Monarch – Queen Elizabeth II
Governor-General – Sir Peter Cosgrove
Prime Minister – Malcolm Turnbull
Premiers and Chief Ministers
Premier of New South Wales – Mike Baird
Premier of Queensland – Annastacia Palaszczuk
Premier of South Australia – Jay Weatherill
Premier of Tasmania – Will Hodgman
Premier of Victoria – Daniel Andrews
Premier of Western Australia – Colin Barnett
Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory – Andrew Barr
Chief Minister of the Northern Territory – Adam Giles (until 31 August 2016), then Michael Gunner
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
Administrator of the Australian Indian Ocean Territories – Barry Haase
Administrator of Norfolk Island – Gary Hardgrave
Administrator of the Northern Territory – John Hardy
4 January – Australia Post raises the basic postage rate from 70 cents to $1, in addition to instituting a priority delivery service for an extra 50 cents.
5 January – Electronics retailer Dick Smith goes into voluntary administration.
7 January – Bushfires in Western Australia destroy many homes and other buildings, especially in the town of Yarloop.
Multiple days – A campaign of school bomb threats is carried out at several schools throughout Australia.
11 March – The Basslink data transmission cable between Victoria and Tasmania is cut for repairs, resulting in slow internet speeds for ISP customers in Tasmania, particularly those of the TPG Telecom group such as iiNet and Internode.
12 March – Members of rival street gangs rampage through the Melbourne CBD during the city's Moomba Festival.
7 April – Steelmaker and iron ore mining company Arrium goes into voluntary administration.
6 May- A leadership spill for the Liberal National Party of Queensland is held, with Tim Nicholls defeating incumbent Lawrence Springborg to become party leader and leader of the Opposition.
29 June – Karen Ristevski disappears from Avondale Heights after an argument with her husband. Her remains were found on Mount Macedon on 20 February 2017.
1 July – New legal and governance arrangements commence for the previously self-governing territory of Norfolk Island.
2 July – A double dissolution federal election is held. On 10 July, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull claims victory for the Liberal–National Coalition which was returned with a reduced majority.
7 July – Premier Mike Baird announces that greyhound racing will be banned in New South Wales from 1 July 2017.
26 July – A royal commission into juvenile detention in the Northern Territory is announced, after the Four Corners program airs footage of abuse of detainees at the Don Dale Youth Detention Centre.
29 July – Malcolm Turnbull controversially rejects Kevin Rudd's nomination for Secretary-General of the United Nations.
9 August – The 2016 Census of Population and Housing is held. Intended to be conducted mostly online, the census website is unavailable for the entire night, with the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) blaming denial-of-service attacks for the outage. The outage follows significant public concern about privacy due to the Bureau's announcement that it would retain names and addresses for a four-year period, and link the data to other records and datasets.
27 August – A general election is held in the Northern Territory. The Country Liberal government of Adam Giles is defeated by the Australian Labor Party led by Michael Gunner.
28 September – The entire state of South Australia is left without electricity after a massive storm damages electrical transmission infrastructure.
3 October – The Redcliffe Peninsula railway line in Queensland opens 131 years after it was first proposed.
11 October – NSW Premier Mike Baird reverses the July 7 decision to ban greyhound racing in 2017.
15 October – A general election is held in the Australian Capital Territory. The Australian Labor Party, led by Chief Minister Andrew Barr, wins a fifth term.
25 October – Four people are killed at the Dreamworld theme park on the Gold Coast, Queensland when the Thunder River Rapids Ride malfunctions.
4 November- 6 November – Homes are damaged, and residents are evacuated in Sydney, the Hunter Valley and the Central Coast as bushfires flare up across NSW.
21 November – A storm in Melbourne triggers thousands of incidents of thunderstorm asthma, resulting in at least eight deaths.
1 December – The backpacker tax legislation passes the Senate after the Greens sign a deal with the Federal Government to support its 15 per cent backpacker tax rate in exchange for the Government agreeing to tax only 65 per cent of backpackers’ superannuation, rather than 95 per cent, and pledging an extra $100 million in funding for Landcare. The Australian Building and Construction Commission legislation bill also passes the Senate.
4 December – Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announces a $2 billion plan to tackle crime, including new laws to be introduced early in 2017, which will create a new offence of procuring young people to commit offences which will carry a maximum penalty of 10 years, regardless of the crime committed by the youth. The plan also includes the hiring of 2,729 new police officers in the biggest recruitment drive in Victoria’s history.
5 December –
Federal Environment and Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg announces the terms of reference for a review of climate change policies to be undertaken and completed in 2017. Mr. Frydenberg said there was potential for an "emissions intensity scheme", where power generators could pay for emissions above a set level, which prompted debate that he had reintroduced the idea of the carbon tax back into government policy.
The Federal Court of Australia in Brisbane awards compensation to Lex Wootton, his wife and mother for their treatment by police during the 2004 Palm Island death in custody riots.
7 December –
Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison releases gross domestic product (GDP) data, revealing that Australia’s economic growth had shrunk for the first time in five years, by 0.5 per cent in the September quarter.
The Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory tours the Don Dale Detention Centre.
8 December –
New South Wales Premier Mike Baird announces the relaxation of the Liquor Amendment Act 2014 (Sydney lockout laws).
The Federal Court of Australia rules that Woolworths did not violate consumer law through its “Mind the Gap” scheme in 2014. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) took Woolworths to court over the scheme, which saw the retailer claim $18 million from suppliers to help reduce a $53 million shortfall in half-year profits.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announces that the Government will introduce, in the second half of 2017, a bill dealing with assisted dying, with all MPs being granted a conscience vote on the matter.
9 December –
The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Meeting is held in Canberra. The State Premiers agree to reclassify the Adler shotgun.
Chief Scientist Alan Finkel releases a report into the country's electricity market which concludes that Australia is not on track to meet Paris climate change commitments and that investment in the sector has stalled because there is no long-term Government policy to reduce carbon emissions.
Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison approves Gina Rinehart’s bid to take over the Kidman cattle empire.
Fremantle Council bows to public pressure and announces that the Council will hold a citizenship ceremony on Australia Day 2017.
$1 million worth of damages is awarded to a couple tasered by police.
10 December – Gold Coast theme park Dreamworld reopens for the first time since four people were killed on the Thunder River Rapids ride six weeks before.
11 December – Qantas Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce announces that direct flights from Perth to London will be introduced in 2018, marking the first time that Australians will be able to fly direct to Europe. West Australian Premier Colin Barnett had announced that the government would contribute $14 million towards the upgrade of the airport terminal, ending a long-running impasse with Qantas.
12 December –
The Federal Government approves the construction of a second airport for Sydney at Badgery’s Creek.
A third report by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) finds that South Australia's renewables-heavy power mix was a factor in the statewide blackout in September.
New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal quashes a minimum 26-year sentence on Mitchell Barbieri for the 2012 murder of police officer Bryson Anderson and instead imposes a minimum 15-year sentence. Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione subsequently announces his intention to appeal the decision.
The Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory hears 19-year-old inmate Dylan Voller’s testimony from the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory that detainees were regularly denied access to food, water and toilets as punishment for bad behaviour.
13 December – Foreign Minister Julie Bishop announces a new foreign policy white paper, the first since 2003, to be released in late 2017, outlining a new vision for Australia's diplomatic engagement.
14 December –
New South Wales Government refers former New South Wales RSL President Don Rowe to police over claims he used his corporate credit card to withdraw $200,000 in cash.
New South Wales Premier Mike Baird announces that the Hunter Valley thoroughbred farms will be saved from coal mining nearby with buffer zones being enforced around the two studs – Coolmore and Darley, or it will change the law to cancel the mining licence of Anglo American’s Drayton South project, which has been proposed 900m from the farms’ gates.
15 December –
Billionaire James Packer's Crown Resorts announces it will abandon its Alon project in Las Vegas and sell off almost half its stake in the underperforming Melco Crown Entertainment in Macau for $1.6 billion amid a major crackdown on gambling and corruption in China.
The Supreme Court of New South Wales sentences Eddie Obeid to five years in prison for wilful misconduct in public office for lobbying a senior bureaucrat over lucrative Circular Quay café leases without revealing his family’s financial interests in the business.
The West Australian seasonally adjusted unemployment rate jumps to 6.9 per cent, its highest level since January 2002.
An out of control bushfire threatens homes on Russell Island.
17 December - Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull speaks at the Australian Republican Movement dinner and says that Australians will not accept a republic while Queen Elizabeth II remains Queen.
18 December –
Alex McKinnon launches a lawsuit against Melbourne Storm player Jordan McLean whose tackle left him in a wheelchair for life.
A powerful thunderstorm lashes south-east Queensland, leaving 10,000 homes without power.
36 One Nation candidates are announced.
19 December –
Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison delivers the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO), which predicted a Budget surplus for 2021, but revealed $10.4 billion extra in deficits over the next four years. Debt is expected to hit a record $648 billion by 2026. The major credit rating agencies decide to leave Australia’s AAA credit rating on hold.
The Federal Court of Australia in Perth declares One Nation Senator Rod Culleton bankrupt after he quits One Nation.
The market value of Channel 7 plummets $98 million following former executive assistant Amber Harrison’s allegations that she was paid more than $150,000 to keep quiet about an affair with CEO Tim Worner.
The Queensland Government unveils plans for the $250 million Townsville stadium.
20 December –
Former Billabong CEO Matthew Perrin is found guilty of nine counts of fraud and forgery and is to be sentenced in early 2017.
Acting New South Wales Ombudsman John McMillan rules that Cath Burn (Deputy Commissioner and counter-terrorism chief) included “misleading and inaccurate” information in documents and allowed an informant to breach bail while she led an anti-corruption investigation into police bugging.
21 December –
The Supreme Court of Queensland refuses bail to nurse Jodie Marie Powell who stands accused of the manslaughter of her 10-year-old nephew Curtis Powell in July 2015.
22 December –
West Australian Treasurer Mike Nahan releases the mid-year Budget review which reveals that Western Australia’s share of GST revenue will not rebound to 76c in the dollar by 2019-20 as had previously been hoped.
West Australian Police charge Bradley Robert Edwards with the murders of Ciara Glennon and Jane Rimmer and attacks on two teenagers in 1995 and 1988.
A bus catches fire outside Central Station Sydney.
23 December –
Australian police raid several Melbourne properties and arrest seven Arab Australian men, who were believed to be plotting a terrorist attack on several sites in Melbourne for Christmas Day.
Broome, Western Australia records its wettest December day on record with 226 mm. of rain brought about by Tropical Cyclone Yvette, beating a previous record set in 1970.
24 December –
A fourth man, Ibrahim Abbas, appears before the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court charged with preparing or planning a terrorist act on popular Melbourne landmarks on Christmas Day and is denied bail.
The Department of Immigration and Border Protection announces that a 27-year-old Sudanese refugee, Faysal Ishak Ahmed, from Manus Island Detention Centre had died in the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital after being airlifted to Australia for urgent treatment.
25 December – Queensland Rail cancels 235 train services across south-east Queensland, as well as closing the Shorncliffe line due to staff shortages.
26 December – Damaging flash floods in Central Australia are described as a “once-in-a-century weather event” by the Bureau of Meteorology.
27 December –
The South Australian Government releases three reports which address the train outage for 36 hours on 28 April, identifying contamination of a circuit breaker as the likely cause.
Tourists missing in Northern Territory floodwaters are found safe.
Randwick City Council announces a snap ban on alcohol at Sydney’s Coogee Beach and surrounding parks in response to the 15 tonnes of rubbish left by drunken revellers on Christmas Day.
A nine-year-old boy, Josiah Sisson, dies in hospital after his life support is turned off following his accident where he was hit by an alleged drink driver at Springwood, Queensland on Christmas Day.
28 December –
Woolworths sells its fuel business to BHP for $1.8 billion.
The Victorian Court of Appeal affirms the Supreme Court’s ruling that it was illegal to keep juvenile detainees in a maximum security unit at Barwon Prison and orders that the detainees must be moved by 30 December.
Former Prime Minister Bob Hawke speaks in favour of nuclear power at the Woodford Folk Festival.
30 December - A 40-year-old man is arrested and charged over making threats online targeting Sydney's New Year's Eve festivities.
31 December – More than 60 people are injured and 19 hospitalised during a human crush at the Lorne Falls Festival as fans rushing to see a headline act trigger a stampede.
Arts and literature
19 April – Charlotte Wood wins the 2016 Stella Prize for her novel The Natural Way of Things.
15 July – Louise Hearman wins the 2016 Archibald Prize for her portrait of Barry Humphries.
26 August – A. S. Patrić wins the 2016 Miles Franklin Award for his debut novel Black Rock White City.
24 January – Cycling: Simon Gerrans wins his fourth Tour Down Under from Richie Porte by 9 seconds.
30 January – Tennis: Angelique Kerber wins the 2016 Australian Open – Women's Singles, defeating defending champion Serena Williams 6-4, 3–6, 6–4.
31 January – Tennis: Novak Djokovic wins the 2016 Australian Open – Men's Singles, defeating Andy Murray 6–1, 7–5, 7–6.
20 March – Motorsport: Nico Rosberg wins the 2016 Australian Grand Prix from team-mate Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel.
1 June – Rugby League: Queensland defeats New South Wales 6-4 in the first game of the 2016 State of Origin series. 23 June – Qld. clinches the series, winning 26–16 in the second match. 13 July – NSW wins third match 18–14.
1 October – Australian rules football: Western Bulldogs defeat Sydney Swans 89-67 to win the 2016 AFL Grand Final.
2 October – Rugby League: Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks defeat Melbourne Storm 14-12 to win the 2016 NRL Grand Final.
1 November – Horse racing: Almandin, ridden by Kerrin McEvoy, wins the 2016 Melbourne Cup.
1 January – Brian Johns, 79, ABC managing director (1995–2000)
2 January – John Reid, 87, Anglican bishop
4 January – Robert Stigwood, 81, band manager (Bee Gees, Cream) and film producer (Grease, Saturday Night Fever) (died in London)
5 January – Michael Purcell, 70, rugby union player
9 January – Peter Gavin Hall, 64, statistician
10 January – Bob Oatley, 87, yachtsman and winemaker
11 January – Brian Johnson, 59, rugby league player and coach
15 January – Ken Judge, 57, Australian rules footballer (Hawthorn, Brisbane Bears) and coach (Hawthorn, West Coast Eagles)
19 January – Robert M. Carter, 73, scientist
22 January – Lois Ramsey, 93, actress
23 January – Antony Emerson, 52, tennis player (died in Newport Beach, California)
24 January – Christine Jackson, 53, cellist
26 January – Bryce Rohde, 92, jazz pianist and composer (died in San Francisco)
31 January – Lance Cox, 82, Australian rules footballer
1 February – Paul Pholeros, 62, architect
4 February – Sonia Borg, 85, screenwriter
5 February – John Hirst, 73, historian
9 February –
Bob Halverson, 78, politician, Speaker of the House of Representatives (1996–1998)
Alethea McGrath, 96, actress
11 February – Arthur Tunstall, 93, sport administrator
26 February – John Kidd, 68, Paralympic athlete
2 March – Roger Hickman, 61, yachtsman
3 March – Sarah Tait, 33, Olympic rower
5 March – Paul Couch, 51, Australian rules footballer (Geelong).
7 March –
Gary Braasch, 70, American photojournalist
Des O'Reilly, 61, rugby league player
8 March – Ross Hannaford, 65, musician (Daddy Cool)
9 March – Jon English, 66, musician and actor
12 March – John Caldwell, 87, demographer
15 March – Better Loosen Up, 30, racehorse
3 April –
Bob Ellis, 73, writer
Ronald Mulkearns, 85, bishop
5 April – Kerrie Lester, 62, painter
7 April – Freda Briggs, 85, child protection expert
13 April – Rex Patterson, 89, politician
16 April - 17 April – Ken Aldred, 70, politician
17 April –
Tiga Bayles, 62, broadcaster and indigenous rights activist
Bruce Mansfield, 71, broadcaster
20 April – Dame Leonie Kramer, 91, academic
23 April – Inge King, 100, sculptor
25 April – Tom Lewis, 94, Premier of New South Wales (1975–1976)
30 April – Merv Lincoln, 82, middle-distance runner
2 May –
John Kaye, 60, New South Wales politician
Myles McKeon, 97, Roman Catholic bishop
6 May – Reg Grundy, 92, media executive (died in Bermuda)
15 May – Oscar Whitbread, 86, television producer
16 May –
Romaldo Giurgola, 95, architect (Parliament House, Canberra)
Gillian Mears, 51, writer
17 May – Benjamin de Roo, 76, Olympic gymnast
18 May – Ian Watkin, 76, New Zealand actor
24 May – Lewis Fiander, 78, actor
2 June – Sir John Pidgeon, 89, property developer
3 June –
Mac Cocker, radio presenter
Murray Murrell, 93, Australian rules footballer
18 June – Paul Cox, 76, film director
23 June – Eoin Cameron, 65, radio announcer and politician
24 June – Greg Pierce, 66, rugby league player (Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks)
29 June – John Farquharson, 86, journalist
5 July – Cory Taylor, 61, writer
9 July –
Judy Canty, 84, Olympic long jumper
Frank Johnson, 84, Australian rules footballer
10 July – Adrian Monger, 83, Olympic rower
12 July – Peter Johnson, 78, rugby union player
15 July –
Susan Renouf, 74, socialite
Billy Marshall Stoneking, 68, poet and playwright
21 July – Jen Jacobs, 60, cricketer
23 July – Alan Goldberg, 75, Federal Court judge
28 July – Vivean Gray, 92, actress (Ida Jessup in The Sullivans and Mrs Mangel in Neighbours)
2 August – Forbes Carlile, 95, Olympian and head Australian swimming coach
4 August – Bruce Burrell, 63, convicted double murderer
6 August – Midget Farrelly, 71, first World Surfing Champion
16 August –
Andrew Florent, 45, tennis player
Ken Thornett, 78, international rugby league player
1 September – Len Maddocks, 90, cricketer
2 September –
Neville Crowe, 70, Australian rules footballer (Richmond)
Chilla Wilson, 85, international rugby union captain and manager
4 September – Richard Neville, 74, writer and editor
8 September – Inga Clendinnen, 82, historian
11 September –
Norman May, 88, sports broadcaster
Ken Sparkes, 76, radio and television personality
21 September – John Mulvaney, 90, archaeologist
22 September – John Siddons, 88, politician
24 September –
Klaus Moje, 79, glass artist
Bill Mollison, 88, permaculturist
28 September – Max Walker, 68, Australian rules footballer, cricketer and media commentator
4 October – Terry Butler, 58, rugby league player
7 October –
Rebecca Wilson, 54, sports journalist
Ross Higgins, 85, actor (Kingswood Country)
8 October – John Gleeson, 78, Test cricketer
9 October – Bored Nothing, 26, musician
12 October – Des Ball, 69, defence and security expert
13 October – Donald M. Phillips, 87, Canadian politician
17 October – Laurie Dwyer, 77, Australian rules footballer (North Melbourne)
21 October – Richard Nicoll, 39, fashion designer
12 November – Bob Francis, 77, radio broadcaster
18 November – Hugh McDonald, 62, musician (Redgum)
22 November – Peter Sumner, 74, actor
29 November –
Bill Barrot, 72, Australian rules footballer (Richmond)
Allan Zavod, 71, musician and composer
1 December – Peter Corrigan, 75, architect
9 December –
Georgia Blain, 51, author
Mario Milano, 81, professional wrestler
12 December – Anne Deveson, 86, writer and broadcaster
14 December – Harvey Stevens, 86, Australian rules footballer
16 December – Joyce Dalton, 83, cricketer
2016 in Australia Wikipedia (Text) CC BY-SA
