2025 Australian Championship
The 2025 Australian Championship was the first edition of the Australian Championship, a national second-tier competition of soccer in Australia, held after the finish of the second-tier 2025 National Premier Leagues season. The tournament consisted of six home-and-away matches in four groups for teams in the group stage, culminating in a knockout finals series, running from 10 October and concluding on 6 December.
South Melbourne became the inaugural champions after defeating Marconi Stallions in the final.
Teams
Sixteen clubs participated in the inaugural edition. Eight clubs gained automatic qualification as the competition's "foundation clubs": Avondale FC, Marconi Stallions, Preston Lions, South Melbourne, Sydney Olympic, Sydney United 58, Wests APIA, and Wollongong Wolves.The other eight qualified via the 2025 National Premier Leagues, seven as premiers: Bayswater City, Broadmeadow Magic, Canberra Croatia, Moreton City Excelsior, North Eastern MetroStars, NWS Spirit, and South Hobart. The 2025 NPL Victoria premiers, Avondale FC, had already qualified as a foundation club, so their berth went to the league's second-placed team Heidelberg United.
| Team | City | Home ground | |
| Avondale FC ‡ | Melbourne | Avenger Park | 2,500 |
| Bayswater City | Perth | Frank Drago Reserve | 3,000 |
| Broadmeadow Magic | Newcastle | Magic Park | 3,500 |
| Canberra Croatia | Canberra | Deakin Stadium | 1,500 |
| Heidelberg United | Melbourne | Olympic Park | 12,000 |
| Marconi Stallions ‡ | Sydney | Marconi Stadium | 9,000 |
| Moreton City Excelsior | Brisbane | Perry Park | 5,000 |
| North Eastern MetroStars | Adelaide | T.K. Shutter Reserve | 2,000 |
| NWS Spirit | Sydney | Christie Park | 1,500 |
| Preston Lions ‡ | Melbourne | B.T. Connor Reserve | 9,000 |
| South Hobart | Hobart | D'Arcy Street | 1,500 |
| South Melbourne ‡ | Melbourne | Lakeside Stadium | 12,000 |
| Sydney Olympic ‡ | Sydney | Jubilee Stadium | 20,500 |
| Sydney United 58 ‡ | Sydney | Sydney United Sports Centre | 12,000 |
| Wests APIA ‡ | Sydney | Leichhardt Oval | 20,000 |
| Wollongong Wolves ‡ | Wollongong | Collegians Sports Centre | 5,000 |
| Qualified as a foundation club | |
| Qualified via the NPL |
Group stage
The draw for the group stage was conducted on 1 May. Four of the foundation clubs were seeded into Position 1 of each group.The group stage was played from 10 October to 16 November.
All times listed are local time.
Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
Finals series
The quarter-finals were played between 21 and 23 November at the home grounds of the group winners; Football Australia selected the venues for the semi-finals and the final, citing the desire to "maximise national reach and deliver the best possible experience for players, fans and broadcast audiences".Quarter-finals
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Semi-finals
----Final
Top goalscorers
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 |  Australia |