2022 in Australia


The following is a list of events including expected and scheduled events for the year 2022 in Australia.

Incumbents

Monarch
Governor-General
Prime Minister
[Deputy Prime Minister of Australia|Prime Minister of Australia|Deputy Prime Minister]
Opposition Leader
'''Chief Justice'''

State and territory leaders

Governors and administrators

Events

January

February

March

April

April–May election campaign

  • 10 April: Scott Morrison announces the date of the 2022 Australian federal election as 21 May.
  • 11 April: Labor Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese was unable to state the cash or unemployment rates.
  • 13 April: Labor said they would not commit to an increase in JobSeeker Payment after the election if they win.
  • 16 April:
  • * Albanese said he would commit to an anti-corruption watchdog should Labor win the election.
  • * The United Australia Party election campaign launch was held.
  • 19 April: A debate was held at the National Press Club in Canberra between Minister for Agriculture and Northern Australia David Littleproud and Shadow Minister Julie Collins.
  • 20 April:
  • * Morrison continued to support his "captain's pick" to contest the seat of Warringah, Katherine Deves, despite her comments about transgender people and surrogacy.
  • * First leaders' debate in Brisbane took place in front of 100 undecided voters, with Albanese declared the winner, with 40 votes to Morrison's 35 and 25 still undecided.
  • 21 April: Albanese tested positive for Deltacron hybrid variant of COVID-19 and was unable to campaign in person for seven days.
  • 22 April: Former Liberal foreign minister Julie Bishop and former defence chief Chris Barrie criticised the Morrison government for not doing enough to stop the Solomon Islands' security pact with China.
  • 29 April: Albanese came out of COVID-19 isolation, just three days after he had fully recovered from COVID-19 Deltacron hybrid variant.
  • 30 April: Shadow minister Bill Shorten said Labor would hold a royal commission into Robodebt if elected.
  • 1 May: The Labor election campaign launch was held in Perth.
  • 4 May: A debate was held at the National Press Club in Canberra between Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Shadow Treasurer Jim Chalmers.
  • 5 May:
  • *Pauline Hanson's One Nation party was criticised for running "ghost candidates" in several electorates, who are neither campaigning in the lead-up to the election nor have an online presence. Additionally, many do not live in the electorates they are contesting. One Nation committed to run candidates in all seats.
  • *A debate was held at the National Press Club in Canberra between Minister for Defence Peter Dutton and Shadow Minister Brendan O'Connor.
  • 8 May: Second leaders' debate took place in Sydney.
  • 11 May:
  • *Albanese said that he supported an increase of 5.1% to the minimum wage or an additional $1 an hour, tied to the inflation rate, with criticism from Morrison claiming that it would result in increasing interest rates.
  • *Third leaders' debate took place in Sydney.
  • 13 May: A debate was held at the National Press Club in Canberra between Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne and Shadow Minister Penny Wong.
  • 15 May: The Liberal election campaign launch was held in Brisbane, six days before the election, where Morrison promised to allow people to purchase their first home using funds from their superannuation.
  • 18 May:
  • *Albanese addressed the National Press Club. Morrison is the first prime minister since 1969 not to address the National Press Club in the final week of an election campaign.
  • *The Australian Bureau of Statistics released the March 2022 Quarter Wage Price Index of 0.7%, or 2.4% annually.
  • 20 May: Telephone voting rules changed to allow Australians who have tested positive to COVID-19 after 6 pm on 13 May to vote by telephone.
  • 21 May: The 2022 Australian federal election takes place.
  • ** Morrison advised in a press conference that a boat with refugees from Sri Lanka had been intercepted and turned back by the Australian Border Force. Hours before polling stations close, voters across the country received a text message about the boat turnback, urging them to vote Liberal for border security. The ABC later revealed on 27 May that the act followed a direct request from the Prime Minister's Office to the Border Force in revealing the operation before it was completed.
  • **Anthony Albanese defeated Scott Morrison in the election and brought Labor back into government for the first time since 2013.
  • **Morrison conceded defeat and resigned as leader of the Liberal Party; his successor will be decided at the next Liberal party room meeting.

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Deaths

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Public holidays

Country overviews