''The

Adam Giles Adam Graham Giles (born 10 April 1973) is an Australian former politician and former Chief Minister of the Northern Territory (2013–2016) as well as the former leader of the Country Liberal Party (CLP) in the unicameral Northern Territory ...

Show''. Sky News presenters, including

Laura Jayes Laura Jayes (born 24 December 1983) is an Australian journalist and television presenter. Jayes currently co-hosts ''First Edition'' and '' AM Agenda'' on Sky News Australia. Career Jayes joined Sky News in 2006 as a reporter, and in 2011 be ...

and

David Speers David Gordon Speers (born 9 September 1974 in Inverell, Australia) is an Australian journalist and host of '' Insiders'' on ABC TV. Previously he was political editor at Sky News Australia, as well as host of '' PM Agenda'', '' The Last Wor ...

, were among those critical (both on-air and off-air) of his appearance on the program." *8 August – The

New South Wales Government The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the States and territories of Australia, Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales. It is currently held by a coalition of the Liberal Party o ...

announces that the entire state is in

drought A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...

. *14 August – Senator

Fraser Anning William Fraser Anning (born 14 October 1949) is an Australian former politician who was a senator for Queensland from November 2017 to June 2019. Anning is known for holding far-right, nativist, and anti-Muslim views, and has been criticis ...

delivers his maiden speech to the Senate in what is described as "the most inflammatory maiden speech to an Australian Parliament since One Nation leader

Pauline Hanson Pauline Lee Hanson (''née'' Seccombe, formerly Zagorski; born 27 May 1954) is an Australia, Australian politician who is the founder and leader of Pauline Hanson's One Nation, One Nation, a right-wing populist political party. Hanson has re ...

's in 1996." In it, he calls for a plebiscite to reinstate

White Australia policy The White Australia policy is a term encapsulating a set of historical policies that aimed to forbid people of non-European ethnic origin, especially Asians (primarily Chinese) and Pacific Islanders, from immigrating to Australia, starting ...

, especially with regard to Muslims. *21 August – Prime Minister

declares a

leadership spill In Australian politics, a leadership spill (or simply spill) is a colloquialism referring to a declaration that the leadership of a parliamentary party is vacant and open for contest. A spill may involve all or some of the leadership positions (l ...

in the Liberal Party, following pressure from conservatives in the party. Turnbull is challenged by

, but wins the vote by 48 to 35 votes. *24 August – The

Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is a centre-right political party in Australia, one of the two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-left Australian Labor Party. It was founded in 1944 as the successor to the United Aus ...

holds a second leadership spill.

resigns as party leader, and

is elected as his replacement, becoming the 30th Prime Minister of Australia. *31 August – Former Prime Minister

resigns from parliament triggering a by-election in his seat of Wentworth.

September

*8 September – A by-election was held in the

Electoral district of Wagga Wagga Wagga Wagga is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. The district has been held by MP Joe McGirr since the September 2018 by-election. Wagga Wagga is a regional electorate. It entirel ...

left vacant by the resignation of

Daryl Maguire Daryl William Maguire (born 25 March 1959) is a former Australian politician who was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Wagga Wagga for the Liberal Party from 1999 to 2018. On 30 March 2011, Maguire was appointed ...

. *9 September –

Western Australia Police The Western Australia Police Force, colloquially WAPOL, provides police services throughout the state of Western Australia, an area of 2.5 million square kilometres, the world's largest non-federated area of jurisdiction, with a population ...

find five bodies in a house in the Perth suburb of

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

, the result of a suspected mass killing. *15 September – The

Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the democratic administrative authority of the Australian state of Queensland. The Government of Queensland, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy was formed in 1859 as prescribed in its Constitution, as amended f ...

announces a $100,000 reward for information leading to an arrest of a person responsible for the contamination of strawberries using needles and pins, following several cases of contamination across Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. The contamination later expanded to affect strawberries grown in Western Australia. *16 September – Prime Minister

announces a

Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety is a royal commission established on 8 October 2018 by the Australian government pursuant to the Royal Commissions Act 1902. The Honourable Richard Tracey and Ms Lynelle Briggs wer ...

. *24 September –

Michelle Guthrie Michelle Guthrie (born 1965) is an Australian business executive and lawyer. Guthrie was born in Sydney in 1965, was educated at Brigidine College Randwick and Kambala Girls' School, and studied arts and law at the University of Sydney. She j ...

is dismissed as managing director of the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

by the ABC Board. *27 September – Following the dismissal of Michelle Guthrie,

ABC Board The ABC Board is the body responsible for the operations of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. , Ita Buttrose is chair; David Anderson the managing director appointed by the board; Jane Connors is a staff-elected member. The chair and oth ...

chairman

Justin Milne Justin Trevor Milne, , (born 19 November 1952) is an Australian business executive and company director known for his roles as Chairman of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, chief of broadband services at Telstra, and CEO at OzEmail, as ...

resigns amid reports he had tried to influence ABC management to sack two senior journalists.

October

* 15 October – it was revealed the NSW National Party and the Young Nationals had been infiltrated by a significant number of

neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and racial supremacy (often white supremacy), attack r ...

s with a number of members being investigated for alleged links to neo-Nazism. Party leader Michael McCormack denounced these attempts stating that "The Nationals will not tolerate extremism or the politics of hate. People found to engage with such radicalism are not welcome in our party. ** One Nation leader

proposes an "

It's OK to be white "It's okay to be white" (IOTBW) is a slogan which originated as part of an organized alt-right trolling campaign on the website 4chan's discussion board /pol/ in 2017. A /pol/ user described it as a proof of concept that an otherwise innocuous ...

" motion in the Australian Senate intended to acknowledge the "deplorable rise of anti-white racism and attacks on Western civilization". It was supported by most senators from the governing

Liberal-National Coalition The Liberal–National Coalition, commonly known simply as "the Coalition" or informally as the LNP, is an alliance of centre-right political parties that forms one of the two major groupings in Australian federal politics. The two partners in ...

, but was defeated 31–28 by opponents who called it a racist slogan from the white supremacist movement. The following day, the motion was "recommitted", and this time rejected unanimously by senators in attendance, with its initial supporters in the Liberal-National Coalition saying they had voted for it due to an administrative error (One Nation did not attend the recommital vote). * 20 October – A by-election in Wentworth, the seat vacated by former prime minister

, is won by independent

Kerryn Phelps Kerryn Lyndel Phelps (born 14 December 1957) is an Australian medical practitioner, public health and civil rights advocate, medical educator and former politician. She was the first woman to be elected president of the Australian Medical Ass ...

, with the

Morrison Government The Morrison government was the federal executive government of Australia, led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison of the Liberal Party of Australia, between 2018 and 2022. The Morrison government commenced on 24 August 2018, when it was sworn ...

losing its one-seat majority in the lower house.

November

*9 November – Hassan Khalif Shire Ali sets his car on fire and attacks passers-by with a knife in

Bourke Street, Melbourne Bourke Street is one of the main streets in the Melbourne central business district and a core feature of the Hoddle Grid. It was traditionally the entertainment hub of inner-city Melbourne, and is now also a popular tourist destination and ...

, before he is shot and killed by police. Sisto Malaspina, co-owner of Pellegrini's Espresso Bar, was killed in the attack. *22 November – **

Bali Nine The Bali Nine were nine Australians convicted for attempting to smuggle of heroin out of Indonesia in April 2005. The heroin was valued at around 4 million and was bound for Australia. Ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were ...

drug smuggler Renae Lawrence returns to Australia after spending 13 years in prison, following her arrest in Indonesia in 2005. **A retrial finds

David Eastman David Harold Eastman (born 29 September 1945) is a former public servant from Canberra, Australia. In 1995, he was wrongfully convicted of the murder of Australian Federal Police Assistant Commissioner Colin Winchester and was sentenced to life ...

, who had spent 19 years in jail, not guilty of the Canberra 1989 murder of Assistant Australian Federal Police Commissioner

Colin Winchester Colin Stanley Winchester (18 October 1933 – 10 January 1989) was an assistant commissioner in the Australian Federal Police (AFP). Winchester commanded ACT Police, the community policing component of the AFP responsible for the Australian ...

. *24 November – The Labor Party led by

wins a second term of government with an increased majority at the

2018 Victorian state election Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19 * one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the short ...

. *27 to 29 November – Residents of several towns in

Central Queensland Central Queensland is an ambiguous geographical division of Queensland ( a state in Australia) that centres on the eastern coast, around the Tropic of Capricorn. Its major regional centre is Rockhampton. The region extends from the Capricorn Coa ...

are urged to evacuate as the region is hit by

bushfires A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identif ...

, with two homes destroyed. *28 November – Two people die during storms that hit Sydney and the Illawarra region, delivering a month's worth of rain in a few hours.

December

*15 December – Australia officially recognizes

West Jerusalem West Jerusalem or Western Jerusalem (, ; , ) refers to the section of Jerusalem that was controlled by Israel at the end of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. As the city was divided by the Green Line (Israel's erstwhile border, established by t ...

as the capital of

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. The move is seen as controversial and bizarre by some as only partially recognizing Jerusalem is deemed unlikely to please either the Israelis or Palestinians entirely. *24 December – Thousands of residents of an apartment block in

Sydney Olympic Park Sydney Olympic Park is a suburb of Greater Western Sydney, located 13 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Parramatta Council. It is commonly known as Olympic Park but officially n ...

are forced to evacuate following structural concerns and fears the 36-storey building could collapse.

Music, arts and literature

*27 January –

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his progressive musical styles and socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generat ...

's song " HUMBLE" tops Triple J's 2017 Hottest 100. *12 April –

Alexis Wright Alexis Wright (born 25 November 1950) is a Waanyi (Aboriginal Australian) writer best known for winning the Miles Franklin Award for her 2006 novel '' Carpentaria'' and the 2018 Stella Prize for her "collective memoir" of Leigh Bruce "Tracke ...

wins the 2018

Stella Prize The Stella Prize is an Australian annual literary award established in 2013 for writing by Australian women in all genres, worth $50,000. It was originally proposed by Australian women writers and publishers in 2011, modelled on the UK's Baileys W ...

for ''Tracker'', her biography of Tracker Tilmouth. *11 May –

Yvette Coppersmith Yvette Coppersmith (born 1980) is an Australian painter; she specialises in portraiture and still life. In 2018 she won the Archibald Prize with a self-portrait, in the style of George Lambert. Coppersmith studied at the Victorian College of th ...

wins the 2018

Archibald Prize The Archibald Prize is an Australian portraiture art prize for painting, generally seen as the most prestigious portrait prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after the receipt of a bequest from J. F. Archibald, the editor ...

for her painting ''Self-portrait, after George Lambert''. *26 August –

Michelle de Kretser Michelle de Kretser (born 1957) is an Australian novelist who was born in Sri Lanka (then Ceylon), and moved to Australia in 1972 when she was 14. Education and literary career De Kretser was educated at Methodist College, Colombo, and in Melbo ...

wins the

Miles Franklin Award The Miles Franklin Literary Award is an annual literary prize awarded to "a novel which is of the highest literary merit and presents Australian life in any of its phases". The award was set up according to the will of Miles Franklin (1879– ...

for the second time, for her novel ''

The Life to Come "The Life to Come" is a short story by English writer E. M. Forster, written in 1922 and published posthumously in '' The Life to Come (and Other Stories)'' in 1972. It was written into four chapters: Night, Evening, Day and Morning. In 2017, ...

''.

Sport

January

* 6 January – Tennis: The

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri *Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internati ...

team consisting of

Roger Federer Roger Federer (; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, including a record 237 consecutive weeks, and finished as the year-e ...

and

Belinda Bencic Belinda Bencic ( sk, Belinda Benčičová, ; born 10 March 1997) is a Swiss professional tennis player. She has a career-high ranking of No. 4 by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) which she achieved in February 2020. Bencic has won six singl ...

defeat

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

2–1 in the final of the

2018 Hopman Cup The Hopman Cup XXX (also known as the 2018 Mastercard Hopman Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 30th edition of the Hopman Cup tournament between nations in men's and women's tennis. It took place at the Perth Arena in Perth, Western Australia ...

. * 14 January – Cycling:

Amanda Spratt Amanda Spratt (born 17 September 1987) is an Australian road cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Women's WorldTeam . Spratt was selected to represent Australia at the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Olympics. In 2012, 2016 and 2020 she won the Aust ...

riding for the

Mitchelton–Scott Mitchelton–Scott may refer to: * Mitchelton–Scott (men's team), a professional cycling team that competes on the UCI World Tour. *Mitchelton–Scott (women's team), a professional cycling team that competes on the UCI Women's World Tour. *Mitch ...

team wins the

2018 Women's Tour Down Under The 2018 Santos Women's Tour Down Under was a women's cycle stage race held in Australia from 11 to 14 January, 2018. The Women's Tour Down Under, being held for the seventh time, was held as a UCI rating of 2.1 race, having been a 2.2 race in 2 ...

in a time of 10h 47' 21". * 21 January – **Basketball:

Townsville Fire The Townsville Fire are an Australian professional female basketball team competing in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). They are the only female professional sporting team of any discipline in the northern half of Australia. The ...

defeated

Melbourne Boomers The Melbourne Boomers are an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. The Boomers compete in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) and play the majority of their home games at Melbourne Sports Centre – Par ...

70–57 in the third and deciding game of the

2017–18 WNBL season The 2017–18 WNBL season was the 38th season of the competition since its establishment in 1981. The regular season began on 5 October 2017, with the Melbourne Boomers visiting the Dandenong Rangers. The Sydney Uni Flames were the defending champ ...

grand final series at

Townsville RSL Stadium The Townsville Stadium (previously Townsville RSL Stadium) is a multi-purpose indoor venue located at the Murray Sporting Complex in Annandale, Queensland. The facility features an international standard wooden sports floor, multi-purpose funct ...

. **Cycling:

Daryl Impey Daryl Impey (born 6 December 1984) is a South African professional road cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Impey is an all-rounder; he generally comes to the fore on tough uphill sprints. Impey is a two-time winner of the Tour Do ...

riding for the

team wins the

2018 Tour Down Under The 2018 Tour Down Under was a road cycling stage race, that took place between 16 and 21 January 2018 in and around Adelaide, South Australia. It was the 20th edition of the Tour Down Under and the first race of the 2018 UCI World Tour. Daryl Im ...

in a time of 20h 03' 34. * 25 January – Tennis: Australians

Dylan Alcott Dylan Martin Alcott, (born 4 December 1990) is an Australian former wheelchair tennis player, former wheelchair basketball player, radio host and motivational speaker. Alcott was a member of the Australia men's national wheelchair basketball ...

and

Heath Davidson Heath Arthur Davidson, (born 9 May 1987) is an Australian wheelchair tennis player. Davidson is a four-time Australian Open doubles champion, all partnering Dylan Alcott. He has also won two Paralympic medals, a gold and silver in doubles at th ...

win the Wheelchair Quad Doubles title at the Australian Open. * 27 January – **Tennis: Australian

wins the

Wheelchair Quad Singles A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, used when walking is difficult or impossible due to illness, injury, problems related to old age, or disability. These can include spinal cord injuries (paraplegia, hemiplegia, and quadriplegia), cerebral p ...

title at the Australian Open, his fifth Grand Slam Singles title and fourth consecutive Australian Open Singles title. **Tennis:

Caroline Wozniacki Caroline Wozniacki (; born 11 July 1990) is a Danish former professional tennis player. She was ranked world No. 1 in singles for a total of 71 weeks, including at the end of 2010 and 2011. She achieved the top ranking for the first time on 11 ...

defeats

Simona Halep Simona Halep (; born 27 September 1991) is a Romanian professional tennis player. She has been ranked world No. 1 in singles twice between 2017 and 2019, for a total of 64 weeks, which ranks eleventh in the history of the Women's Tennis Assoc ...

7–6 3–6 6–4 at

Melbourne Park Melbourne Park is a sports venue in the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Precinct in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Since 1988 Australia's bicentenary, Melbourne Park has been home of the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament played ...

in the final of the 2018 Australian Open women's singles. * 28 January – **Tennis:

defeats

Marin Čilić Marin Čilić (; born 28 September 1988) is a Croatian professional tennis player. Čilić has won 20 ATP Tour singles titles, including a major at the 2014 US Open. He was also runner-up at the 2017 Wimbledon Championships and the 2018 Austra ...

6–2 6–7 6–3 3–6 6–1 at

in the final of the 2018 Australian Open men's singles. **Rugby sevens: Australia defeat

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

31–0 in the final of the 2018 Sydney Women's Sevens at

Sydney Football Stadium The Sydney Football Stadium, commercially known as Allianz Stadium and previously Aussie Stadium, was a football stadium in Moore Park, Sydney, Australia. Built in 1988 next to the Sydney Cricket Ground, the stadium was Sydney's premier rect ...

. **Rugby sevens: Australia defeat

29–0 in the final of the 2018 Sydney Sevens at

February

*4 February – **Cricket:

Sydney Sixers The Sydney Sixers are an Australian professional franchise men's cricket team, competing in Australia's domestic Twenty20 cricket competition, the Big Bash League (BBL). Along with the Sydney Thunder, the Sixers are the successors of the New ...

defeat

Perth Scorchers The Perth Scorchers is an Australian domestic Twenty20 franchise cricket team representing the Western Australian city of Perth in the Big Bash League (BBL). The Scorchers are the current BBL Champions, having defeated the Sydney Sixers in the ...

by nine wickets at

Adelaide Oval Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the city centre and North Adelaide. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby ...

in Adelaide to win Women's Big Bash League 03. **Cricket:

Adelaide Strikers The Adelaide Strikers are an Australian professional Twenty20 franchise cricket team based in Adelaide, South Australia that compete in the Big Bash League (BBL).Cricket Australia (n.d), Teams and Players, Cricket Australia, accessed 1 Decembe ...

defeat

Hobart Hurricanes The Hobart Hurricanes are an Australian professional men's T20 franchise cricket team based in Tasmania, Australia. They compete in Australia's domestic T20 cricket competition known as the Big Bash League, which is a league where many int ...

by 25 runs at

in Adelaide to win Big Bash League 07. **Tennis: Australia was defeated by

3–1 in the first round of the

2018 Davis Cup World Group The World Group is the highest level of Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countr ...

at the

Queensland Tennis Centre Queensland Tennis Centre, known during its development as the Tennyson Tennis Centre, is a tennis venue in Tennyson, Brisbane, Australia. It is an A$82 million tennis facility opened on 2 January 2009 at the site of the demolished Tennyson P ...

in Brisbane. * 16 February – Rugby league: 2017 NRL Premiers

Melbourne Storm The Melbourne Storm are a rugby league club based in Melbourne, Victoria in Australia that participates in the National Rugby League. The first fully professional rugby league team based in the state, the Storm entered the competition in 1998 ...

defeat

Super League XXII The 2017 Super League season, known as the Betfred Super League XXII for sponsorship reasons, was the 22nd season of the Super League and 123rd season of rugby league in Britain. Twelve teams competed over 23 rounds, including the Magic Weekend, ...

champions

Leeds Rhinos The Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club was formed in 1870 as Leeds St John's and play in the Super League, the top tier of English rugby league. They have played home matches at Head ...

38–4 in the

2018 World Club Challenge The 2018 World Club Challenge (also known as the 2018 Downer World Club Challenge was the 26th staging of the World Club Challenge. It took place on 16 February 2018, and featured Super League champions Leeds Rhinos, and NRL winners Melbourne S ...

, held at

AAMI Park The Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, known as AAMI Park for sponsorship reasons, is an outdoor sports stadium on the site of Edwin Flack Field in the Sports and Entertainment Precinct in the Melbourne central business district. When complet ...

. * 18 February – Association football:

Melbourne City FC Melbourne City Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in the south–eastern Melbourne suburb of Cranbourne East, that plays in the A-League, the top level of Australian soccer, under licence from Australian Profession ...

defeated

Sydney FC Sydney Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The club was ...

2–0 at

to win the 2018 W-League Grand Final, Melbourne City's third Championship in a row.

March

*24 March – **Australian rules football: The

Western Bulldogs The Western Bulldogs are a professional Australian rules football team that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition. Founded in 1877 as the Footscray Football Club, and based in West Footscray in the ...

defeat the

Brisbane Lions The Brisbane Lions is a professional Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules football club based in Brisbane, Queensland, that plays in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club was formed in late 1996 via a merger of t ...

4.3 (27) to 3.3 (21) at the

2018 AFL Women's Grand Final The 2018 AFL Women's Grand Final was an Australian rules football match held on 24 March 2018 to determine the premiers of the 2018 AFL Women's season, the league's second season. It was contested by the and and was won by the Western Bulldog ...

. **Cricket: On day 3 of the third Test against South Africa, Australian cricketer

Cameron Bancroft Cameron Timothy Bancroft (born 19 November 1992) is an Australian cricketer contracted to Western Australia in Australian first class cricket, Durham in English first class cricket, and the Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash League. He made his T ...

is charged with ball-tampering, after cameras detect him scuffing the ball. Bancroft and team captain Steve Smith admit the plan was devised by the team's leadership group. Smith and vice-captain

David Warner David or Dave Warner may refer to: Sports * Dave Warner (strongman) (born 1969), Northern Ireland strongman competitor * David Bruce Warner (born 1970), South African alpine skier * David Warner (cricketer) (born 1986), Australian cricketer Others ...

are subsequently stood down from their roles for the remainder of the Test and thereafter banned by the

for 12 months, while Bancroft received a 9-month ban, from international and domestic cricket. *25 March – Motorsport:

Sebastian Vettel Sebastian Vettel (; born 3 July 1987) is a German racing driver who competed in Formula One from 2007 to 2022 for BMW Sauber, Toro Rosso, Red Bull, Ferrari, and Aston Martin. Vettel is one of the most successful drivers in Formula One histor ...

wins the

2018 Australian Grand Prix The 2018 Australian Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 2018 Rolex Australian Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 25 March 2018 in Melbourne, Victoria. The race was contested at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit and was the ...

at Albert Park in

, defeating

Lewis Hamilton Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Mercedes. In Formula One, Hamilton has won a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Mic ...

and teammate

Kimi Räikkönen Kimi-Matias Räikkönen (; born 17 October 1979), nicknamed "The Iceman", is a Finnish racing driver who competed in Formula One between 2001 and 2021 for Sauber, McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus, and Alfa Romeo. Räikkönen won the 2007 Formula One W ...

. *31 March – Basketball:

Melbourne United Melbourne United is an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria. United compete in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at John ...

defeated

Adelaide 36ers The Adelaide 36ers, also known as the Sixers, are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL). The 36ers are the only team in the league representing the state of South Australia and are based in th ...

100-82 in the deciding fifth game of the

2017–18 NBL season The 2017–18 NBL season was the 40th season of the National Basketball League since its establishment in 1979. A total of eight teams contested the league. The regular season was played between October 2017 and February 2018, followed by a post ...

grand final at

Hisense Arena John Cain Arena is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment arena located within Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is the second-largest venue and show court for the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam professional tenni ...

in Melbourne.

April

*4 to 15 April – Commonwealth Games: The

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth that were held on the Gold Coast, ...

are held on the Gold Coast, Queensland. This is the fifth time Australia has hosted the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 British Empire Game ...

, 12 years after they were held in Melbourne. *5 April – Surfing: Australian

Stephanie Gilmore Stephanie Louise Gilmore (29 January 1988) is an Australian professional surfer and eight-time world champion on the Women's WSL World Tour (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2018, 2022). Career Gilmore's life as a surfer began at age 9 w ...

wins her fourth Bells Beach Classic title while retiring Australian

Mick Fanning Michael Eugene Fanning (born 13 June 1981) is an Australian professional surfer who was crowned champion of the Association of Surfing Professionals/World Surf League (ASP/WSL)'s World Tour in 2007, 2009 and 2013. In 2015, he survived a shark ...

is defeated in the men's final by Brazilian

Italo Ferreira Italo may refer to: *Italo-, a prefix indicating a relation to Italy or Italians Film * ''Italo'' (film), a 2014 comedy film *Italo crime, a genre of crime film Music genres *Italo disco *Italo dance *Italo house People * Italo Allodi (1928– ...

May

*5 May – Association football:

Melbourne Victory Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victo ...

defeats the

Newcastle Jets Newcastle United Jets Football Club, commonly known as Newcastle Jets, is an Australian professional soccer club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier competition, the A-League, under licence from The Australia ...

0–1 at the

2018 A-League Grand Final The 2018 A-League Grand Final was the thirteenth A-League Grand Final, played on 5 May 2018. The match took place at McDonald Jones Stadium, with Newcastle Jets hosting Melbourne Victory, the first A-League grand final held outside a metropolit ...

. Melbourne's winning goal is later found to have been offside, but was not detected in time due to a failure of the

video assistant referee The video assistant referee (VAR) is a match official in association football who reviews decisions made by the referee. The assistant video assistant referee (AVAR) is a current or former referee appointed to assist the VAR in the video ope ...

system.

June

*6 June – Rugby league:

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

defeats

22–12 at the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hem ...

in the first match of the

2018 State of Origin series The 2018 State of Origin series was the 37th annual best-of-three series between the Queensland and New South Wales rugby league teams. Before this series, Queensland had won 21 times, NSW 13 times, with two series drawn. The 2018 series was won ...

. NSW fullback

James Tedesco James Tedesco (born 8 January 1993), nicknamed "Teddy", is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a and captains the Sydney Roosters in the NRL, New South Wales rugby league team and Australia. He previously played for the We ...

is awarded man of the match. *24 June – Rugby league

defeats

18–14 at

Stadium Australia Stadium Australia, currently known as Accor Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Sydney Olympic Park, in Sydney, Australia. The stadium, which in Australia is sometimes referred to as Sydney Olympic Sta ...

in the second match of the

. NSW second-rower and captain

Boyd Cordner Boyd Cordner (born 9 June 1992) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a forward for the Sydney Roosters in the NRL and Australia at international level. He has played for Country Origin and New South Wa ...

is awarded man of the match.

July

* 11 July – Rugby league:

defeats

18–12 at

Suncorp Stadium Lang Park, also known as Brisbane Football Stadium, by the sponsored name Suncorp Stadium, and nicknamed: 'The Cauldron', is a multi-purpose stadium in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Milton. The current facility co ...

in the third match of the

. Queensland fullback and captain

Billy Slater William Slater (born 18 June 1983), is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. An Australian international and one-time captain of the Queensland State of Origin team, he played his entire ...

is awarded both man of the match and the

Wally Lewis Medal The State of Origin series is an annual best-of-three rugby league series between two Australian state representative sides, the New South Wales Blues and the Queensland Maroons. Referred to as “Australian sport's greatest rivalry”, the ...

for player of the series.

August

* 26 August – Netball:

Sunshine Coast Lightning Sunshine Coast Lightning are an Australian netball team based at the University of the Sunshine Coast. The team was formed in 2016 as a joint venture between the university and Melbourne Storm. Since 2017 they have played in Suncorp Super Net ...

defeat

West Coast Fever West Coast Fever is an Australian netball team based in Perth, Western Australia. Since 2017 they have played in Suncorp Super Netball. Between 2008 and 2016, they competed in the ANZ Championship. Between 1997 and 2007, as Perth Orioles, t ...

62–59 in front of a record crowd on 13,722 at

Perth Arena Perth Arena (known commercially as ) is an entertainment and sporting arena in the city centre of Perth, Western Australia, used mostly for basketball matches. It is located on Wellington Street near the site of the former Perth Entertainmen ...

in the Grand Final of the

2018 Suncorp Super Netball season The 2018 Suncorp Super Netball season was the second season of the premier netball league in Australia. The season began on 28 April and concluded with the Grand Final on 26 August 2018. The start of the season was delayed to late April due to th ...

September

*2 September – Rugby league:

Sydney Roosters The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby league, Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won ...

win the minor premiership following the final main round of the

2018 NRL season The 2018 NRL season was the 111th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 21st season run by the National Rugby League. The main competition, known as the 2018 Telstra Premiership due to sponsorship from Telstra, featured 16 te ...

. The

Parramatta Eels The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta that competes in the National Rugby League. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and thei ...

finish in last position, claiming the

wooden spoon Wooden Spoon may refer to: * Wooden spoon, implement * Wooden spoon (award) ** Australian rugby league wooden spooners ** County Championship Wooden Spoons ** List of Australian Football League wooden spoons The wooden spoon is the imaginar ...

. *24 September – Australian rules football: Tom Mitchell of

Hawthorn Football Club The Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Mulgrave, Victoria, that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club was founded in 1902 in the inner-east suburb of H ...

wins the

2018 Brownlow Medal The 2018 Brownlow Medal was the 91st year the award was presented to the player adjudged the fairest and best player during the Australian Football League (AFL) home-and-away season. Tom Mitchell of the Hawthorn Football Club won the medal with ...

. *26 September – Rugby league:

Roger Tuivasa-Sheck Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (born 5 June 1993) is a New Zealand rugby union player, and former rugby league footballer. He plays for the Auckland Blues in the Super Rugby Pacific, and for the New Zealand national team. He made his debut against Irela ...

of the

New Zealand Warriors The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as ...

wins the 2018

Dally M Medal The Dally M Medal is awarded each year (annually) to the player voted for as the ' Player of the year' over the National Rugby League (NRL) regular season. The awards are named in honour of Australian former rugby league great Herbert Henry "Da ...

and Brittany Breayley of the

Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos play in Australia's elite com ...

wins Female Player of the Year. *29 September – Australian rules football:

West Coast Eagles The West Coast Eagles are a professional Australian rules football club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 as one of two expansion teams in the Australian Football League (AFL), then known as the Victorian Footbal ...

defeat

Collingwood Collingwood, meaning "wood of disputed ownership", may refer to: Educational institutions * Collingwood College, Victoria, an Australian state Prep to Year 12 school * Collingwood College, Durham, college of Durham University, England * Collingw ...

79 to 74 to win the

2018 AFL Grand Final The 2018 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the West Coast Eagles and the Collingwood Football Club at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 29 September 2018. It was the 123rd annual grand final of the Australia ...

. *30 September – **Rugby league:

defeat

21–6 to win the

2018 NRL Grand Final The 2018 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2018 National Rugby League season and was played on Sunday September 30 at Sydney's ANZ Stadium. The match was contested between minor premiers the Sydney Roosters ...

. Roosters five-eighth

Luke Keary Luke Keary (born 3 February 1992) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a or for the Sydney Roosters in the NRL and Australia and Ireland at international level. Keary previously played for the South Sydney Rabbitohs, with ...

is awarded the

Clive Churchill Medal The Clive Churchill Medal is the award given to the player judged to be Player of the match#Rugby football, man-of-the-match in the National Rugby League's annual Grand Final. The award was created to honour Clive Churchill, one of the greatest ...

for Man of the Match. Pre-match entertainment is headlined by

Gang of Youths Gang of Youths are an Australian alternative rock group from Sydney based in London. The band consists of principal songwriter David Le'aupepe (lead vocals, guitar), Max Dunn (bass guitar), Jung Kim (lead guitar, keyboards), Donnie Borzestowsk ...

. **Rugby league: The

defeat the

34–12 in the inaugural

NRL Women's Premiership The Telstra NRL Women's Premiership (NRLW) is Australia's national rugby league competition for women's rugby league in Australia, female players. The first season of the league began in September 2018 with four teams. The league is run by the ...

Grand Final Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Sy ...

October

*7 October – Motor racing:

Craig Lowndes Craig Andrew Lowndes (born 21 June 1974) is an Australian racing driver in the Repco Supercars Championship competing in the Holden ZB Commodore for Triple Eight Race Engineering. He is also a TV commentator. Lowndes is a three-time V8 Su ...

wins the

2018 Bathurst 1000 The 2018 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 was a motor racing event for Supercars, held on the weekend of 4–7 October 2018. It was staged at the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia and featured of a 1000 kilometre race ...

, his seventh

Bathurst 1000 The Bathurst 1000 (formally known as the Repco Bathurst 1000) is a touring car race held annually on the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. It is currently run as part of the Supercars Championship, the most re ...

win. *10 October – Cricket:

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

defeat

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

by 110 runs at the

Junction Oval Junction Oval (also known as the St Kilda Cricket Ground, or the CitiPower Centre due to sponsorship reasons) is a historic sports ground in the suburb of St Kilda in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The oval's location near the St Kilda ...

in Melbourne in the final of the 2018–19 JLT One-Day Cup. *20 October – Parasport: The fourth

Invictus Games The Invictus Games is an international multi-sport event first held in 2014, for wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women, both serving and veterans. The word 'Invictus' means 'unconquered', chosen as an embodiment of the fighting spi ...

are opened by

Prince Harry Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984) is a member of the British royal family. He is the younger son of Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. He is fifth in the line of succ ...

at a ceremony held at the forecourt of the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century archit ...

. *30 October – Football:

Adelaide United Adelaide United Football Club is a professional soccer club based in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The club participates in the A-League Men under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The club was founded in 2003 to fil ...

defeats

2–1 in the

2018 FFA Cup Final The 2018 FFA Cup Final was the fifth final of the FFA Cup, Australia's main football cup competition. The match was contested between Adelaide United and Sydney FC, in a rematch of the 2017 FFA Cup Final which Sydney FC won. Coopers Stadium in ...

Hindmarsh Stadium Hindmarsh Stadium (currently known as Coopers Stadium due to sponsorship from Adelaide-based company Coopers Brewery) is a multi-purpose stadium in Hindmarsh, an inner western suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is the home of the Australi ...

in Adelaide.

November

*6 November – Horse racing:

Cross Counter Cross Counter (foaled 5 April 2015) is a Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 2018 Melbourne Cup. After winning two minor races he was gelded before returning in the summer of 2018 to win two more races including the Gordon Stake ...

wins the 158th Melbourne Cup.

December

*28 December – Yacht racing: ''

Wild Oats XI ''Wild Oats XI'' is a maxi yacht, most famous for being the former race record holder and a nine-times line honours winner of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. Launched in 2005, she was owned by Bob Oatley (Oatley's estate since his death in 2 ...

'' wins its ninth line honours in the

2018 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race The 2018 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race was the 74th annual running of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. Hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia and sponsored by Rolex, it began at Sydney Harbour at 13:00 on 26 December 2018, before heading ...

. A protest lodged by the race committee, following a claim that the yacht's AIS was switched off, is dismissed by an international jury.

Deaths

January

*2 January –

Bryan Conquest Bryan Joseph Conquest (20 July 1930 – 2 January 2018) was an Australian politician. Born in Quilpie, Queensland, he was a managing director and Bundaberg City Councillor before entering politics. In 1984, he was elected to the Australian Ho ...

, 87, politician *3 January –

Colin Brumby Colin James Brumby (18 June 1933 – 3 January 2018) was an Australian composer and conductor. Biography Brumby was born in Melbourne and educated at the Glen Iris State School, Spring Road Central School, and Melbourne Boys' High School. He s ...

, 84, composer and conductor *8 January – ** Ron Tandberg, 74, cartoonist ** Keith McKenzie, 95, Australian rules football player and coach *16 January –

Moya O'Sullivan Moya O'Sullivan Macarthur (8 June 1926 – 16 January 2018) was an Australian-born actress who worked both locally and briefly in the United Kingdom. She was best known for her long-running role as the popular character Marlene Kratz in the soa ...

, 91, actress *17 January –

Jessica Falkholt Jessica Falkholt (15 May 1988 – 17 January 2018) was an Australian actress who appeared in the television series ''Home and Away'' as Hope Morrison from September to November 2016. Along with her parents and sister, she died as a result of a De ...

, 29, actress *20 January – **

Graeme Langlands Graeme Frank Langlands, MBE, (2 September 1941 – 20 January 2018), also known by the nickname of "Changa", was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. and coached in the 1970s. He retire ...

, 76, rugby league player ** Barry Williams, 79, skeptic *22 January –

Peter Diversi Peter Diversi (5 April 1932 – 22 January 2018) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s and 1960s. He played for North Sydney and the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, New South Wales and for the Australian nat ...

, 85, rugby league player *24 January –

Bruce Light Bruce Malcolm Light (26 June 1949 – 24 January 2018) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Port Adelaide Football Club Port Adelaide Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Alberton, Sou ...

, 68, Australian rules football player *25 January –

Steve Foster Stephen Brian Foster (born 24 September 1957) is an English former footballer. Football career Born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, Foster was an associate schoolboy with Southampton, but was not offered a professional contract. He started his prof ...

, 71, singer-songwriter *30 January – Ron Walker, 78, businessman,

Lord Mayor of Melbourne This is a list of the mayors and lord mayors of the City of Melbourne, a local government area of Victoria, Australia. Mayors (1842–1902) Lord mayors (1902–1980) The title of "Lord Mayor" was conferred on the position of mayor by ...

February

*3 February – Michael Gordon, 62, journalist *5 February – Hugh Wirth, 78, veterinarian and animal welfare advocate *8 February – **

Jarrod Bannister Jarrod Bannister (3 October 1984 – 8 February 2018) was an Australian track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. His personal best throw of 89.02 metres, achieved in 2008, is the Australian and Oceanian record. Career Bannist ...

, 33, javelin thrower (died in the Netherlands) ** Don Hart, 87 Australian rules football player (

Fitzroy Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to: People As a given name *Several members of the Somerset family ( Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name: **FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855) **Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beau ...

) *9 February – Michael Crouch, 84, businessman and philanthropist *10 February –

John Muir John Muir ( ; April 21, 1838December 24, 1914), also known as "John of the Mountains" and "Father of the National Parks", was an influential Scottish-American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, glaciologist ...

, 73, Queensland Supreme Court judge *11 February –

Nicholas Shehadie Sir Nicholas Michael Shehadie, (15 November 1926 – 11 February 2018) was a Lord Mayor of Sydney (1973–1975) and national representative rugby union captain, who made thirty career test appearances for Australia between 1947 and 1958. He wa ...

, 92, rugby union player, Lord Mayor of Sydney *12 February – Grant McBride, 68, New South Wales politician *15 February – Geoff Jones (footballer, born 1930), Geoff Jones, 87, Australian rules football player (St Kilda Football Club, St Kilda) *21 February – **John Cribb, 67, criminal **Zelda D'Aprano, 90, activist *23 February – **Eddy Amoo, 73, British soul singer **Graeme Gahan, 76, Australian rules football player (Richmond Football Club, Richmond) *25 February – **Max Cole (footballer), Max Cole, 77, Australian rules football player (

) **Ainsley Gotto, 72, political staffer and entrepreneur **Nev Pask, 87, property developer *27 February – Steve Folkes, 59, rugby league player and coach

March

191000 - Opening Ceremony Jeff St John performs - 3b - 2000 Sydney opening ceremony photo

*3 March – **Mal Bryce, 74, Western Australian politician **Vanessa Goodwin, 48, Tasmanian politician *5 March – Jeff St John, 71, singer *6 March – Peter Nicholls (writer), Peter Nicholls, 78, literary scholar and critic *8 March – Peter Temple, 71, novelist *10 March – Tony Benneworth, 67, Tasmanian cricketer and politician *11 March – **Bob Baxt, 79, lawyer and academic **John Daly (academic), John Daly, 81, Olympic coach and academic *17 March – Dexter Davies, 66, Western Australian politician *18 March – David Cooper (immunologist), David Cooper, 69, immunologist *24 March – Joe Malone (footballer), Joe Malone, 94, Australian rules footballer (North Melbourne Football Club, North Melbourne) *25 March – Edwin Carr (athlete), Edwin Carr, 89, Olympic sprinter *27 March – Sir Eric McClintock, 99, public servant and businessman

April

Michael Halliday at his 90th birthday symposium, 2015

*1 April – **Gil Brealey, 85, film producer and director **Jocelyn Newman, 80, Tasmanian politician *8 April – Tate Adams, 96, printmaker *11 April – Polixeni Papapetrou, 57, photographic artist *12 April – Stuart Devlin, 86, gold and silversmith *15 April – Michael Halliday, 93, linguist *16 April – Ivan Mauger, 78, New Zealand motorcycle speedway rider *19 April – Darrell Eastlake, 75, sports commentator *20 April – **Dick Hughes (musician), Dick Hughes, 86, jazz pianist and journalist **Shane Yarran, 28, Australian rules footballer *24 April – Paul Gray (songwriter), Paul Gray, 54, singer-songwriter (Wa Wa Nee) *26 April – Michael Luscombe, 64, businessman, CEO of Woolworths *30 April – **Jan Cameron (coach), Jan Cameron, 71, Olympic swimming medallist and coach **Terry Mackenroth, 68, Queensland politician

May

*2 May – Cliff Watson, 78, rugby league footballer *4 May – **Cathy Godbold, 43, television actress **Patricia Lascelles, Countess of Harewood, 91, Australian-born violinist and fashion model *6 May – **Leonard Faulkner, 91, Archbishop of Adelaide (1985–2001) **David Mitchell (lawyer), David Mitchell, 84, constitutional lawyer *9 May – Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen, 34, Bali Nine member (died in Indonesia) *10 May – David Goodall (botanist), David Goodall, 104, English-born botanist and ecologist (died in Switzerland) *11 May – Tom E. Lewis, 59, actor (''The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (film), The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith'') *18 May – **Sir John Carrick (Australian politician), John Carrick, 99, politician **Troy Waters, 53, boxer *19 May – **John Avery (police officer), John Avery, 90, New South Wales Police Commissioner **David Treasure (politician), David Treasure, 74, Victorian politician *20 May – Ernie Page (politician), Ernie Page, 83, New South Wales politician *21 May – Don Jessop, 90, politician *24 May – Phil Emmanuel, 65, guitarist *28 May – Cornelia Frances, 77, actress

June

*1 June – Jill Ker Conway, 83, Australian-American scholar, author and businesswoman (died in the United States) *2 June – **Joe Berinson, 86, politician **Tony Morphett, 80, screenwriter *9 June – Deborah Cameron (radio presenter), Deborah Cameron, 59, radio presenter *10 June – Ben Hills, investigative journalist *16 June – Ken Wood (coach), Ken Wood, 88, swimming coach *20 June – Peter Thomson (golfer), Peter Thomson, 88, golfer *21 June – ** Sir Laurence Street, 91, Chief Justice of New South Wales ** Hugh Stuckey, 89, comedy writer *22 June – Steve Condous, 82, South Australian politician *27 June – **Liz Jackson, 67, journalist and former barrister **William McBride (doctor), William McBride, 91, obstetrician *28 June – Sam Bass (politician), Sam Bass, 73, South Australian politician

July

*4 July – Harry M. Miller, 84, promoter, publicist and celebrity agent *9 July – Sam Chisholm, 78, television executive *11 July – **Abdel Aziem Al-Afifi, 48, Grand Mufti of Australia **Laurie Kelly (politician), Laurie Kelly, 89, New South Wales politician *16 July – Evan Whitton, 90, journalist *20 July – Jeff Hook, 89, cartoonist *29 July – Ian Stanley (golfer), Ian Stanley, 69, golfer

August

*5 August – **Nev Warburton, 86, Queensland politician **Mary E. White, 92, paleobotanist *6 August – Nicole Kullen, 38, Paralympic equestrian *8 August – **Ronald Crawford (racewalker), Ronald Crawford, 82, racewalker **Jarrod Lyle, 36, golfer **Richard Searby, 87, lawyer *16 August – Jim McKiernan, 73, politician *20 August – Charles Blackman, 90, painter *21 August – Spencer P. Jones, 61, musician *22 August – Bill McGrath, 81, politician *23 August – Lance Thompson, 40, rugby league player *26 August – **Kerry Hill, 75, architect **Patrick Quilty, 79, Antarctic paleontologist *27 August – Mirka Mora, 90, artist *28 August – Andrew Hughes (police officer), Andrew Hughes, 62, police officer *30 August – Peter Corris, 76, crime novelist *31 August – **Brian Davis (politician), Brian Davis, 84, Queensland politician **Ian Jones (author), Ian Jones, 86, author, television writer and director

September

*2 September – Conway Savage, 58, musician (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds) *3 September – Ian Hampshire, 70, Australian rules footballer *5 September – Dennis Green (canoeist), Dennis Green, 87, canoeist *7 September – Donald Robinson (bishop), Donald Robinson, 95, Anglican archbishop *12 September – **Barry Cunningham (politician), Barry Cunningham, 78, politician **Albert Ullin, 88, children's bookseller *16 September – **Jim Kettle, 93, Australian rules footballer **John Molony, 91, historian, academic and author **Michael Young (Australian rules footballer), Michael Young, 59, Australian rules footballer *18 September – Moi-Yo Miller, 104, illusionist and magic assistant *22 September – Damian Hill, 42, actor and screenwriter (''Pawno'') *28 September – Bob Jane, 88, former race car driver and prominent businessman

October

*2 October – Ron Casey (Sydney broadcaster), Ron Casey, 89, broadcaster *5 October – **Frank Drum, 87, Australian rules football player (Richmond Football Club, Richmond) **John Deeble, 87, health economist *6 October – **Quentin Kenihan, 43, disability advocate and actor **James Cowan (author), James Cowan, 76, novelist, poet and nonfiction writer *10 October – Bill Corey, 101, soldier, The Rats of Tobruk, Rat of Tobruk *12 October – Pat Leane, 88, track and field athlete *16 October – **Ian Kiernan, 78, yachtsman and environmental campaigner (Clean Up Australia) **Margaret Thorsborne, 91, naturalist, conservationist and environmental activist *17 October – Gordon Maitland, 92, general *18 October – Jeff Hallebone, 89, cricketer *19 October – **Tom Meehan (footballer, born 1926), Tom Meehan, 92, Australian rules football player **Darren Stewart (footballer), Darren Stewart, 52, association footballer and manager *21 October – Eleanor Witcombe, 95, screenwriter and playwright *22 October – Anne Fairbairn, 90, poet, journalist and expert in Arab culture *23 October – Todd Reid, 34, tennis player *24 October – **Beryl Beaurepaire, Dame Beryl Beaurepaire, 95, philanthropist **John D. Lamond, 71, filmmaker *28 October – **Richard Gill (conductor), Richard Gill, 76, conductor **Colin Sylvia, 32, Australian rules football player (Melbourne Football Club, Melbourne, Fremantle Football Club, Fremantle)

November

*6 November – ** Jonathan Cantwell, 36, racing cyclist ** Ted Mack (politician), Ted Mack, 84, politician ** Cliffs of Moher (horse), Cliffs of Moher, 4, racehorse * 8 November – Murray Wilcox, 81, Federal Court judge *15 November – Ann Symonds, 79, politician * 19 November – Larry Pickering, 76, cartoonist * 22 November – Judith Rodriguez, 82, poet * 23 November – Stan Perron, 96, businessman * 26 November – Bonita Mabo, 75, indigenous activist

December

*1 December – Judy McBurney, 70, actress *9 December – Gordon Scholes, 87, Labor MP 1967–1993 *26 December – Penny Cook, 61, actress

References

{{Year in Oceania, 2018 2018 in Australia, Years of the 21st century in Australia 2018 in Oceania, Australia 2010s in Australia 2018 by country, Australia

Incumbents

State and Territory Leaders

Governors and Administrators

Events

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Music, arts and literature

Sport

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Deaths

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

See also

References