2026 in Australia

2026 in Australia
Monarch	Charles III
Governor-General	Sam Mostyn
Prime minister	Anthony Albanese
Australian of the Year	Katherine Bennell-Pegg

← 2025 2024 2023 2026 in Australia → 2027 2028 2029
Decades:	2000s 2010s 2020s 2030s
See also:	2026 in Australian literature Other events of 2026 Timeline of Australian history

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by editing the page to add missing items, with references to reliable sources.

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

Incumbents

Further information: Table of precedence for the Commonwealth of Australia

Monarch

• 
  Charles III

Governor-General

• 
  Sam Mostyn

Prime Minister

• 
  Anthony Albanese

Deputy Prime Minister

• 
  Richard Marles

Opposition Leader

Chief Justice

• 
  Stephen Gageler

State and territory leaders

• 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

Governors and administrators

• 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

Events

• January
• February
• March
• April
• May
• June
• July
• August
• September
• October
• November
• December

January

• 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. ^[1]
• 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. ^[2]
  • Six emergency warnings are issued in Victoria in response to bushfires. ^[2]
  • 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. ^[3]
• 9 January – A total fire ban comes into force in Victoria in response to an ongoing heatwave. ^[2]
• 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. ^[4]
• 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. ^[5]
• 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. ^[6]
• 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. ^{[7] [8]}
  • Pauline Hanson's One Nation overtakes the Liberal–National Coalition in a first for Newspoll. The Coalition also polls at its record low. ^[9]
  • 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. ^{[10] [11]}
• 19 January:
• A man is severely injured in a shark attack off Manly Beach in New South Wales. ^[12]
• The New Sydney Fish Market at Glebe, New South Wales opens to the public after 6 years of construction. ^[13]
• 20 January – A surfer is injured in a shark attack off Point Plomer in New South Wales. ^[14]
• 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. ^[15] Following this, the eight remaining National frontbenchers also resign from the shadow cabinet. ^{[16] [17]}
• 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. ^[18] 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. ^[19]
• 26 January:
  • March for Australia holds a series of nationwide protests in many Australian cities. ^[20]
  • 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. ^[21]
• 28 January – Colin Boyce announces he will challenge David Littleproud for the leadership of the National Party of Australia. ^[22]

Future and scheduled events

• 2 February – 2026 National Party of Australia leadership spill
• 14 March – King Frederik X of Denmark and Queen Mary of Denmark are expected to begin their 6 day tour of Australia.
• 21 March –
  • 2026 South Australian local elections ^[23]
  • 2026 South Australian state election
  • 2026 South Australian First Nations Voice election ^{[24] [25]}
• 2 May – 2026 Tasmanian Legislative Council periodic election ^[26]
• 11 August – 2026 Australian census
• October – 2026 Tasmanian local elections ^[27]
• 28 November – 2026 Victorian state election ^[28]

Sport

• 16 January – Olympic snowboarder Belle Brockhoff announces her retirement from competition. ^[29]
• 1–21 March – 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup ^{[30] [31]}

Holidays

Further information: Public holidays in Australia

Holiday	Date	ACT	NSW	NT	QLD	SA	TAS	VIC	WA	Ref.
New Year's Day	Thursday 1 January	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	[32]
Australia Day	Monday 26 January	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Royal Hobart Regatta (only observed in certain areas of Tasmania)	Monday 9 February	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No
Labour Day (WA)	Monday 2 March	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes
Public holiday under different names	Monday 9 March	Canberra Day	No	No	No	Adelaide Cup Day	Eight Hours Day	Labour Day	No
Good Friday	Friday 3 April	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Easter Saturday	Saturday 4 April	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No
Easter Sunday	Sunday 5 April	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	No
Easter Monday	Monday 6 April	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Easter Tuesday	Tuesday 7 April	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No
ANZAC Day	Saturday 25 April	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
May Day	Monday 4 May	No	No	Yes	Labour Day (QLD)	No	No	No	No
Reconciliation Day	Monday 1 June	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No
Western Australia Day		No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes
King's Birthday	Monday 8 June	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Picnic Day	Monday 3 August	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Royal Queensland Show (Brisbane area only)	Wednesday 12 August	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No
Friday before the AFL Grand Final	Friday TBC	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No
King's Birthday	Monday 28 September	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes
Labour Day	Monday 5 October	Yes	Yes	No	King's Birthday	Yes	No	No	No
Melbourne Cup	Tuesday 3 November	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No
Recreation Day (all parts of Tasmania which do not observe Royal Hobart Regatta)	Monday 2 November	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No
Christmas Eve (from 7pm to 12 midnight)	Thursday 24 December	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Christmas Day	Friday 25 December	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Boxing Day	Monday 28 December	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
New Year's Eve (from 7pm to 12 midnight)	Thursday 31 December	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No

Deaths

January

• 2 January – Phoenix Spicer, footballer (North Melbourne) (b. 2002) ^[33]
• 6 January – Ron Boswell, senator (b. 1940) ^[34]
• 8 January – Loraine Braham, Northern Territory politician (b. 1938) ^[35]
• 20 January – Marie Bashir, governor of New South Wales (2001–2014) (b. 1930) ^[36]

References

1. Buckley, Penry (4 January 2026). "More than 60 prominent sportspeople call for federal royal commission after Bondi attack". The Guardian Australia . Archived from the original on 4 January 2026. Retrieved 5 January 2026.
2. Cassidy, Caitlin; Visser, Nick (8 January 2026). "PM says government has been working on inquiry logistics 'for weeks'- as it happened". The Guardian Australia . Retrieved 8 January 2026.
3. Buckley, Penry; Smith, Douglas (8 January 2026). "'We will defy these laws': challenge lodged against NSW protest legislation that would stop Invasion Day rallies". The Guardian Australia . Retrieved 8 January 2026.
4. Vidler, Adam; Pearson, Nick; Sharma, Yashee; Sarkari, Karishma (10 January 2026). "Live updates: Fire-ravager Victoria town told not to drink water; Part of Great Ocean Road cut off; Bushfires could burn for 'weeks'; Over 130 structures destroyed around state". Nine News . Retrieved 10 January 2026.
5. Graham-McLay, Charlotte (13 January 2026). "Adelaide Writers Week canceled as 180 speakers withdraw after the exclusion of a Palestinian writer". AP News . Retrieved 13 January 2026.
6. Rowlands, Lyndal (15 January 2026). "Australian writers' festival apologises to Palestinian author after boycott". Al Jazeera . Retrieved 15 January 2026.
7. Corvo, Shannon (18 January 2026). "Flash flooding, heavy rainfall and gusty weather keeps SES busy on NSW coast". ABC News . Archived from the original on 18 January 2026. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
8. Brischetto, Patrick; Swain, Sarah (18 January 2026). "Landslide almost takes out Sydney home as flash flooding and storms batter NSW". Nine News . Archived from the original on 18 January 2026. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
9. Chambers, Geoff (18 January 2026). "Newspoll: Pauline Hanson's One Nation ahead of the Coalition on primary votes for the first time". The Australian. Archived from the original on 18 January 2026. Retrieved 18 January 2026.
10. Ng, Kelly (19 January 2026). "Boy fighting for life after being mauled by shark in Australia". BBC . Retrieved 19 January 2026.
11. "Nico Antic, 12yo boy attacked by shark at Sydney beach, dies in hospital". ABC News (Australia) . 24 January 2026. Retrieved 26 January 2026.
12. Ng, Kelly (19 January 2026). "Man seriously injured in Sydney's third shark attack in two days". BBC . Retrieved 19 January 2026.
13. Yin, Cindy (18 January 2026). "Sydney Fish Market opening as it happened: Crowds told to 'come back later' as new $836 million site at Blackwattle Bay reaches capacity". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
14. "Surfer injured in fourth shark attack in Australian state in 48 hours". BBC . 20 January 2026. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
15. Evans, Jake; Borys, Stephanie (20 January 2026). "Senior Nationals quit frontbench after defying shadow cabinet on hate speech laws". ABC News. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
16. Armstrong, Clare (21 January 2026). "Eight remaining Nationals in shadow ministry quit in solidarity". ABC News (Australia). Retrieved 21 January 2026.
17. "Eight remaining National Party MPs quit Coalition frontbench after policy split". SBS News . 21 January 2026. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
18. Courtney Gould (22 January 2026). "Federal politics live: Coalition splits after Nationals quit shadow cabinet". ABC News.
19. Duffin, Perry; Walter, Riley (22 January 2026). "Three dead after gunman opens fire in NSW town". Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 22 January 2026.
20. "Anti-immigration rallies take place in major cities across Australia". ABC News . 26 January 2026. Archived from the original on 26 January 2026.
21. Smith, Douglas (28 January 2026). "Police should 'throw the book' at man charged with Perth Invasion Day explosive device incident, Albanese says". The Guardian . Retrieved 28 January 2026.
22. Jervis-Bardy, Dan; Dhanji, Krishani; Butler, Josh (28 January 2026). "Nationals MP Colin Boyce to challenge David Littleproud for leadership, saying party is headed off 'political cliff'". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 28 January 2026.
23. "Elections". Electoral Commission SA. Archived from the original on 12 November 2024. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
24. "Key dates". 2024 South Australian First Nations Voice election.
25. "SA First Nations Voice election results show low turnout, but candidate urges 'give us a chance'". ABC News. 29 March 2024.
26. "About Legislative Council elections". Tasmanian Electoral Commission . 2025. Retrieved 30 August 2025.
27. "Council elections". Tasmanian Government. Archived from the original on 24 October 2024.
28. "State elections". Victorian Electoral Commission . Archived from the original on 12 August 2023. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
29. "Australian snowboarder Brockhoff quits ahead of Winter Olympics". France 24. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
30. "Australia and Uzbekistan confirmed as 2026 and 2029 AFC Women's Asian Cup hosts". AFC. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
31. "AFC unveils breakthrough reforms to strengthen Women's National Team Competitions". AFC. 13 September 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
32. "2026 public holidays". The Fair Work Ombudsman. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
33. "Former North Melbourne player Phoenix Spicer passes away, aged 23". Fox Sports. 3 January 2026. Retrieved 3 January 2026.
34. "Tributes flow for National Party stalwart after death at home overnight". ABC News. 6 January 2026. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
35. "Trailblazing NT politician Loraine Braham has died, aged 87". ABC News. 8 January 2026. Retrieved 12 January 2026.
36. Lo Surdo, Daniel (20 January 2026). "Dame Marie Bashir, first female NSW governor, dies aged 95". The Sydney Morning Herald . Archived from the original on 20 January 2026. Retrieved 20 January 2026.

External links

• Online calendar