18 January – Malaysia Airlines Flight MH122 from Sydney to Kuala Lumpur is forced to make an emergency landing in Alice Springs after experiencing engine problems.[1]
20 January – Authorities evacuate the Royal National Park south of Sydney as two fires burn out of control, with smoke visible across the city.[2]
26 January – Tens of thousands of protesters march in Sydney and Melbourne in "Invasion Day" rallies.[3]
31 January – The ABC 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.[4]
February[]
1 February – David Feeney resigns as MP for Batman, after he is unable to find documentation confirming that he had renounced his British citizenship.[5]
6 February – News Corp reveals that Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce is expecting a baby with a former staffer, following the break-up of his marriage.[6]
11 February – The Melbourne's Domain Parkland and Memorial Precinct—including King's Domain, Alexandra Gardens, Queen Victoria Gardens, the Melbourne Observatory, the Shrine of Remembrance and Government House, Melbourne—was added to the Australian National Heritage List.[7]
12 February – The Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry, headed by Kenneth Hayne, opens in Melbourne.[8]
23 February –
Barnaby Joyce announces he will stand down on 26 February as leader of the National Party and therefore as Deputy Prime Minister of Australia following pressure from government and public figures over his relationship with a former staffer.[9]
A voluntary recall of rockmelons is started after several deaths from listeriosis contracted from consuming the fruit. As of 20 March 2018, nineteen infections and six deaths have been linked to rockmelon-related listeria.[10]
5 March - The Australian Border Force conducts an early morning raid on a family home in Biloela, Queensland and forcibly removes a Sri Lankan Tamil asylum seeker family and takes them into immigration detention in Melbourne before being transferring them to Christmas Island. The family's plight garners ongoing media attention and prompts supporters to launch the Home to Bilo campaign.[13][14]
10 March – A state of disaster is declared in Queensland, after flooding between Cairns and Townsville, with some catchment areas receiving over 700mm in four days.[15][16]
24 March – Qantas launches the first direct passenger flight between Australia and Europe, beginning its service between Perth and London.[22]
25 March – Australian cricket captain Steve Smith is suspended, and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull calls for action from Cricket Australia, after members of the Australian team admit to ball tampering during a match against South Africa.[23][24]
April[]
20 April – Craig Meller resigns as CEO of AMP Limited 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.[25]
May[]
7 May – Ancient HTLV-1 virus detected in indigenous communities in Australia, raising concerns and calls to stop the spread.[26]
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's "Change the Rules" campaign.[27]
The High Court of Australia rules in Re: Gallagher that Katy Gallagher 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. Four lower house MPs in the same situation subsequently resign: Labor's Justine Keay, Susan Lamb and Josh Wilson, and Centre Alliance's Rebekha Sharkie.[28]
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, as severe weather sweeps across southern Tasmania.[29]
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 in 1996.[30]
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.[31]
June[]
4 June – Woolworths Supermarkets announces it will reduce the level of plastic packaging in its stores, in particular, eliminating straws and plastic wrapping on fresh produce.[32]
1 July – The Australian Space Agency formally commences operation with Megan Clark as inaugural Head.[35]
26 July – A proposed merger of Fairfax Media and Nine Entertainment Co is announced.[36]
28 July – A "Super Saturday" of an unprecedented five simultaneous federal by-elections takes place. They are held in the divisions of Braddon, Fremantle, Longman, Mayo, and Perth, with no change to numbers in the House of Representatives.[37]
August[]
5 August – Outgoing race discrimination commissioner Tim Soutphommasane slams the 'resurgence of far-right politics' in Australia.[38][39]
6 August – Sky News Australia is heavily criticised for providing a platform to Blair Cottrell, leader of the far-right, organisation United Patriots Front in a one-on-one discussion about immigration on The Adam Giles Show. Sky News presenters, including Laura Jayes and David Speers, were among those critical (both on-air and off-air) of his appearance on the program."[40][41]
8 August – The New South Wales Government announces that the entire state is in drought.[42]
14 August – Senator Fraser Anning 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's in 1996."[43] In it, he calls for a plebiscite to reinstate White Australia policy, especially with regard to Muslims.[44]
21 August – Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull declares a leadership spill in the Liberal Party, following pressure from conservatives in the party. Turnbull is challenged by Peter Dutton, but wins the vote by 48 to 35 votes.[45]
24 August – The Liberal Party of Australia holds a second leadership spill. Malcolm Turnbull resigns as party leader, and Scott Morrison is elected as his replacement, becoming the 30th Prime Minister of Australia.
9 September – Western Australia Police find five bodies in a house in the Perth suburb of Bedford, the result of a suspected mass killing.[48]
15 September – The Queensland Government 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.[49]
16 September – Prime Minister Scott Morrison announces a Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.[50]
24 September – Michelle Guthrie is dismissed as managing director of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation by the ABC Board.[51]
27 September – Following the dismissal of Michelle Guthrie, ABC Board chairman Justin Milne resigns amid reports he had tried to influence ABC management to sack two senior journalists.[52]
October[]
15 October – it was revealed the NSW National Party and the Young Nationals had been infiltrated by a significant number of neo-Nazis 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.[53]
20 October – A by-election in Wentworth, the seat vacated by former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, is won by independent Kerryn Phelps, with the Morrison Government losing its one-seat majority in the lower house.[54]
November[]
9 November – Hassan Khalif Shire Ali sets his car on fire and attacks passers-by with a knife in Bourke Street, Melbourne, before he is shot and killed by police. Sisto Malaspina, co-owner of Pellegrini's Espresso Bar, was killed in the attack.[55]
22 November –
Bali Nine drug smuggler Renae Lawrence returns to Australia after spending 13 years in prison, following her arrest in Indonesia in 2005.[56]
A retrial finds David Eastman, who had spent 19 years in jail, not guilty of the Canberra 1989 murder of Assistant Australian Federal Police Commissioner Colin Winchester.[57]
24 November – The Labor Party led by Daniel Andrews wins a second term of government with an increased majority at the 2018 Victorian state election.[58]
27 to 29 November – Residents of several towns in Central Queensland are urged to evacuate as the region is hit by bushfires, with two homes destroyed.[59][60]
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.[61]
December[]
15 December – Australia officially recognizes West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. 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.[62]
24 December – Thousands of residents of an apartment block in Sydney Olympic Park are forced to evacuate following structural concerns and fears the 36-storey building could collapse.[63]
Basketball:Townsville Fire defeated Melbourne Boomers 70–57 in the third and deciding game of the 2017–18 WNBL season grand final series at Townsville RSL Stadium.[citation needed]
Tennis: Australian Dylan Alcott wins the Wheelchair Quad Singles title at the Australian Open, his fifth Grand Slam Singles title and fourth consecutive Australian Open Singles title.[73]
18 February – Association football:Melbourne City FC defeated Sydney FC 2–0 at Sydney Football Stadium to win the 2018 W-League Grand Final, Melbourne City's third Championship in a row.[81]
March[]
24 March –
Australian rules football: The Western Bulldogs defeat the Brisbane Lions 4.3 (27) to 3.3 (21) at the 2018 AFL Women's Grand Final.[82]
Cricket: On day 3 of the third Test against South Africa, Australian cricketer Cameron Bancroft 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 are subsequently stood down from their roles for the remainder of the Test and thereafter banned by the Cricket Australia for 12 months, while Bancroft received a 9-month ban, from international and domestic cricket.[83][84]
25 March – Motorsport:Sebastian Vettel wins the 2018 Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park in Melbourne, defeating Lewis Hamilton and teammate Kimi Räikkönen.
31 March – Basketball:Melbourne United defeated Adelaide 36ers 100-82 in the deciding fifth game of the 2017–18 NBL season grand final at Hisense Arena in Melbourne.[citation needed]
April[]
4 to 15 April – Commonwealth Games: The 2018 Commonwealth Games are held on the Gold Coast, Queensland. This is the fifth time Australia has hosted the Commonwealth Games, 12 years after they were held in Melbourne.
5 April – Surfing: Australian Stephanie Gilmore wins her fourth Bells Beach Classic title while retiring Australian Mick Fanning is defeated in the men's final by Brazilian Italo Ferreira.[85]
May[]
5 May – Association football:Melbourne Victory defeats the Newcastle Jets 0–1 at the 2018 A-League Grand Final. 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 system.[86]
June[]
6 June – Rugby league:New South Wales defeats Queensland 22–12 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in the first match of the 2018 State of Origin series. NSW fullback James Tedesco is awarded man of the match.[87]
24 June – Rugby leagueNew South Wales defeats Queensland 18–14 at Stadium Australia in the second match of the 2018 State of Origin series. NSW second-rower and captain Boyd Cordner is awarded man of the match.[88]
July[]
11 July – Rugby league:Queensland defeats New South Wales 18–12 at Suncorp Stadium in the third match of the 2018 State of Origin series. Queensland fullback and captain Billy Slater is awarded both man of the match and the Wally Lewis Medal for player of the series.[89]
August[]
26 August – Netball:Sunshine Coast Lightning defeat West Coast Fever 62–59 in front of a record crowd on 13,722 at Perth Arena in the Grand Final of the 2018 Suncorp Super Netball season.[90]
September[]
2 September – Rugby league:Sydney Roosters win the minor premiership following the final main round of the 2018 NRL season. The Parramatta Eels finish in last position, claiming the wooden spoon.
26 September – Rugby league:Roger Tuivasa-Sheck of the New Zealand Warriors wins the 2018 Dally M Medal and Brittany Breayley of the Brisbane Broncos wins Female Player of the Year.[92]
29 September – Australian rules football:West Coast Eagles defeat Collingwood 79 to 74 to win the 2018 AFL Grand Final.[93]
30 September –
Rugby league:Sydney Roosters defeat Melbourne Storm 21–6 to win the 2018 NRL Grand Final. Roosters five-eighth Luke Keary is awarded the Clive Churchill Medal for Man of the Match. Pre-match entertainment is headlined by Gang of Youths.[94]
28 December – Yacht racing:Wild Oats XI wins its ninth line honours in the 2018 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. A protest lodged by the race committee, following a claim that the yacht's AIS was switched off, is dismissed by an international jury.[100]
Deaths[]
January[]
Steve Foster
2 January – Bryan Conquest, 87, politician
3 January – Colin Brumby, 84, composer and conductor
8 January –
Ron Tandberg, 74, cartoonist
Keith McKenzie, 95, Australian rules football player and coach