2026 in Australia

The following is a list of events including expected and scheduled events for the year 2026 in Australia.

Monarch

• Charles III

Governor-General

• Sam Mostyn

Prime Minister

• Anthony Albanese

Deputy Prime Minister

• Richard Marles

Opposition Leader

Angus Taylor

Chief Justice

• Stephen Gageler

• Premier of New South Wales – Chris Minns

  • Opposition Leader – Kellie Sloane

• Premier of Queensland – David Crisafulli

  • Opposition Leader – Steven Miles

• Premier of South Australia – Peter Malinauskas

  • Opposition Leader – Ashton Hurn

• Premier of Tasmania – Jeremy Rockliff

  • Opposition Leader – Josh Willie

• Premier of Victoria – Jacinta Allan

  • Opposition Leader – Jess Wilson

• Premier of Western Australia – Roger Cook

  • Opposition Leader – Basil Zempilas

• Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory – Andrew Barr

  • Opposition Leader – Mark Parton

• Chief Minister of the Northern Territory – Lia Finocchiaro

  • Opposition Leader – Selena Uibo

• Governor of New South Wales – Margaret Beazley

• Governor of Queensland – Jeannette Young

• Governor of South Australia – Frances Adamson

• Governor of Tasmania – Barbara Baker

• Governor of Victoria – Margaret Gardner

• Governor of Western Australia – Chris Dawson

• Administrator of the Australian Indian Ocean Territories – Farzian Zainal

• Administrator of Norfolk Island – George Plant

• Administrator of the Northern Territory – Hugh Heggie until 30 January 2026, David Connolly

• 4 January – Over 60 prominent sportspeople including tennis player Lleyton Hewitt, canoeist Jessica Fox, swimmer Ian Thorpe and former cricket team captain Michael Clarke pen an open letter calling on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to establish a federal royal commission into antisemitism, radicalisation and the 2025 Bondi Beach shooting.

• 8 January:

  • Prime Minister Albanese announces a royal commission into antisemitism and social cohesion, to be chaired by Virginia Bell. In response, New South Wales Premier Chris Minns announces that his state would not proceed with a state-level royal commission.
  • Six emergency warnings are issued in Victoria in response to bushfires.
  • Blak Caucus, the Palestine Action Group and Jews Against the Occupation'48 file a challenge against new laws restricting protests in New South Wales at the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

• 9 January – A total fire ban comes into force in Victoria in response to an ongoing heatwave.

• 10 January – Wildfires destroy 130 structures in Victoria, prompting premier Jacinta Allan declares a statewide emergency. The Australian Capital Territory declares a total fire ban.

• 12 January – the National Socialist Network (NSN) announce it would disband in response to proposed new hate speech laws by the federal government which would make it easier to designate organisations as prohibited hate groups.

• 13 January – The 2026 edition of Adelaide Writers' Week is called off after more than 180 writers and speakers boycott the event in protest against the organisers' decision to exclude Australian-Palestinian writer and academic Randa Abdel-Fattah.

• 15 January – The board of the Adelaide Festival retracts the Adelaide Writers' Week's decision to exclude Randa Abdel-Fattah from the event and issues an apology to her.

• 18 January:

  • Heavy rain leads to flooding and landslides in coastal New South Wales particularly Sydney, which records 127 mm (5.0 in) of rain. The State Emergency Service responds to about 2,500 calls for help and performed 25 flood rescues.
  • Pauline Hanson's One Nation overtakes the Liberal–National Coalition in a first for Newspoll. The Coalition also polls at its record low.
  • A 12-year-old boy is severely injured in a shark attack off Shark Beach in Vaucluse, New South Wales, resulting in his death in hospital on 24 January.

• 19 January:

• A man is severely injured in a shark attack off Manly Beach in New South Wales.

• The New Sydney Fish Market at Glebe, New South Wales opens to the public after 6 years of construction.

• 20 January – A surfer is injured in a shark attack off Point Plomer in New South Wales.

• 21 January – National Party of Australia senators Bridget McKenzie, Ross Cadell and Susan McDonald quit the Ley shadow ministry after opposing the official Liberal–National Coalition position on the hate speech law. Following this, the eight remaining National frontbenchers also resign from the shadow cabinet.

• 22 January:

  • National leader David Littleproud confirms the party had again quit the Coalition, saying "our partyroom has made it clear that we cannot be part of a shadow ministry under Sussan Ley" and that "we sit by ourselves" in the parliament. This is the second time the National party left the Coalition since 2025.
  • 2026 Lake Cargelligo shootings: Three people are killed and another injured in a shooting in Lake Cargelligo, New South Wales.

• 26 January:

  • March for Australia holds a series of nationwide protests in many Australian cities.
  • A 31 year old man is arrested for throwing a homemade "fragment bomb" at a crowd gathering for an Invasion Day rally in Perth's Forrest Place, which fails to detonate. The man is charged with one count of committing an unlawful act with intent to harm and one count of making explosives under suspicious circumstances.

• 28 January – Colin Boyce announces he will challenge David Littleproud for the leadership of the National Party of Australia.

• 30 January – A 13-year-old boy swims four hours to shore in Quindalup to get help for his mother and two younger siblings, who had been swept out to sea while kayaking.

• 2 February –

  • 2026 National Party of Australia leadership spill: Incumbent leader David Littleproud is re-elected, defeating Queensland MP Colin Boyce.
  • Pauline Hanson's One Nation announce former Liberal senator Cory Bernardi will lead the upper house ticket in the 2026 South Australian state election.

• 5 February –

  • The Australian Federal Police charge a 31-year old man with one count of engaging in a terrorist attack in relation to an attempted bombing at an Invasion Day rally in Perth on 26 January.
  • The Australian Federal Police charge a 19-year old Sydney teenager with one count of using a social media platform to issue a death threat against Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who is expected to arrive in Australia for a state visit on 8 February.

• 6 February –

  • Drug lord Tony Mokbel is released from prison after prosecutors withdraw a planned retrial on charges of importing MDMA.
  • Australia and Indonesia sign a bilateral security agreement.

• 8 February – The Liberal–National Coalition reunites.

• 9 February –

  • Kat McNamara resigns as member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly for Nightcliff, citing health issues.
  • Israeli President Isaac Herzog arrives in Australia for a four-day visit and pays respects to victims of the 2025 Bondi Beach shooting. His visit generates controversy due to allegations that he incited genocide during the Gaza war. Six thousand protesters opposing Herzog's visit gather outside Sydney Town Hall organised by the Palestine Action Group and attempt to march in defiance of new protest laws in New South Wales, leading to scuffles with police.
  • The Supreme Court of New South Wales rejects a legal challenge by the Palestine Action Group against the New South Wales government's decision to grant police extended powers to manage protests during Herzog's state visit.

• 12 February – Five thousand pro-Palestine protesters march through the Melbourne central business district in protest against Herzog's visit. Separate pro-Palestine and pro-Israel demonstrations are held outside an event hosting Herzog in Southbank, Victoria. Unlike the earlier Sydney Town Hall protest, the Melbourne protest is peaceful with police only making one arrest.

• 13 February –

  • 2026 Liberal Party of Australia leadership spill is held. Angus Taylor wins the election against Sussan Ley.
  • The Law Enforcement Conduct Commission launches an investigation into the conduct of New South Wales Police Force personnel during a pro-Palestine rally outside the Sydney Town Hall on 9 February.
  • Multiple ancient Egyptian artefacts are stolen following a heist at the Abbey Museum of Art and Archaeology in Caboolture, Queensland. Most of the items are recovered following the arrest of a 52-year old man the next day.

• 24 February –

  • The Australian Federal Police evacuate Prime Minister Albanese from The Lodge after an alleged bomb threat against the Falun Gong-linked Shen Yun dance and music group's tour of Australia.
  • Prime Minister Albanese endorses the removal of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from the royal line of succession over his involvement in the Epstein scandal.

• 25 February – Queensland Police confirm they are investigating an alleged bomb threat against the Home of the Arts theatre for hosting a Shen Yun performance.

• 3 March – An Iranian drone strike damages Al Minhad Air Base in the UAE, the headquarters of the Australian Defence Force's Joint Task Force 633. Defence minister Richard Marles confirms that there were no casualties in the strike.

• 4 March – The Australian Parliament launches a federal inquiry into racism, hate and violence against Indigenous Australians in response to the 2026 Invasion Day protest bombing attempt.

• 5 March –

  • Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney makes his address to the Australian Parliament in Canberra.
  • Australia deploys military assets and crisis response teams to the Middle East to assist and evacuate its nationals.
  • The Queensland Parliament passes legislation banning the use of the phrase "Globalise the Intifada" and "from the river to the sea" by protesters, subjected to a two year prison term. Becoming the first state in Australia to outlaw the slogans. The LNP and the KAP voted for it, while Labor and the Greens voted against it.

• 7 March – 2026 Nightcliff by-election is held.

• 9 March – A court in Bali, Indonesia, sentences three Australian nationals to up to 16 years' imprisonment for the contract killing of another Australian national, Zivan Radmanovic, in 2025.

• 10 March –

  • National Party of Australia leader David Littleproud announces his resignation from his position as the leader of the Nationals, citing himself as "buggered", he intends to remain in parliament as member for Maranoa though.
  • The government grants humanitarian visas to five members of the Iran women's national football team competing in the 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup amid fears for their safety during the 2026 Iran war and their refusal to sing the Iranian national anthem during a match against South Korea. Two more footballers subsequently sought asylum in Australia, bringing the total number to seven.
  • Prime Minister Albanese confirms that Australia would deploy a long-range reconnaissance aircraft and air-to-air missiles to the United Arab Emirates to help the Gulf States defend themselves against Iranian missiles.

• 11 March – Matt Canavan becomes National Party of Australia leader after winning the leadership ballot.

• 13 March —

  • The government releases six days' worth of petroleum and five days' worth of diesel fuel following a global International Energy Agency directive in response to supply disruptions caused by the 2026 Iran war.
  • A court in Sydney convicts businessman Alexander Csergo of reckless foreign interference over his compilation of reports for two suspected Chinese spies.

• 14–19 March – King Frederik X of Denmark and Queen Mary of Denmark undertake a six-day tour of Australia.

• 15 March – Four members of the Iranian women's football team who had earlier been granted asylum by the Australian government change their minds and decide to return to Iran due to concerns that their families would be targeted for retribution by the Iranian authorities.

• 16 March – Australia rules out sending warships to lift the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

• 20 March – Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke are heckled at a Eid morning prayers event at Lakemba Mosque. Several mosque attendees accuse the Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister of being "genocide supporters".

• 21 March –

  • 2026 South Australian state election: One Nation sees its best performance in any state or federal election since the 1998 Queensland state election, when the party won 22.68%.
  • 2026 South Australian First Nations Voice election

• 23 March – Australia and the European Union sign a free trade agreement after eight years of negotiations.

• 25 March – Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke announces a six-month ban on most Iranian visitor visa holders in response to the ongoing 2026 Iran war.

• 26 March – Thousands of Australian Broadcasting Corporation employees stage a 24-hour strike in response to a pay dispute, marking the first major strike at the public broadcaster in 20 years.

• 30 March – Victoria Police fatally shoot Dezi Freeman, a sovereign citizen and fugitive who was on the run for seven months after he killed two police officers and seriously injured another in a shooting in Porepunkah.

• 31 March – Communications Minister Anika Wells announces that the Australian government will investigate social media platforms Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube for potential violations of the under-16 social media ban.

• 1 April - The Australian government reduces the fuel excise rate to 26.3 cents per litre between 1 April and 30 June to address rising fuel prices caused by the 2026 Iran war.

• 7 April:

  • Australian veteran and Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith was arrested by the Australian Federal Police and charged with five counts of the war crime of murder.
  • Federal Court Justice Michael Lee rules that accused secret police agent Adriana Elcira Rivas can be extradited to Chile to face trial on seven charges of aggravated kidnapping during Augustus Pinochet's dictatorship.

• 2 May –

  • 2026 Nepean state by-election
  • 2026 Tasmanian Legislative Council periodic election

• 9 May – 2026 Farrer by-election

• 27 July – Nationwide test of the new AusAlert wireless alert system planned to take place at 2pm AEST

• 11 August – 2026 Australian census

• October – 2026 Tasmanian local elections

• November – 2026 South Australian local elections

• 28 November – 2026 Victorian state election

• 16 January – Olympic snowboarder Belle Brockhoff announces her retirement from competition.

• 1–21 March – 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup

• 17 March – Marinko Matosevic is barred from sporting activities for four years by the International Tennis Integrity Agency for doping offences between 2018 and 2020.

• 2 January – Phoenix Spicer, footballer (North Melbourne) (b. 2002)

• 6 January – Ron Boswell, senator (b. 1940)

• 8 January – Loraine Braham, Northern Territory politician (b. 1938)

• 20 January – Marie Bashir, governor of New South Wales (2001–2014) (b. 1930)

• 29 January – Heather Goodall, historian (b. 1950)

• 17 February – Anna dePeyster, journalist and author (b. 1944)

• 21 February – Daryl Jackson, architect (b. 1937)

• 28 February – Lorraine Bayly, actor (b. 1937)

• 7 March – Jamie Dunn, voice artist (b. 1950)

• 15 March – Ken Cole, basketball player (b. 1943)

• 17 March – Sir Anthony Mason, chief justice of Australia (1987–1995) (b. 1925)

• 21 March – Rhoda Roberts, arts executive (b. 1959)

• 24 March – Mel Schilling, television personality and relationship coach (b. 1972) (died in the United Kingdom)

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