2018 in Australia

Incumbents

• Monarch – Elizabeth II
• Governor-General – Sir Peter Cosgrove
• Prime Minister – Malcolm Turnbull, then Scott Morrison
• *Deputy Prime Minister – Barnaby Joyce, then Michael McCormack
• *Opposition Leader – Bill Shorten
• Chief Justice – Susan Kiefel

  State and territory leaders

• Premier of New South Wales – Gladys Berejiklian
• *Opposition Leader – Luke Foley, then Michael Daley
• Premier of Queensland – Annastacia Palaszczuk
• *Opposition Leader – Deb Frecklington
• Premier of South Australia – Jay Weatherill, then Steven Marshall
• *Opposition Leader – Steven Marshall, then Peter Malinauskas
• Premier of Tasmania – Will Hodgman
• *Opposition Leader – Rebecca White
• Premier of Victoria – Daniel Andrews
• *Opposition Leader – Matthew Guy, then Michael O'Brien
• Premier of Western Australia – Mark McGowan
• *Opposition Leader – Mike Nahan
• Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory – Andrew Barr
• *Opposition Leader – Alistair Coe
• Chief Minister of the Northern Territory – Michael Gunner
• *Opposition Leader – Gary Higgins

  Governors and administrators

• Governor of New South Wales – David Hurley
• Governor of Queensland – Paul de Jersey
• Governor of South Australia – Hieu Van Le
• Governor of Tasmania – Kate Warner
• Governor of Victoria – Linda Dessau
• Governor of Western Australia – Kerry Sanderson, then Kim Beazley
• Administrator of the Australian Indian Ocean Territories – Natasha Griggs
• Administrator of Norfolk Island – Eric Hutchinson
• Administrator of the Northern Territory – Vicki O'Halloran

  Events

January

• 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.
• 20 January – Authorities evacuate the Royal National Park 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 in "Invasion Day" rallies.
• 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.

  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.
• 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.
• 11 February – The Melbourne's Domain Parkland and Memorial Precinct—including Kings 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.
• 12 February – The Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry, headed by Kenneth Hayne, opens in Melbourne.
• 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.
• *A voluntary recall of rockmelons is started after several deaths from listeriosis contracted from consuming the fruit., nineteen infections and six deaths have been linked to rockmelon-related listeria.
• 26 February – New South Wales MP Michael McCormack wins the National Party of Australia leadership election and becomes Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, brought about by the resignation of Barnaby Joyce, defeating Queensland MP George Christensen.

  March

• 3 March – The Liberal Party led by Will Hodgman wins a second term of government but with a reduced majority at the 2018 Tasmanian state election.
• 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.
• 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.
• 14 March – Peter Dutton calls to treat White South African farmers as refugees, stating that "they need help from a civilised country". and was met with "regret" by the South African foreign ministry. 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 Liberal Party under Steven Marshall wins the 2018 South Australian state election, defeating the Labor Party and incumbent Premier Jay Weatherill.
• *The Labor Party wins the Batman by-election, maintaining its numbers in the House of Representatives.
• *The Liberal Party wins the Cottesloe by-election, maintaining its numbers in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly.
• 18 March – Hot and windy conditions see a bushfire destroy over 70 buildings at Tathra on the New South Wales South Coast, while 18 homes are destroyed by a grass fire in Western Victoria.
• 24 March – Qantas launches the first direct passenger flight between Australia and Europe, beginning its service between Perth and London.
• 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.

  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.

  May

• 7 May – Ancient HTLV-1 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's "Change the Rules" campaign.
• *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.
• 11 May –
• *Over 10,000 homes are left without power, and over 120mm of rain causes flooding in the Hobart central business district and at the University of Tasmania, as severe weather sweeps across southern Tasmania.
• *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.
• 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 Luke Foley makes comments about White flight. 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 Gladys Berejiklian.

  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.
• 13 June – Northern Territory Independent Commissioner Against Corruption is appointed.
• 23 June – The Liberal Party wins the Darling Range by-election, increasing its numbers in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly.

  July

• 1 July – The Australian Space Agency formally commences operation with Megan Clark as inaugural Head.
• 26 July – A proposed merger of Fairfax Media and Nine Entertainment Co 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, Longman, Mayo, and Perth, 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 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 of his appearance on the program."
• 8 August – The New South Wales Government announces that the entire state is in drought.
• 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." In it, he calls for a plebiscite to reinstate White Australia policy, especially with regard to Muslims.
• 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.
• 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.
• 31 August – Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull resigns from parliament triggering a by-election in his seat of Wentworth.