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]
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]
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]
14 March –
Peter Dutton calls to treat
White South African farmers as refugees, stating that "they need help from a civilised country".[17][18][19][20] and was met with "regret" by the South African
foreign ministry.[21] 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".[22][23]
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.[38]
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.[43]
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.[48]
August
5 August – Outgoing race discrimination commissioner
Tim Soutphommasane slams the 'resurgence of far-right politics' in Australia.[49][50]
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."[54] In it, he calls for a plebiscite to reinstate
White Australia policy, especially with regard to Muslims.[55]
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.[56]
9 September –
Western Australia Police find five bodies in a house in the Perth suburb of
Bedford, the result of a suspected mass killing.[59]
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.[60]
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.[63]
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.[64]
One Nation leader
Pauline Hanson proposes an "
It's OK to be white" motion in the
Australian Senate intended to acknowledge the "deplorable rise of anti-white racism and attacks on Western civilization".[65] It was supported by most senators from the governing
Liberal-National Coalition, but was defeated 31–28 by opponents who called it a racist slogan from the white supremacist movement.[66][67] The following day, the motion was "recommitted", and this time rejected unanimously by senators in attendance, with its initial supporters in the Liberal-National Coalition saying they had voted for it due to an administrative error (One Nation did not attend the recommital vote).[68]
Bali Nine drug smuggler
Renae Lawrence returns to Australia after spending 13 years in prison, following her arrest in Indonesia in 2005.[71]
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.[72]
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.[74][75]
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.[76]
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.[77]
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.[78]
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.[88]
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.[98][99]
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.[115]
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]
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]
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]
14 March –
Peter Dutton calls to treat
White South African farmers as refugees, stating that "they need help from a civilised country".[17][18][19][20] and was met with "regret" by the South African
foreign ministry.[21] 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".[22][23]
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.[38]
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.[43]
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.[48]
August
5 August – Outgoing race discrimination commissioner
Tim Soutphommasane slams the 'resurgence of far-right politics' in Australia.[49][50]
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."[54] In it, he calls for a plebiscite to reinstate
White Australia policy, especially with regard to Muslims.[55]
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.[56]
9 September –
Western Australia Police find five bodies in a house in the Perth suburb of
Bedford, the result of a suspected mass killing.[59]
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.[60]
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.[63]
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.[64]
One Nation leader
Pauline Hanson proposes an "
It's OK to be white" motion in the
Australian Senate intended to acknowledge the "deplorable rise of anti-white racism and attacks on Western civilization".[65] It was supported by most senators from the governing
Liberal-National Coalition, but was defeated 31–28 by opponents who called it a racist slogan from the white supremacist movement.[66][67] The following day, the motion was "recommitted", and this time rejected unanimously by senators in attendance, with its initial supporters in the Liberal-National Coalition saying they had voted for it due to an administrative error (One Nation did not attend the recommital vote).[68]
Bali Nine drug smuggler
Renae Lawrence returns to Australia after spending 13 years in prison, following her arrest in Indonesia in 2005.[71]
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.[72]
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.[74][75]
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.[76]
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.[77]
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.[78]
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.[88]
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.[98][99]
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.[115]