Monarch – Elizabeth II
Governor-General – William Morrison, 1st Viscount Dunrossil
Prime Minister – Robert Menzies
Premier of New South Wales – Robert Heffron
Premier of South Australia – Sir Thomas Playford
Premier of Queensland – Frank Nicklin
Premier of Tasmania – Eric Reece
Premier of Western Australia – David Brand
Premier of Victoria – Henry Bolte
Governor of Queensland – Sir Henry Abel Smith
Governor of South Australia – Sir Robert George (until 7 March)
Governor of Tasmania – Thomas Corbett, 2nd Baron Rowallan
Governor of Victoria – Sir Dallas Brooks
Governor of Western Australia – Sir Charles Gairdner
7 March – Arthur Calwell becomes leader of the Australian Labor Party.
10 June – A TAA Fokker Friendship, Abel Tasman, crashes at Mackay, Queensland, killing 29 persons. To date (2009), this remains the worst loss of life in a peacetime air crash in Australia.
7 July – An eight-year-old schoolboy, Graeme Thorne, is kidnapped in Sydney, apparently to extort money from his parents who had recently won the Sydney Opera House lottery.
19 July – First reported skyjacking/hijacking in the world Trans Australia Airlines Flight 408
14 October – The Warragamba Dam is opened by the Premier of New South Wales.
Science and technology
Frank Macfarlane Burnet is announced joint winner of the Nobel Prize for Medicine
Arts and literature
Frank Macfarlane Burnet is announced as the inaugural winner of the Australian of the Year
Judy Cassab wins the Archibald Prize
The Irishman by Elizabeth O'Conner wins the Miles Franklin Literary Award
The introduction of television in 1956 saw that cinema audiences halved. Television led to an increase in home entertainment. It changed the patterns of leisure and exposed Australians more than ever before to other cultures.
15 January – The 2nd Annual Logie Awards are held the Savoy Hotel in Brighton, Victoria, although they are not televised. Graham Kennedy wins the "Star of the Year" (Gold Loogie) award.
Theatres and cinemas were popular venues for Australians. America was the biggest influence in film because of Hollywood. Britain also played a role in influencing Australian film making.
Music was diverse during this time. People listened to classical and opera; jazz and blues; folk music and pop music. Australian musicians and singers also made it into world stages. Popular music was often connected with social protest movement and civil rights and campaigns. Peace, freedom, choice and difference were strong themes. Ballet was popularized in Australia but both ballet and opera continued to appeal to small minorities of the population. America had an enormous influence on Australian music, and American musicians tended to consistently top the 'pop' charts in Australia. A lot of people were listening to American music.
4 June – Ian Sinfield wins the men's national marathon title, clocking 2:25:13.9 in Melbourne.
1 November – Hi Jinx wins the Melbourne Cup
New South Wales wins the Sheffield Shield
Kurrewa IV takes line honours and Siandra wins handicap honours in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race
Neale Fraser wins the men's singles at the Wimbledon championships
Australia defeats Italy 4-1 in the Davis Cup final
Jack Brabham wins the Formula One Championship for the second time
4 January – Gavin Miller, rugby league player
18 January – Graham Jennings, footballer
22 January – Michael Hutchence, singer (died 1997)
23 January – Greg Ritchie, cricketer
29 January – J.G. Thirlwell, singer-songwriter and producer
29 March – Wayne Pearce, rugby league footballer and coach
19 April – Roger Merrett, Australian rules footballer
20 April – Debbie Flintoff-King, athlete
4 May – Andrew Denton, television presenter
12 May – Lisa Martin, athlete
26 May – Dean Lukin, weightlifter
3 June – Tracy Grimshaw, television presenter
3 June – Carl Rackemann, cricketer
16 June – Peter Sterling, rugby league commentator and former player
8 July – Mal Meninga, rugby league footballer
4 August – Tim Winton, writer
13 August – Michael Richmond, ice speed skater
14 August – Edi Krncevic, soccer player
28 September – Gary Ayres, Australian rules footballer
24 October – Ian Baker-Finch, golfer
4 December – Glynis Nunn, athlete
29 December – David Boon, cricketer
12 January – Nevil Shute (born 1899), writer
14 February – Herbert Hays (born 1869), Tasmanian politician
3 April – Thomas Marwick (born 1895), politician
10 April – Arthur Benjamin (born 1893), composer
30 July – Walter Lindrum (born 1898), billiards player
2 September – Hector Hogan (born 1931), athlete
2 September – Mick O'Halloran (born 1893), politician
6 October – Caroline Grills (born 1890), serial killer
16 October – Frank Timson (born 1909), politician
20 October – Sir Charles Marr (born 1880), politician
24 November – Arthur Seaforth Blackburn (born 1892), soldier and Victoria Cross recipient
30 December – Mac Abbott (born 1877), politician
