View source for Australia

{{Short description|Country in Oceania}}
{{About|the country|the continent|Australia (continent)|other uses}}
{{Distinguish|Australasia|Austrasia|Austria}}
{{pp|small=yes}}
{{Featured article}}
{{Use Australian English|date=May 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{Infobox country
| conventional_long_name = Commonwealth of Australia
| common_name            = Australia
| image_flag             = Flag of Australia (converted).svg
| alt_flag               = A blue field with the Union Flag in the upper hoist quarter, a large white seven-pointed star in the lower hoist quarter, and constellation of five white stars in the fly – one small five-pointed star and four, larger, seven-pointed stars.
| image_coat             = Coat of Arms of Australia.svg
| alt_coat               = <!--alt text for coat of arms-->
| national_anthem        = "[[Advance Australia Fair]]"{{Lower|0.2em|{{Refn|Australia also has a [[Honors music|royal anthem]], "[[God Save the King]]", which may be played in place of or alongside the national anthem when members of the [[House of Windsor|royal family]] are present. If not played alongside the royal anthem, the national anthem is instead played at the end of an official event.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Australian National Anthem |url=https://www.pmc.gov.au/honours-and-symbols/australian-national-symbols/australian-national-anthem |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231027193111/https://www.pmc.gov.au/honours-and-symbols/australian-national-symbols/australian-national-anthem |archive-date=27 October 2023 |access-date=9 January 2024 |website=Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet}}</ref>|name="anthem explanation"|group="N"}}<!--end lower:-->}}<br /> <div style="display:inline-block;margin-top:0.4em;">{{Center|[[File:Advance_Australia_Fair.ogg]]}}</div>
| image_map              = Australia with AAT (orthographic projection).svg
| map_caption            = {{Legend|#316831|Commonwealth of Australia}}
{{Legend|#8DC78C|[[Australian Antarctic Territory|Australian territorial claim in Antarctica]]}}
| alt_map                = A map of the eastern hemisphere centred on Australia, using an orthographic projection.
| capital                = [[Canberra]]
| coordinates            = {{Nowrap|{{Coord|35|18|29|S|149|07|28|E|type:city_region:AU}}}}
| largest_city           = [[Sydney]] (metropolitan)<br />[[Melbourne]] (urban){{Refn|Sydney is the largest city based on Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Greater Capital City Statistical Areas (GCCSAs). These represent labour markets and the functional area of Australian capital cities.<ref name="ABS-regional-population-2022">{{cite web |title=Regional population, 2021-22 financial year |url=https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/regional-population/2021-22 |date=20 April 2023 |publisher=Australian Bureau of Statistics |access-date=27 May 2023 |archive-date=20 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420020126/https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/regional-population/2021-22 |url-status=live }}</ref> Melbourne is larger based on ABS Significant Urban Areas (SUAs). These represent Urban Centres, or groups of contiguous Urban Centres, that contain a population of 10,000 people or more.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Turnbull |first1=Tiffanie |title=Melbourne overtakes Sydney as Australia's biggest city |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-65261720 |access-date=27 May 2023 |work=BBC News |date=17 April 2023 |archive-date=21 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230521093900/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-65261720 |url-status=live }}</ref>|group="N"}}<!-- See discussion on the talk page -->
| languages_type         = [[Official language]] and [[National language|national language]]
| languages              = [[Australian English|English]] (''[[de facto]]'')<br>none (''[[de jure]]'')
| languages2_type        = 
| languages2             = 
| demonym                = {{Hlist|[[Australians|Australian]]<br />[[Aussie]] (colloquial){{Refn|Pronounced "Ozzy"}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Aussie |url=https://www.macquariedictionary.com.au/features/word/search/?search_word_type=Dictionary&word=aussie |url-access=subscription |access-date=8 February 2024 |website=[[Macquarie Dictionary]] |date=16 October 2023 |archive-date=10 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610132406/https://www.macquariedictionary.com.au/?time=1718025846039 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Collins English Dictionary |year=2009 |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |location=Bishopbriggs, Glasgow |isbn=978-0-0078-6171-2 |page=18 |title-link=Collins English Dictionary }}</ref><!--end hlist:-->}}
| religion               = {{Ublist |item_style=white-space:nowrap;
 |title = [[Religion in Australia|Various]]
 |43.9% [[Christianity in Australia|Christianity]]
 |38.9% [[Irreligion in Australia|no religion]]
 |3.2% [[Islam in Australia|Islam]]
 |2.7% [[Hinduism in Australia|Hinduism]]
 |2.4% [[Buddhism in Australia|Buddhism]]
 |1.7% [[Religion in Australia#Other religions|other]]
 |7.2% unanswered{{Refn|The religion question is optional in the Australian census.|group="N"}}
}}
| religion_year          = [[2021 Australian census|2021]]
| religion_ref           = <ref name="Australian-Bureau-of-Statistics-2022"/>
| government_type        = [[Federalism|Federal]] parliamentary [[constitutional monarchy]]
| leader_title1          = [[Monarchy of Australia|Monarch]]
| leader_name1           = [[Charles III]]
| leader_title2          = {{Nowrap|[[Governor-General of Australia|Governor-General]]}}
| leader_name2           = [[Sam Mostyn]]
| leader_title3          = [[Prime Minister of Australia|Prime Minister]]
| leader_name3           = [[Anthony Albanese]]
| legislature            = [[Parliament of Australia|Parliament]]
| upper_house            = [[Australian Senate|Senate]]
| lower_house            = [[Australian House of Representatives|House of Representatives]]
| sovereignty_type       = [[Independence]]
| sovereignty_note       = from the [[United Kingdom]]
| established_event1     = [[Federation of Australia|Federation]] and creation of the [[Constitution of Australia|Constitution]]
| established_date1      = 1 January 1901
| established_event2     = [[Balfour Declaration of 1926|Balfour Declaration]]
| established_date2      = 15 November 1926
| established_event3     = [[Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942|Statute of Westminster Adoption Act]]
| established_date3      = 9 October 1942
| established_event4     = [[Australia Acts]]
| established_date4      = 3 March 1986
| area_km2               = 7,688,287<ref name="Geoscience-Australia-2014">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/national-location-information/dimensions/area-of-australia-states-and-territories|title=Area of Australia - States and Territories|date=27 June 2014|website=Geoscience Australia|access-date=18 February 2024|archive-date=18 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240118174336/https://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/national-location-information/dimensions/area-of-australia-states-and-territories|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Factbook-Geography">{{Cite CIA World Factbook |country=Australia |section=Geography |access-date=16 August 2024}}</ref><ref name="Organisation-for-Economic-Cooperation-and-Development-OECD">{{Cite web|title=Surface water and surface water change|access-date=11 October 2020|publisher=[[Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development]] (OECD)|url=https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=SURFACE_WATER|archive-date=24 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210324133453/https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=SURFACE_WATER|url-status=live}}</ref>{{efn|name=area|In 1981, Australia's land area was 7,741,220 km2. In 2004, it was 7,692,024 km2. In 2023, it is 7,688,287 km2}}
| area_rank              = 6th
| percent_water          = 1.79 (2015)<ref name="Organisation-for-Economic-Cooperation-and-Development-OECD"/>
| population_estimate    = {{IncreaseNeutral}} {{Data Australia|poptoday|formatnum}}<ref name="popclock">{{Cite web|url=https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/population-clock-pyramid|title=Population clock and pyramid|work=[[Australian Bureau of Statistics]] website|date=5 March 2024|publisher=Commonwealth of Australia|access-date=5 March 2024|archive-date=8 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240208102513/https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/population-clock-pyramid|url-status=live}} The population estimate shown is automatically calculated daily at 00:00 UTC and is based on data obtained from the population clock on the date shown in the citation.</ref>
| population_census      = {{IncreaseNeutral}} 25,890,773<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/national-state-and-territory-population/mar-2022|title=National, state and territory population|publisher=Australian Bureau of Statistics|date=26 September 2022|access-date=26 September 2022|archive-date=21 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221121204624/https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/national-state-and-territory-population/mar-2022|url-status=live}}</ref>
| population_estimate_year = {{CURRENTYEAR}}
| population_estimate_rank = 54th
| population_census_year = 2021
| population_density_km2 = {{#expr:{{Data Australia|poptoday}} / 7692024 round 1}}
| population_density_rank = 244th
| GDP_PPP                = {{increase}} $1.791 trillion<ref name="IMFWEO.AU">{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2024/April/weo-report?c=193,&s=NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPDPC,PPPPC,&sy=2022&ey=2029&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1 |title=World Economic Outlook Database, April 2024 Edition. (Australia) |publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]] |website=www.imf.org |date=16 April 2024 |access-date=16 April 2024 |archive-date=16 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240416233556/https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2024/April/weo-report?c=193,&s=NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPDPC,PPPPC,&sy=2022&ey=2029&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| GDP_PPP_year           = 2024
| GDP_PPP_rank           = 20th
| GDP_PPP_per_capita     = {{increase}} $66,627<ref name="IMFWEO.AU" />
| GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 23rd
| GDP_nominal            = {{increase}} $1.790 trillion<ref name="IMFWEO.AU" />
| GDP_nominal_year       = 2024
| GDP_nominal_rank       = 13th
| GDP_nominal_per_capita = {{increase}} $66,589<ref name="IMFWEO.AU" />
| GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 10th
| Gini                   = 32.4
| Gini_year              = 2020
| Gini_change            = decrease <!--increase/decrease/steady-->
| Gini_ref               = <ref>{{Cite web |title=Australia Gini Coefficient, 1995 – 2023 {{!}} CEIC Data |url=https://www.ceicdata.com/en/indicator/australia/gini-coefficient |access-date=4 March 2024 |website=www.ceicdata.com |archive-date=4 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240304002624/https://www.ceicdata.com/en/indicator/australia/gini-coefficient |url-status=live }}</ref>
| HDI                    = 0.946<!--number only-->
| HDI_year               = 2022<!-- Please use the year to which the data refers, not the publication year-->
| HDI_change             = decrease<!--increase/decrease/steady-->
| HDI_ref                = <ref>{{cite web|url=https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2023-24reporten.pdf|title=Human Development Report 2023/24|language=en|publisher=[[United Nations Development Programme]]|date=13 March 2024|access-date=13 March 2024|archive-date=13 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240313164319/https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2023-24reporten.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
| HDI_rank               = 10th
| currency               = [[Australian dollar]] ($)
| currency_code          = AUD
| time_zone              = [[Time in Australia|AWST, ACST, AEST]]<ref name="time" group="N">There are minor variations from three basic time zones; see [[Time in Australia]].</ref>
| utc_offset             = +8; +9.5; +10
| time_zone_DST          = [[Time in Australia|ACDT, AEDT]]<ref name="time" group="N"/>
| utc_offset_DST         = +10.5; +11
| DST_note               = [[Daylight saving time|DST]] not observed in Qld, WA and NT
| date_format            = {{Abbr|dd|day}}/{{Abbr|mm|month}}/{{Abbr|yyyy|year}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Australian Government |date=March 2023 |title=Dates and time |url=https://www.stylemanual.gov.au/grammar-punctuation-and-conventions/numbers-and-measurements/dates-and-time |access-date=6 May 2023 |website=Style Manual |archive-date=29 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230529074659/https://www.stylemanual.gov.au/grammar-punctuation-and-conventions/numbers-and-measurements/dates-and-time |url-status=live }}</ref>
| drives_on              = left
| calling_code           = [[Telephone numbers in Australia|+61]]
| cctld                  = [[.au]]
}}
<!-- PLEASE USE AUSTRALIAN ENGLISH THROUGHOUT, i.e. use "centre" instead of "center"; "neighbour" rather than "neighbor", etc.; and maximise the use of "-is-" and "-ys-" (as in "organise" and "analyse") rather than "-iz-" or "-yz-" ("organize", "analyze"). The dash style is unspaced em dash, write {{Mdash}}, not spaced en dash. -->

'''Australia''', officially the '''Commonwealth of Australia''',<ref>''[[Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act]]'' (Imp) 63 & 64 Vict, c 12, [https://www8.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/legis/cth/consol_act/coaca430/s3.html s 3] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240109071637/https://www8.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/legis/cth/consol_act/coaca430/s3.html |date=9 January 2024 }}</ref> is a country comprising the [[mainland Australia|mainland]] of the [[Australia (continent)|Australian continent]], the island of [[Tasmania]], and numerous [[list of islands of Australia|smaller islands]].{{Refn|[[Australian Antarctic Territory|41% of the Antarctic continent is also claimed by the country]], however this is only recognised by the UK, France, New Zealand and Norway.}} It is the largest country by area in [[Oceania]] and the [[list of countries and dependencies by area|sixth-largest country]] in the world. Australia is the oldest,<ref>{{Cite journal|author=Korsch RJ. |display-authors=et al |year=2011 |title=Australian island arcs through time: Geodynamic implications for the Archean and Proterozoic |journal=Gondwana Research|volume=19|issue=3|pages=716–734|doi=10.1016/j.gr.2010.11.018|bibcode=2011GondR..19..716K | issn=1342-937X }}</ref> flattest,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Map-from-above-shows-Australia-is-a-very-flat-place/2005/01/21/1106110947946.html |title=Map from above shows Australia is a very flat place |date=21 January 2005 |last=Macey |first=Richard |work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |access-date=5 April 2010 |issn=0312-6315 |oclc=226369741 |archive-date=10 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010152047/http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Map-from-above-shows-Australia-is-a-very-flat-place/2005/01/21/1106110947946.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and driest inhabited continent,<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Australian continent |url=https://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/our-country/the-australian-continent |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200313202829/https://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/our-country/the-australian-continent |archive-date=13 March 2020 |access-date=13 August 2018 |website=australia.gov.au |publisher=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/national-location-information/landforms/deserts |title=Deserts |work=Geoscience Australia |publisher=Australian Government |access-date=13 August 2018 |date=15 May 2014 |archive-date=5 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140605132206/http://www.ga.gov.au/education/geoscience-basics/landforms/deserts.html |url-status=live }}</ref> with the least fertile soils.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/quantum/info/q95-19-5.htm |title=A Chat with Tim Flannery on Population Control |last=Kelly |first=Karina |publisher=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] |date=13 September 1995 |access-date=23 April 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100113095438/http://www.abc.net.au/quantum/info/q95-19-5.htm |archive-date=13 January 2010}} "Well, Australia has by far the world's least fertile soils".</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Damaged Dirt |work=[[The Advertiser (Adelaide)|The Advertiser]] |last=Grant |first=Cameron |url=http://www.1degree.com.au/files/AdvertiserPartworks_Part3_Page8.pdf?download=1&filename=AdvertiserPartworks_Part3_Page8.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706100423/http://www.1degree.com.au/files/AdvertiserPartworks_Part3_Page8.pdf?download=1&filename=AdvertiserPartworks_Part3_Page8.pdf |archive-date=6 July 2011 |date=August 2007 |access-date=23 April 2010 |quote=Australia has the oldest, most highly weathered soils on the planet.}}</ref> It is a [[megadiverse countries|megadiverse country]], and its size gives it a wide variety of landscapes and climates including [[deserts of Australia|deserts]] and [[forests of Australia|tropical rainforests]].

The ancestors of [[Aboriginal Australians]] began arriving from [[south-east Asia]] 50,000 to 65,000 years ago, during the [[Last Glacial Period|last glacial period]].<ref name="ClarksonJacobs2017">{{Cite journal|last1=Clarkson|first1=Chris|last2=Jacobs|first2=Zenobia|last3=Marwick|first3=Ben|last4=Fullagar|first4=Richard|last5=Wallis|first5=Lynley|last6=Smith|first6=Mike|last7=Roberts|first7=Richard G.|last8=Hayes|first8=Elspeth|last9=Lowe|first9=Kelsey|last10=Carah|first10=Xavier|last11=Florin|first11=S. Anna|last12=McNeil|first12=Jessica|last13=Cox|first13=Delyth|last14=Arnold|first14=Lee J.|last15=Hua|first15=Quan|last16=Huntley|first16=Jillian|last17=Brand|first17=Helen E. A.|last18=Manne|first18=Tiina|last19=Fairbairn|first19=Andrew|last20=Shulmeister|first20=James|last21=Lyle|first21=Lindsey|last22=Salinas|first22=Makiah|last23=Page|first23=Mara|last24=Connell|first24=Kate|last25=Park|first25=Gayoung|last26=Norman|first26=Kasih|last27=Murphy|first27=Tessa|last28=Pardoe|first28=Colin |title=Human occupation of northern Australia by 65,000 years ago|journal=Nature|volume=547|issue=7663|year=2017|pages=306–310|issn=0028-0836|doi=10.1038/nature22968|pmid=28726833|bibcode=2017Natur.547..306C|hdl=2440/107043|s2cid=205257212|hdl-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Veth" /><ref name="Williams-2021">{{cite journal |last1=Williams |first1=Martin A. J. |last2=Spooner |first2=Nigel A. |last3=McDonnell |first3=Kathryn |last4=O'Connell |first4=James F. |date=January 2021 |title=Identifying disturbance in archaeological sites in tropical northern Australia: Implications for previously proposed 65,000-year continental occupation date |journal=Geoarchaeology |language=en |volume=36 |issue=1 |pages=92–108 |bibcode=2021Gearc..36...92W |doi=10.1002/gea.21822 |issn=0883-6353 |s2cid=225321249 |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/gea.21822 |url-access= |access-date=16 October 2023 |archive-date=4 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231004091731/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/gea.21822 |url-status=live }}</ref> They settled on the continent and formed approximately 250 distinct language groups by the time of European settlement, maintaining some of the longest known continuing [[Indigenous Australian art|artistic]] and [[The Dreaming|religious traditions]] in the world.<ref name="Flood" /> Australia's [[history of Australia|written history]] commenced with [[European maritime exploration of Australia|Dutch exploration]] of most of the coastline in the 17th-century. British colonisation began in 1788 with the establishment of the penal [[colony of New South Wales]]. By the mid-19th century, most of the continent had been explored by European settlers and five additional self-governing [[Crown colony|British colonies]] were established, each gaining [[responsible government]] by 1890. The colonies [[Federation of Australia|federated]] in 1901, forming the Commonwealth of Australia.<ref name="Contiades Fotiadou 2020 p. 389"/> This continued a process of increasing autonomy from the United Kingdom, highlighted by the ''[[Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942]]'', and culminating in the [[Australia Acts]] of 1986.<ref name="Contiades Fotiadou 2020 p. 389">{{Cite book | last1=Contiades | first1=X. | last2=Fotiadou | first2=A. | title=Routledge Handbook of Comparative Constitutional Change | publisher=Taylor & Francis | year=2020 | isbn=978-1-3510-2097-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GmoPEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA389 | page=389 | access-date=17 July 2023 | archive-date=19 April 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230419202011/https://books.google.com/books?id=GmoPEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA389 | url-status=live }}</ref>

Australia is a [[federalism in Australia|federal]] [[parliamentary democracy]] and [[constitutional monarchy]] comprising [[states and territories of Australia|six states and ten territories]]. Its population of over {{#expr:{{Data Australia|poptoday}} / 1000000 round 0}} million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard.<ref name="popclock"/><ref>{{Cite web |url= http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/1301.0~2012~Main%20Features~Geographic%20distribution%20of%20the%20population~49 |title= Geographic Distribution of the Population |access-date= 1 December 2012 |date= 24 May 2012 |archive-date= 14 April 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210414084634/https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/1301.0~2012~Main%20Features~Geographic%20distribution%20of%20the%20population~49 |url-status= live }}</ref> [[Canberra]] is the nation's capital, while [[List of cities in Australia by population|its most populous cities]] are [[Sydney]] and [[Melbourne]], both with a population of over 5 million.<ref name="ABS-regional-population-latest">{{Cite web |date=20 April 2023 |title=Regional population |url=https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/regional-population/latest-release |access-date=23 April 2023 |website=Australian Bureau of Statistics |archive-date=10 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231010145251/https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/regional-population/latest-release |url-status=live }}</ref> Australia is [[Culture of Australia|culturally]] diverse and has one of the highest foreign-born populations in the world.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024 |title=Culturally and linguistically Diverse Australian |url=https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports-data/population-groups/cald-australians/overview |access-date=20 February 2024 |website=Australian Government, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare |archive-date=19 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240219224057/https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports-data/population-groups/cald-australians/overview |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=O'Donnell |first=James |date=27 November 2023 |title=Is Australia a cohesive nation? |url=https://www.abc.net.au/religion/social-cohesion-australia-diversity-inequality-threats/103133458 |access-date=21 February 2024 |website=ABC Australia |archive-date=20 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240220034741/https://www.abc.net.au/religion/social-cohesion-australia-diversity-inequality-threats/103133458 |url-status=live }}</ref> It has a [[Developed Countries|highly developed]] market economy and [[List of countries by GNI (PPP) per capita|one of the highest per capita incomes]] globally.<ref>{{Cite web |date=6 September 2015 |title=World Economic Outlook Database, April 2015 |url=http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2015/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=39&pr.y=6&sy=2012&ey=2012&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=512,668,914,672,612,946,614,137,311,962,213,674,911,676,193,548,122,556,912,678,313,181,419,867,513,682,316,684,913,273,124,868,339,921,638,948,514,943,218,686,963,688,616,518,223,728,516,558,918,138,748,196,618,278,522,692,622,694,156,142,624,449,626,564,628,565,228,283,924,853,233,288,632,293,636,566,634,964,238,182,662,453,960,968,423,922,935,714,128,862,611,135,321,716,243,456,248,722,469,942,253,718,642,724,643,576,939,936,644,961,819,813,172,199,132,733,646,184,648,524,915,361,134,362,652,364,174,732,328,366,258,734,656,144,654,146,336,463,263,528,268,923,532,738,944,578,176,537,534,742,536,866,429,369,433,744,178,186,436,925,136,869,343,746,158,926,439,466,916,112,664,111,826,298,542,927,967,846,443,299,917,582,544,474,941,754,446,698,666&s=NGDPDPC&grp=0&a= |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906100138/http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2015/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=39&pr.y=6&sy=2012&ey=2012&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=512,668,914,672,612,946,614,137,311,962,213,674,911,676,193,548,122,556,912,678,313,181,419,867,513,682,316,684,913,273,124,868,339,921,638,948,514,943,218,686,963,688,616,518,223,728,516,558,918,138,748,196,618,278,522,692,622,694,156,142,624,449,626,564,628,565,228,283,924,853,233,288,632,293,636,566,634,964,238,182,662,453,960,968,423,922,935,714,128,862,611,135,321,716,243,456,248,722,469,942,253,718,642,724,643,576,939,936,644,961,819,813,172,199,132,733,646,184,648,524,915,361,134,362,652,364,174,732,328,366,258,734,656,144,654,146,336,463,263,528,268,923,532,738,944,578,176,537,534,742,536,866,429,369,433,744,178,186,436,925,136,869,343,746,158,926,439,466,916,112,664,111,826,298,542,927,967,846,443,299,917,582,544,474,941,754,446,698,666&s=NGDPDPC&grp=0&a= |archive-date=6 September 2015 |access-date=1 April 2019 |publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022 |title=Human Development Report 2021-22 |url=https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2021-22pdf_1.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220908114232/http://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2021-22pdf_1.pdf |archive-date=8 September 2022 |access-date=9 September 2022 |website=United Nations Development Programme}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=31 October 2011 |title=Australians the world's wealthiest |url=https://www.smh.com.au/executive-style/luxury/australians-the-worlds-wealthiest-20111101-1mt2r.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140710153747/http://www.smh.com.au/executive-style/luxury/australians-the-worlds-wealthiest-20111101-1mt2r.html |archive-date=10 July 2014 |access-date=24 July 2012 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref> Its abundant natural resources and well-developed international trade relations are crucial to the country's economy.  It [[International rankings of Australia|ranks highly]] for quality of life, health, education, economic freedom, civil liberties and political rights.<ref name="Global Australia 2021">{{Cite web | title=Statistics and rankings | website=Global Australia | date=18 May 2021 | url=https://www.globalaustralia.gov.au/why-australia/statistics-and-rankings | access-date=28 March 2023 | archive-date=28 March 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230328003912/https://www.globalaustralia.gov.au/why-australia/statistics-and-rankings | url-status=live }}</ref>

Australia is a [[middle power]], and has the world's [[List of countries by military expenditures|thirteenth-highest military expenditure]].<ref name="Lowy">{{Cite report |url=https://power.lowyinstitute.org/downloads/lowy-institute-2023-asia-power-index-key-findings-report.pdf |title=Lowy Institute Asian Power Index |date=2023 |page=29 |isbn=978-0-6480189-3-3 |access-date=4 February 2024 |archive-date=20 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240220212559/https://power.lowyinstitute.org/downloads/lowy-institute-2023-asia-power-index-key-findings-report.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Trends in World Military Expenditure, 2017 |url=https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/2018-04/sipri_fs_1805_milex_2017.pdf |website=www.sipri.org |access-date=12 August 2018 |archive-date=2 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180502201938/https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/2018-04/sipri_fs_1805_milex_2017.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> It is a member of international groups including the United Nations; the [[G20]]; the [[OECD]]; the [[World Trade Organization]]; [[Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation]]; the [[Pacific Islands Forum]]; the [[Pacific Community]]; the [[Commonwealth of Nations]]; and the defence and security organisations [[ANZUS]], [[AUKUS]], and the [[Five Eyes]]. It is also a [[major non-NATO ally]] of the United States.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rachman |first=Gideon |date=13 March 2023 |title=Aukus, the Anglosphere and the return of great power rivalry |url=https://www.ft.com/content/e4abd866-54cb-4923-9a66-ebb5b5ed67bf |url-access=subscription |access-date=19 March 2023 |work=Financial Times |archive-date=20 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230320005932/https://www.ft.com/content/e4abd866-54cb-4923-9a66-ebb5b5ed67bf |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Etymology==
{{Main|Name of Australia}}

The name ''Australia'' (pronounced {{IPAc-en|ə|ˈ|s|t|r|eɪ|l|i|ə}} in [[Australian English]]<ref>Australian pronunciations: ''[[Macquarie Dictionary]], Fourth Edition'' (2005) Melbourne, The Macquarie Library Pty Ltd. {{ISBN|978-1-876429-14-0}}</ref>) is derived from the Latin {{Lang|la|[[Terra Australis]]}} ({{Gloss|southern land}}), a name used for a hypothetical continent in the Southern Hemisphere since ancient times.<ref>{{Cite web|title=australia {{pipe}} Etymology, origin and meaning of the name australia by etymonline|url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/australia|access-date=15 January 2022|website=www.etymonline.com|language=en|archive-date=29 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220129005011/https://www.etymonline.com/word/Australia|url-status=live}}</ref> Several 16th-century cartographers used the word Australia on maps, but not to identify modern Australia.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Clarke |first1=Jacqueline |last2=Clarke |first2=Philip |date=10 August 2014 |title=Putting 'Australia' on the map |url=http://theconversation.com/putting-australia-on-the-map-29816 |access-date=15 January 2022 |website=The Conversation |language=en |archive-date=2 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220302195128/https://theconversation.com/putting-australia-on-the-map-29816 |url-status=live }}</ref> When Europeans began visiting and mapping Australia in the 17th century, the name {{Lang|la|Terra Australis}} was applied to the new territories.{{Refn|The earliest recorded use of the word ''Australia'' in English was in 1625 in "A note of Australia del Espíritu Santo, written by Sir [[Richard Hakluyt]]", published by [[Samuel Purchas]] in ''Hakluytus Posthumus'', a corruption of the original Spanish name "Austrialia del Espíritu Santo" (Southern Land of the Holy Spirit)<ref>[http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/discover_collections/history_nation/queiros/index.html "He named it Austrialia del Espiritu Santo and claimed it for Spain"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130817051612/http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/discover_collections/history_nation/queiros/index.html |date=17 August 2013}} ''The Spanish quest for Terra Australis|State Library of New South Wales Page 1''</ref><ref>[http://rupertgerritsen.tripod.com/pdf/published/Austrialia_Globe_72_2013_pp23-30.pdf "A note on 'Austrialia' or 'Australia' Rupert Gerritsen – Journal of The Australian and New Zealand Map Society Inc. The Globe Number 72, 2013] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160612021158/http://rupertgerritsen.tripod.com/pdf/published/Austrialia_Globe_72_2013_pp23-30.pdf|date=12 June 2016}} ''Posesion en nombre de Su Magestad (Archivo del Museo Naval, Madrid, MS 951) p. 3''.</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article63620938|title=The Illustrated Sydney News|newspaper=Illustrated Sydney News|date=26 January 1888|access-date=29 January 2012|page=2|publisher=National Library of Australia|archive-date=11 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231011073045/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/63620938|url-status=live}}</ref> for an island in [[Vanuatu]].<ref>Purchas, vol. iv, pp. 1422–1432, 1625</ref> The Dutch adjectival form ''australische'' was used in a Dutch book in [[History of Jakarta|Batavia]] ([[Jakarta]]) in 1638, to refer to the newly discovered lands to the south.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DDNEle_1NzkC&pg=PA299|page=299|last=Scott|first=Ernest|orig-year=1914|title=The Life of Captain Matthew Flinders|isbn=978-1-4191-6948-9|year=2004|publisher=Kessinger Publishing|access-date=17 July 2023|archive-date=10 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610132503/https://books.google.com/books?id=DDNEle_1NzkC&pg=PA299|url-status=live}}</ref>|group="N"}}

Until the early 19th century, Australia was best known as ''[[New Holland (Australia)|New Holland]]'', a name first applied by the Dutch explorer [[Abel Tasman]] in 1644 (as {{Lang|nl|Nieuw-Holland}}) and subsequently anglicised. {{Lang|la|Terra Australis}} still saw occasional usage, such as in scientific texts.{{Refn|For instance, the 1814 work ''[[A Voyage to Terra Australis]]''|group="N"}} The name ''Australia'' was popularised by the explorer [[Matthew Flinders]], who said it was "more agreeable to the ear, and an assimilation to the names of the other great portions of the Earth".<ref>Flinders, Matthew (1814) ''[[A Voyage to Terra Australis]]'' G. and W. Nicol</ref> The first time that ''Australia'' appears to have been officially used was in April 1817, when Governor [[Lachlan Macquarie]] acknowledged the receipt of Flinders' charts of Australia from [[Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst|Lord Bathurst]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article58549315|title=Who Named Australia?|newspaper=The Mail (Adelaide, South Australia)|location=Adelaide|date=11 February 1928|access-date=14 February 2012|page=16|publisher=National Library of Australia|archive-date=17 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417085724/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/58549315|url-status=live}}</ref> In December 1817, Macquarie recommended to the [[Colonial Office]] that it be formally adopted.<ref>Weekend Australian, 30–31 December 2000, p. 16</ref> In 1824, the [[British Admiralty|Admiralty]] agreed that the continent should be known officially by that name.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Department of Immigration and Citizenship |title=Life in Australia|publisher=Commonwealth of Australia|year=2007|page=11|isbn=978-1-9214-4630-6|url=http://www.immi.gov.au/living-in-australia/values/book/english/lia_english_part1.pdf |access-date=30 March 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091017070336/http://www.immi.gov.au/living-in-australia/values/book/english/lia_english_part1.pdf |archive-date=17 October 2009}}</ref> The first official published use of the new name came with the publication in 1830 of ''The Australia Directory'' by the [[United Kingdom Hydrographic Office|Hydrographic Office]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Coman|first=Brian J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P5m4zNxaaSUC&pg=PA40|title=A Loose Canon: Essays on History, Modernity and Tradition|date=2007|publisher=Connor Court Publishing Pty Ltd|isbn=978-0-9802-9362-3|language=en|access-date=17 July 2023|archive-date=27 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327193458/https://books.google.com/books?id=P5m4zNxaaSUC&pg=PA40|url-status=live}}</ref>

Colloquial names for Australia include "[[Name of Australia#Oz|Oz]]", "[[Straya]]" and "[[Down Under]]".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Straya |url=http://macquariedictionary.com.au/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=12 February 2024 |website=[[Macquarie Dictionary]] |archive-date=9 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240209174709/https://www.macquariedictionary.com.au/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Other epithets include "the Great Southern Land", "[[the Lucky Country]]", "the Sunburnt Country", and "the Wide Brown Land". The latter two both derive from [[Dorothea Mackellar]]'s 1908 poem "[[My Country]]".<ref>{{Cite web|last1=School|first1=Head of|last2=admin.hal@anu.edu.au|title=Australian National Dictionary Centre|url=https://slll.cass.anu.edu.au/centres/andc|access-date=15 January 2022|website=ANU School of Literature, Languages and Linguistics|language=en|archive-date=12 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110312000501/http://www.anu.edu.au/ANDC/pubs/ozwords/June_98/2._aitch.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

==History==
{{Main|History of Australia}}
{{For timeline|Timeline of Australian history}}

=== Indigenous prehistory ===
{{Main|Prehistory of Australia|Indigenous Australians}}
[[File:Bradshaw rock paintings.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|right|[[Aboriginal rock art]] in the [[Kimberley (Western Australia)|Kimberley]] region of Western Australia]]

[[Indigenous Australians]] comprise two broad groups: 
* [[Aboriginal Australians]], who are the various [[Indigenous peoples]] of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, including [[Aboriginal Tasmanians|Tasmania]]
* [[Torres Strait Islanders]], who are a distinct [[Melanesia]]n people of [[Torres Strait Islands]]

Human habitation of the Australian continent is estimated to have begun 50,000 to 65,000 years ago,<ref name="ClarksonJacobs2017" /><ref name="Nunn2018">{{Cite book|first=Patrick|last=Nunn|title=The Edge of Memory: Ancient Stories, Oral Tradition and the Post-Glacial World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z4xaDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT16|year=2018|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=978-1-4729-4327-9|page=16|access-date=17 July 2023|archive-date=3 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203142811/https://books.google.com/books?id=Z4xaDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT16#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="FaganDurrani2018">{{Cite book|first1=Brian M.|last1=Fagan|first2=Nadia|last2=Durrani|title=People of the Earth: An Introduction to World Prehistory|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W0NvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT250|year=2018|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-3517-5764-5|pages=250–253|access-date=17 July 2023|archive-date=3 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203142816/https://books.google.com/books?id=W0NvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT250#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Veth">{{Cite book |last1=Veth |first1=Peter |url=https://archive.org/details/cambridgehistory0001unse_m8y7 |title=The Cambridge History of Australia, Volume 1, Indigenous and Colonial Australia |last2=O'Connor |first2=Sue |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-1070-1153-3 |editor-last=Bashford |editor-first=Alison |location=Cambridge |pages=19 |chapter=The past 50,000 years: an archaeological view |editor-last2=MacIntyre |editor-first2=Stuart |url-access=registration}}</ref> with the migration of people by [[land bridge]]s and short sea crossings from what is now Southeast Asia.<ref name="Oppenheimer2013">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VQQvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PP111|title=Out of Eden: The Peopling of the World|first=Stephen|last=Oppenheimer|date=2013|publisher=Little, Brown Book Group|isbn=978-1-7803-3753-1|pages=111–|access-date=17 July 2023|archive-date=3 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203142820/https://books.google.com/books?id=VQQvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PP111#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> It is uncertain how many waves of immigration may have contributed to these ancestors of modern Aboriginal Australians.<ref>Malaspinas, A. S., Westaway, M. C., Muller, C., Sousa, V. C., Lao, O., Alves, I., Bergström, A., Athanasiadis, G., Cheng, J. Y., Crawford, J. E., Heupink, T. H., Macholdt, E., Peischl, S., Rasmussen, S., Schiffels, S., Subramanian, S., Wright, J. L., Albrechtsen, A., Barbieri, C., Dupanloup, I., et al., Willerslev, E. (2016). A genomic history of Aboriginal Australia. Nature, 538(7624), 207–214. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature18299 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203142815/https://www.nature.com/articles/nature18299 |date=3 December 2023 }} [https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/unprecedented-study-of-aboriginal-australians-points-to-one-shared-out-of-africa-migration-for press release] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220615162942/https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/unprecedented-study-of-aboriginal-australians-points-to-one-shared-out-of-africa-migration-for |date=15 June 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Dorey |first=Fran |title=When did modern humans get to Australia? |url=https://australian.museum/learn/science/human-evolution/the-spread-of-people-to-australia |publisher=Australian Museum |access-date=21 August 2020 |archive-date=17 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200817140725/https://australian.museum/learn/science/human-evolution/the-spread-of-people-to-australia/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Madjedbebe]] rock shelter in [[Arnhem Land]] is possibly the oldest site showing the presence of humans in Australia.<ref name="Gilligan2018">{{Cite book|first=Ian|last=Gilligan|title=Climate, Clothing, and Agriculture in Prehistory: Linking Evidence, Causes, and Effects|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ux50DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA237|date=2018|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-1084-7008-7|page=237|access-date=17 July 2023|archive-date=3 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203142816/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ux50DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA237#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Williams-2021" /> The oldest human remains found are the [[Lake Mungo remains]], which have been dated to around 41,000 years ago.<ref name="TunizGillespie2016">{{Cite book|first1=Claudio|last1=Tuniz|first2=Richard|last2=Gillespie|first3=Cheryl|last3=Jones|title=The Bone Readers: Science and Politics in Human Origins Research|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WrJmDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA43|year=2016|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-3154-1888-9|page=43|access-date=17 July 2023|archive-date=3 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203142820/https://books.google.com/books?id=WrJmDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA43#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Castillo2015">{{Cite book|first=Alicia|last=Castillo|title=Archaeological Dimension of World Heritage: From Prevention to Social Implications|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jV64BAAAQBAJ&pg=PA41|date=2015|publisher=Springer Science|isbn=978-1-4939-0283-5|page=41|access-date=17 July 2023|archive-date=3 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203142821/https://books.google.com/books?id=jV64BAAAQBAJ&pg=PA41#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref>

Aboriginal Australian culture is one of the oldest continuous cultures on Earth.<ref name="Flood">{{cite book | last=Flood | first=J. | title=The Original Australians: The story of the Aboriginal People | publisher=Allen & Unwin | year=2019 | isbn=978-1-76087-142-0 |edition=2nd |location=Crows Nest NSW |page=161 |author-link=Josephine Flood}}</ref><ref name="Australian Geographic 2011 i652">{{cite web | title=DNA confirms Aboriginal culture one of Earth's oldest | website=Australian Geographic | date=23 September 2011 | url=https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/news/2011/09/dna-confirms-aboriginal-culture-one-of-earths-oldest/ | access-date=9 February 2024 | archive-date=20 January 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240120022657/https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/news/2011/09/dna-confirms-aboriginal-culture-one-of-earths-oldest/ | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Jozuka 2016 i592">{{cite web | last=Jozuka | first=Emiko | title=Aboriginal Australians are Earth's oldest civilization: DNA study | website=CNN | date=22 September 2016 | url=https://www.cnn.com/2016/09/22/asia/indigenous-australians-earths-oldest-civilization/index.html#:~:text=A%20new%20genomic%20study%20has,stretching%20back%20roughly%2075%2C000%20years. | access-date=9 February 2024 | archive-date=4 March 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240304225419/https://www.cnn.com/2016/09/22/asia/indigenous-australians-earths-oldest-civilization/index.html#:~:text=A%20new%20genomic%20study%20has,stretching%20back%20roughly%2075%2C000%20years. | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Malaspinas Westaway Muller Sousa 2016 pp. 207–214">{{cite journal| title=A genomic history of Aboriginal Australia | journal=Nature | publisher=Springer Science and Business Media LLC | volume=538 | issue=7624 | date=21 September 2016 | issn=0028-0836 | doi=10.1038/nature18299 | pages=207–214| hdl=10754/622366 | hdl-access=free | last1=Malaspinas | first1=Anna-Sapfo | last2=Westaway | first2=Michael C. | last3=Muller | first3=Craig | last4=Sousa | first4=Vitor C. | last5=Lao | first5=Oscar | last6=Alves | first6=Isabel | last7=Bergström | first7=Anders | last8=Athanasiadis | first8=Georgios | last9=Cheng | first9=Jade Y. | last10=Crawford | first10=Jacob E. | last11=Heupink | first11=Tim H. | last12=Macholdt | first12=Enrico | last13=Peischl | first13=Stephan | last14=Rasmussen | first14=Simon | last15=Schiffels | first15=Stephan | last16=Subramanian | first16=Sankar | last17=Wright | first17=Joanne L. | last18=Albrechtsen | first18=Anders | last19=Barbieri | first19=Chiara | last20=Dupanloup | first20=Isabelle | last21=Eriksson | first21=Anders | last22=Margaryan | first22=Ashot | last23=Moltke | first23=Ida | last24=Pugach | first24=Irina | last25=Korneliussen | first25=Thorfinn S. | last26=Levkivskyi | first26=Ivan P. | last27=Moreno-Mayar | first27=J. Víctor | last28=Ni | first28=Shengyu | last29=Racimo | first29=Fernando | last30=Sikora | first30=Martin | pmid=27654914 | bibcode=2016Natur.538..207M | display-authors=1 }}</ref> At the time of first European contact, Aboriginal Australians belonged to wide range of societies, with diverse economies spread across at least [[Australian Aboriginal languages|250 different language groups]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Williams |first=Elizabeth |year=2015 |title=Complex hunter-gatherers: a view from Australia |journal=Antiquity |publisher=Cambridge University Press |volume=61 |issue=232 |pages=310–321 |doi=10.1017/S0003598X00052182 |s2cid=162146349}}</ref><ref name="SáenzEmbrick2015">{{Cite book |last1=Sáenz |first1=Rogelio |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v_bLCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA602 |title=The International Handbook of the Demography of Race and Ethnicity |last2=Embrick |first2=David G. |last3=Rodríguez |first3=Néstor P. |date=3 June 2015 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-9-0481-8891-8 |pages=602– |access-date=17 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610132454/https://books.google.com/books?id=v_bLCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA602#v=onepage&q&f=false |archive-date=10 June 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref> Estimates of the Aboriginal population before British settlement range from 300,000 to 3 million.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Bradshaw |first1=Corey J. A. |last2=Williams |first2=Alan N |last3=Saltré |first3=Frédérik |last4=Norman |first4=Kasih |last5=Ulm |first5=Sean |date=2021-04-30 |title=The First Australians grew to a population of millions, much more than previous estimates |url=https://theconversation.com/the-first-australians-grew-to-a-population-of-millions-much-more-than-previous-estimates-142371 |access-date= |website=[[The Conversation (website)|The Conversation]] |language=en-AU}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2002-01-25 |title=1301.0 - Year Book Australia, 2002: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population |url=https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/94713ad445ff1425ca25682000192af2/bfc28642d31c215cca256b350010b3f4!OpenDocument |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327193612/https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/94713ad445ff1425ca25682000192af2/bfc28642d31c215cca256b350010b3f4!OpenDocument |archive-date=2023-03-27 |access-date= |website=[[Australian Bureau of Statistics]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>Gough, Myles (11 May 2011). [https://web.archive.org/web/20120912060604/http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/news/4305/prehistoric-aboriginal-populations-australia-were-growing "Prehistoric Australian Aboriginal populations were growing"]. ''[[Cosmos Magazine]]''. Archived from [https://cosmosmagazine.com/news/4305/prehistoric-aboriginal-populations-australia-were-growing the original] on 12 September 2012.</ref> Aboriginal Australians cultures were (and remain) deeply connected with the land and the environment, with stories of [[The Dreaming]] maintained through [[oral tradition]], [[Songline|songs]], dance and paintings.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mawson |first=Stephanie |date=2021 |title=The Deep Past of Pre-Colonial Australia |journal=The Historical Journal |language=en |volume=64 |issue=5 |pages=1483–6 |doi=10.1017/S0018246X20000369 |issn=0018-246X |doi-access=free}}</ref> Certain groups engaged in [[fire-stick farming]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wyrwoll |first=Karl-Heinz |date=11 January 2012 |title=How Aboriginal burning changed Australia's climate |url=http://theconversation.com/how-aboriginal-burning-changed-australias-climate-4454 |access-date=1 November 2023 |website=The Conversation |language=en-US |archive-date=15 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230715015907/https://theconversation.com/how-aboriginal-burning-changed-australias-climate-4454 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Williams |first=Robbie |date=21 June 2023 |title=Before the colonists came, we burned small and burned often to avoid big fires. It's time to relearn cultural burning |url=http://theconversation.com/before-the-colonists-came-we-burned-small-and-burned-often-to-avoid-big-fires-its-time-to-relearn-cultural-burning-201475 |access-date=1 November 2023 |website=The Conversation |language=en-US |archive-date=8 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240308085331/https://theconversation.com/before-the-colonists-came-we-burned-small-and-burned-often-to-avoid-big-fires-its-time-to-relearn-cultural-burning-201475 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[fish farming]],<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Bates |first1=Badger |last2=Westaway |first2=Michael |last3=Jackson |first3=Sue |date=15 December 2022 |title=Aboriginal people have spent centuries building in the Darling River. Now there are plans to demolish these important structures |url=http://theconversation.com/aboriginal-people-have-spent-centuries-building-in-the-darling-river-now-there-are-plans-to-demolish-these-important-structures-195966 |access-date=1 November 2023 |website=The Conversation |language=en-US |archive-date=1 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231101042204/https://theconversation.com/aboriginal-people-have-spent-centuries-building-in-the-darling-river-now-there-are-plans-to-demolish-these-important-structures-195966 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Clark |first=Anna |date=31 August 2023 |title=Friday essay: traps, rites and kurrajong twine – the incredible ingenuity of Indigenous fishing knowledge |url=http://theconversation.com/friday-essay-traps-rites-and-kurrajong-twine-the-incredible-ingenuity-of-indigenous-fishing-knowledge-210467 |access-date=1 November 2023 |website=The Conversation |language=en-US |archive-date=11 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240211091555/https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-traps-rites-and-kurrajong-twine-the-incredible-ingenuity-of-indigenous-fishing-knowledge-210467 |url-status=live }}</ref> and built [[Indigenous architecture#Australia|semi-permanent shelters]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Wahlquist |first=Calla |date=5 September 2016 |title=Evidence of 9,000-year-old stone houses found on Australian island |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/sep/05/evidence-of-9000-year-old-stone-houses-found-on-australian-island |access-date=1 November 2023 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=1 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231101042138/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/sep/05/evidence-of-9000-year-old-stone-houses-found-on-australian-island |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Flood, Josephine (2019). pp. 239–40</ref> These practices have variously been characterised as "[[hunter-gatherer]]", "[[Agriculture|agricultural]]", "natural cultivation" and "intensification".<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mawson |first=Stephanie |date=2021 |title=The Deep Past of Pre-Colonial Australia |journal=The Historical Journal |language=en |volume=64 |issue=5 |pages=1486–1491 |doi=10.1017/S0018246X20000369 |issn=0018-246X |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bender |first=Barbara |date=1978 |title=Gatherer-hunter to farmer: A social perspective |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00438243.1978.9979731 |journal=World Archaeology |language=en |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=204–222 |doi=10.1080/00438243.1978.9979731 |issn=0043-8243 |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>Gammage, Bill (October 2011). The Biggest Estate on Earth: How Aborigines made Australia. Allen & Unwin. pp. 281–304.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Gammage |first=Bill |date=19 September 2023 |title=Colonists upended Aboriginal farming, growing grain and running sheep on rich yamfields, and cattle on arid grainlands |url=http://theconversation.com/colonists-upended-aboriginal-farming-growing-grain-and-running-sheep-on-rich-yamfields-and-cattle-on-arid-grainlands-207118 |access-date=1 November 2023 |website=The Conversation |language=en-US |archive-date=12 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240212095624/https://theconversation.com/colonists-upended-aboriginal-farming-growing-grain-and-running-sheep-on-rich-yamfields-and-cattle-on-arid-grainlands-207118 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Flood, Josephine (2019). pp. 25–27, 146</ref>

Torres Strait Islander people first settled their islands around 4,000 years ago.<ref>The Story of Australia's People, Volume 1: The Rise and Fall of Ancient Australia, Penguin Books Australia Ltd., Vic., 2015 {{ISBN|978-0-6700-7871-4}}, p.87</ref> Culturally and linguistically distinct from mainland Aboriginal peoples, they were seafarers and obtained their livelihood from seasonal horticulture and the resources of their reefs and seas.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Early Aussie Tattoos Match Rock Art |last=Viegas|first=Jennifer|publisher=Discovery News|date=3 July 2008 |access-date=30 March 2010|url=http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/07/03/australia-tattoos-art.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080710014604/http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/07/03/australia-tattoos-art.html |archive-date=10 July 2008}}</ref> Agriculture also developed on some islands and villages appeared by the 1300s.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Veth |first1=Peter |title=The Cambridge History of Australia, Volume 1, Indigenous and Colonial Australia |last2=O'Connor |first2=Sue |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-107-01153-3 |editor-last=Bashford |editor-first=Alison |location=Cambridge |pages=34–35 |chapter=The past 50,000 years: an archaeological view |editor-last2=MacIntyre |editor-first2=Stuart}}</ref>

By the mid-18th century in northern Australia, [[Makassan contact with Australia|contact, trade and cross-cultural engagement]] had been established between local Aboriginal groups and [[Makassar people|Makassan]] [[trepanging|trepangers]], visiting from present-day Indonesia.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Macknight |first=Charles Campbell |year=2011 |title=The view from Marege': Australian knowledge of Makassar and the impact of the trepangindustry across two centuries |journal=[[Aboriginal History]] |volume=35 |pages=134 |doi=10.22459/AH.35.2011.06 |jstor=24046930 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=T. Vigilante |display-authors=etal |year=2013 |title=Biodiversity values on selected Kimberley Islands, Australia |url=http://museum.wa.gov.au/sites/default/files/WAM_Supp81_Internals%20pp145-181.pdf |access-date=2 August 2021 |publisher=[[Western Australian Museum]] |archive-date=5 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181005235850/http://museum.wa.gov.au/sites/default/files/WAM_Supp81_Internals%20pp145-181.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Russell |first=Denise |date=22 March 2004 |title=Aboriginal-Makassan interactions in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in northern Australia and contemporary sea rights claims |url=http://lryb.aiatsis.gov.au/PDFs/aasj04.1_%20makassan.pdf |journal=Australian Aboriginal Studies |publisher=Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies |volume=2004 |issue=1 |pages=3–17 |issn=0729-4352 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306230858/http://lryb.aiatsis.gov.au/PDFs/aasj04.1_%20makassan.pdf |archive-date=6 March 2019 |access-date=21 April 2019}}</ref>

===European exploration and colonisation===
{{Main|European maritime exploration of Australia|European land exploration of Australia|History of Australia (1788–1850)}}
[[File:Landing of Lieutenant James Cook at Botany Bay, 29 April 1770 (painting by E Phillips Fox).jpg|alt=Landing of Lieutenant James Cook at Botany Bay, 29 April 1770|left|thumb|Landing of [[James Cook]] at [[Botany Bay]] on 29 April 1770 to claim Australia's east coast for [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]]]]
The Dutch are the first Europeans that recorded sighting and making landfall on the Australian mainland.<ref name="BarberBarnes2013">{{Cite book|first1=Peter|last1=Barber|first2=Katherine|last2=Barnes|author3=Nigel Erskine|title=Mapping Our World: Terra Incognita To Australia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uZ_sAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA99|year=2013|publisher=National Library of Australia|isbn=978-0-6422-7809-8|page=99|access-date=17 July 2023|archive-date=27 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231027123323/https://books.google.com/books?id=uZ_sAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA99#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> The first ship and crew to chart the Australian coast and meet with Aboriginal people was the ''[[Duyfken]]'', captained by Dutch navigator [[Willem Janszoon]].<ref name="SmithBurke2007">{{Cite book|first1=Claire|last1=Smith|first2=Heather|last2=Burke|title=Digging It Up Down Under: A Practical Guide to Doing Archaeology in Australia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0HsRb_AY9jQC&pg=PA47|date=2007|publisher=Springer Science|isbn=978-0-3873-5263-3|page=47|access-date=17 July 2023|archive-date=27 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231027123306/https://books.google.com/books?id=0HsRb_AY9jQC&pg=PA47#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> He sighted the coast of [[Cape York Peninsula]] in early 1606, and made landfall on 26 February 1606 at the [[Pennefather River]] near the modern town of [[Weipa, Queensland|Weipa]] on Cape York.<ref name=dhm233>{{Harvnb|Davison|Hirst|Macintyre|1998|p=233}}</ref> Later that year, Spanish explorer [[Luís Vaz de Torres]] sailed through and navigated the [[Torres Strait Islands]].<ref>Brett Hilder (1980) ''The Voyage of Torres'' University of Queensland Press, St. Lucia, Queensland {{ISBN|978-0-7022-1275-8}}</ref> The Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines and named the island continent "[[New Holland (Australia)|New Holland]]" during the 17th century, and although no attempt at settlement was made,<ref name=dhm233/> [[Shipwrecks of Western Australia#Notable wrecks|a number of shipwrecks]] left men either stranded or, as in the case of the ''[[Batavia (1628 ship)|Batavia]]'' in 1629, marooned for mutiny and murder, thus becoming the first Europeans to permanently inhabit the continent.<ref>Davis, Russell Earls (2019) ''A Concise History of Western Australia'' Woodslane Press {{ISBN|978-1-9258-6822-7}} pp. 3–6</ref> In 1770, Captain [[James Cook]] sailed along and mapped the east coast, which he named "[[New South Wales]]" and claimed for Great Britain.<ref name="GoucherWalton2013">{{Cite book|first1=Candice|last1=Goucher|first2=Linda|last2=Walton|title=World History: Journeys from Past to Present|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O_3fCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA427|year=2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-1350-8829-3|pages=427–428|access-date=17 July 2023|archive-date=10 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610132402/https://books.google.com/books?id=O_3fCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA427#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref>

Following the loss of its [[Thirteen Colonies|American colonies]] in 1783, the British Government sent a fleet of ships, the [[First Fleet]], under the command of Captain [[Arthur Phillip]], to establish a new [[Colony of New South Wales|penal colony in New South Wales]]. A camp was set up and the [[Union Flag]] raised at [[Sydney Cove]], [[Port Jackson]], on 26 January 1788,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/european-discovery-and-colonisation |title=European discovery and the colonisation of Australia|publisher=Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Commonwealth of Australia|quote=[The British] moved north to Port Jackson on 26 January 1788, landing at Camp Cove, known as 'cadi' to the Cadigal people. Governor Phillip carried instructions to establish the first British Colony in Australia. The First Fleet was underprepared for the task, and the soil around Sydney Cove was poor.|date=11 January 2008 |access-date=7 May 2010 |archive-date=13 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171213231728/http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/european-discovery-and-colonisation |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Egan2003">{{Cite book|first=Ted|last=Egan|title=The Land Downunder|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ND3OqVdOwqoC&pg=PA25|year=2003|publisher=Grice Chapman Publishing|isbn=978-0-9545-7260-0|pages=25–26|access-date=17 July 2023|archive-date=28 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328153358/https://books.google.com/books?id=ND3OqVdOwqoC&pg=PA25#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> a date which later became [[Australia Day|Australia's national day]].

Most early settlers were [[convicts in Australia|convicts]], [[penal transportation|transported]] for petty crimes and [[convict assignment|assigned]] as labourers or servants to "free settlers" (willing immigrants). Once [[emancipist|emancipated]], convicts tended to integrate into colonial society. Convict rebellions and uprisings were suppressed under martial law,<ref>Kercher, Bruce (2020). ''An Unruly Child: A History of Law in Australia''. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781000248470. pp. 26–27.</ref> which lasted for two years following the 1808 [[Rum Rebellion]], Australia's only successful ''[[coup d'état]]''.<ref>Matsuda, Matt K. (2012) ''Pacific Worlds: A History of Seas, Peoples, and Cultures'' Cambridge University Press {{ISBN|978-0-5218-8763-2}} pp. 165–167</ref> Over the next two decades, social and economic reforms, together with the establishment of a [[New South Wales Legislative Council|Legislative Council]] and [[Supreme Court of New South Wales|Supreme Court]], saw New South Wales transition from a penal colony to a civil society.<ref>{{Cite book| last=Ward| first=Russel| title=Australia: a short history| year=1975| publisher=Ure Smith| edition=rev| isbn=978-0-7254-0164-1| url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/9442954| pages=37–38| access-date=15 January 2022| archive-date=20 November 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181120221059/https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/9442954| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | last=Molony | first=John Neylon | title=The Penguin History of Australia | year=1987 | publisher=Penguin | location=Ringwood, Vic | isbn=978-0-1400-9739-9 | url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/18412463 | pages=47 | access-date=15 January 2022 | archive-date=21 November 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181121021802/https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/18412463 | url-status=live }}</ref>

<!-- Please take note of talk page diacussion before editing. -->The indigenous population declined for 150 years following European settlement, mainly due to infectious disease.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Smallpox Through History |url=http://encarta.msn.com/media_701508643/Smallpox_Through_History.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040618142015/http://encarta.msn.com/media_701508643/Smallpox_Through_History.html |archive-date=18 June 2004 |work= |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Flood 2019 p."/> British colonial authorities did not sign any treaties with [[Aboriginal Australians#Groups and sub-groups|Aboriginal groups]].<ref name="Flood 2019 p.">{{cite book | last=Flood | first=J. | title=The Original Australians: The story of the Aboriginal People | publisher=Allen & Unwin | year=2019 | isbn=978-1-76087-142-0 |edition=2nd |location=Crows Nest NSW |pages=42, 111, 147–59, 300 |author-link=Josephine Flood}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Rule of Law Education Centre |title=European Settlement and Terra Nullius |url=https://www.ruleoflaw.org.au/education/australian-colonies/terra-nullius/ |access-date=26 January 2024 |archive-date=26 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240126110348/https://www.ruleoflaw.org.au/education/australian-colonies/terra-nullius/ |url-status=live }}</ref> As settlement expanded, thousands of Indigenous people died in [[Australian frontier wars|frontier conflicts]] while others were dispossessed of their traditional lands.<ref>Attwood, Bain; Foster, Stephen Glynn (2003) ''Frontier Conflict: The Australian Experience'' National Museum of Australia {{ISBN|978-1-8769-4411-7}} p. 89</ref>

===Colonial expansion===
{{Main|History of Australia (1788–1850)|History of Australia (1851–1900)}}
[[File:PortArthurPenitentiary.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|right|alt=A calm body of water is in the foreground. The shoreline is about 200 metres away. To the left, close to the shore, are three tall [[Eucalyptus|gum trees]]; behind them on an incline are ruins, including walls and watchtowers of light-coloured stone and brick, what appear to be the foundations of walls, and grassed areas. To the right lie the outer walls of a large rectangular four-storey building dotted with regularly spaced windows. Forested land rises gently to a peak several kilometres back from the shore.|Tasmania's [[Port Arthur, Tasmania|Port Arthur]] penal settlement is one of eleven UNESCO World Heritage-listed [[Australian Convict Sites]].]]

In 1803, a settlement was established in [[Van Diemen's Land]] (present-day [[Tasmania]]),<ref name="Davison pp464-5">{{Harvnb|Davison|Hirst|Macintyre|1998|pages=464–465, 628–629}}</ref> and in 1813, [[Gregory Blaxland]], [[William Lawson (explorer)|William Lawson]] and [[William Wentworth]] [[1813 crossing of the Blue Mountains|crossed]] the [[Blue Mountains (New South Wales)|Blue Mountains]] west of Sydney, opening the interior to European settlement.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Conway |first=Jill |title=Biography – Gregory Blaxland – Australian Dictionary of Biography |publisher=National Centre of Biography, Australian National University |chapter=Blaxland, Gregory (1778–1853) |access-date=14 July 2011 |chapter-url=http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/A010109b.htm?hilite=blaxland |archive-date=8 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110408201858/http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/A010109b.htm?hilite=blaxland |url-status=live }}</ref> The British claim extended to the whole Australian continent in 1827 when Major [[Edmund Lockyer]] established a settlement on [[King George Sound]] (modern-day [[Albany, Western Australia|Albany]]).<ref>{{Cite book|last=Grey|first=Jeffrey |title=A Military History of Australia|url=https://archive.org/details/militaryhistorya00grey_277|url-access=limited |publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Port Melbourne|year=2008|edition=Third|isbn=978-0-5216-9791-0|pages=[https://archive.org/details/militaryhistorya00grey_277/page/n43 28]–40}}</ref> The [[Swan River Colony]] (present-day [[Perth]]) was established in 1829, evolving into the largest Australian colony by area, [[Western Australia]].<ref name="Davison p678">{{Harvnb|Davison|Hirst|Macintyre|1998|p=678}}</ref> In accordance with population growth, separate colonies were carved from New South Wales: Tasmania in 1825, [[South Australia]] in 1836, [[New Zealand]] in 1841, [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]] in 1851, and [[Queensland]] in 1859.<ref name="Davison p464">{{Harvnb|Davison|Hirst|Macintyre|1998|p=464}}</ref> South Australia was founded as a free colony—it never accepted transported convicts.<ref name="Davison p598">{{Harvnb|Davison|Hirst|Macintyre|1998|p=598}}</ref> Growing [[Australasian Anti-Transportation League|opposition to the convict system]] culminated in its abolition in the eastern colonies by the 1850s. Initially a free colony, Western Australia practised penal transportation from 1850 to 1868.<ref>{{Cite web |date=25 December 2005 |title=Public Record Office Victoria online catalogue |url=http://www.access.prov.vic.gov.au/public/PROVguides/PROVguide057/PROVguide057.jsp |access-date=15 January 2022 |website= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051225154618/http://www.access.prov.vic.gov.au/public/PROVguides/PROVguide057/PROVguide057.jsp |archive-date=25 December 2005 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The six colonies individually gained [[responsible government]] between 1855 and 1890, thus becoming elective democracies managing most of their own affairs while remaining part of the [[British Empire]].<ref name="Davison p556">{{Harvnb|Davison|Hirst|Macintyre|1998|p=556}}</ref> The Colonial Office in London retained control of some matters, notably foreign affairs.<ref name="Davison p138-9679">{{Harvnb|Davison|Hirst|Macintyre|1998|pages=138–39}}</ref>

In the mid-19th century, explorers such as [[Burke and Wills expedition|Burke and Wills]] charted Australia's interior.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/explorers |title=Early explorers|publisher=Australia's Culture Portal |access-date=6 November 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110408183209/http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/explorers/ |archive-date=8 April 2011}}</ref> A [[Australian gold rushes|series of gold rushes]] beginning in the early 1850s led to an influx of new migrants from [[Chinese Australians|China]], North America and continental Europe,<ref name="JuppJupp2001">{{Harvnb|Jupp2|pp=35–36}}</ref> as well as outbreaks of [[bushranger|bushranging]] and civil unrest; the latter peaked in 1854 when [[Ballarat]] miners launched the [[Eureka Rebellion]] against gold license fees.<ref name="Davison pp227-9">{{Harvnb|Davison|Hirst|Macintyre|1998 |pages=227–29}}</ref> The 1860s saw the rise of [[blackbirding]], where [[South Sea Islanders]] were coerced or abducted into indentured labour, mainly by Queensland colonists.<ref>[https://www.slq.qld.gov.au/discover/exhibitions/australian-south-sea-islanders "Australian South Sea Islanders"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231210065156/https://www.slq.qld.gov.au/discover/exhibitions/australian-south-sea-islanders |date=10 December 2023 }}, State Library of Queensland. Retrieved 21 February 2024.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Higginbotham |first=Will |date=17 September 2017 |title=Blackbirding: Australia's history of luring, tricking and kidnapping Pacific Islanders |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-17/blackbirding-australias-history-of-kidnapping-pacific-islanders/8860754 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240126044712/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-17/blackbirding-australias-history-of-kidnapping-pacific-islanders/8860754 |archive-date=26 January 2024 |website=ABC News}}</ref>

From 1886, Australian colonial governments began [[Stolen Generations|removing many Aboriginal children]] from their families and communities, justified on the grounds of child protection and [[forced assimilation]] policies.<ref>Banivanua Mar, Tracey; Edmonds, Penelope (2013). "Indigenous and settler relations". ''The Cambridge History of Australia, Volume I''. p.&nbsp;355–58, 363–64</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Marlow |first=Karina |date=1 December 2016 |title=Explainer: the Stolen Generations |url=https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/explainer-the-stolen-generations/5ust2jtjy |access-date= |website=NITV |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=O'Loughlin |first=Michael |date=2020-06-22 |title=The Stolen Generation |url=https://australian.museum/learn/first-nations/stolen-generation/ |website=[[Australian Museum]]}}</ref> The [[Second Boer War]] (1899–1902) marked the largest overseas deployment of [[colonial forces of Australia|Australia's colonial forces]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2 June 2021 |title=Australia and the Boer War, 1899–1902 |url=https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/atwar/boer |access-date= |website=Australian War Memorial |archive-date=24 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180324185402/https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/atwar/boer |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Wilcox, Craig (2002). ''Australia's Boer War: The War in South Africa, 1899-1902''. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195516371.</ref>

===Federation to the World Wars===
{{Main|History of Australia (1901–1945)}}
{{See also|Federation of Australia|Military history of Australia during World War I|Military history of Australia during World War II}}
[[File:Opening of the first parliament.jpg|thumb|''[[The Big Picture (painting)|The Big Picture]]'', a painting by [[Tom Roberts]], depicts the opening of the first Australian Parliament in 1901.]]
On 1 January 1901, [[Federation of Australia|federation of the colonies]] was achieved after a decade of planning, [[Constitutional Convention (Australia)|constitutional conventions]] and [[1898–1900 Australian constitutional referendums|referendums]], resulting in the establishment of the Commonwealth of Australia as a nation under the new [[Constitution of Australia|Australian Constitution]].<ref name="Davison pp243-4">{{Harvnb|Davison|Hirst|Macintyre|1998 |pages=243–44}}</ref>

After the [[1907 Imperial Conference]], Australia and several other self-governing British [[settler colonialism|settler colonies]] were given the status of self-governing [[dominion]]s within the British Empire.<ref name="dominionstatus">{{Cite web|title=History of the Commonwealth|url=http://www.commonwealthofnations.org/commonwealth/history/|website=Commonwealth Network|publisher=Commonwealth of Nations|access-date=16 February 2015|archive-date=25 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200425043631/http://www.commonwealthofnations.org/commonwealth/history/|url-status=live}}</ref> Australia was one of the founding members of the [[League of Nations]] in 1920,<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Covenant of the League of Nations |url=https://www.ungeneva.org/en/about/league-of-nations/covenant |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127003532/https://www.ungeneva.org/en/about/league-of-nations/covenant |archive-date=27 January 2024 |access-date=8 February 2024 |website=The United Nations Office at Geneva |language=en}}</ref> and the [[Member states of the United Nations|United Nations]] in 1945.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Growth in United Nations membership |url=https://www.un.org/en/about-us/growth-in-un-membership |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240201204200/https://www.un.org/en/about-us/growth-in-un-membership |archive-date=1 February 2024 |access-date=8 February 2024 |website=United Nations |language=en}}</ref> The [[Statute of Westminster 1931|''Statute of Westminster 1931'']] formally ended the ability of the UK to pass federal laws without Australia's consent. Australia [[Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942|adopted it]] in 1942, but it was backdated to 1939 to confirm the validity of legislation passed during World War II.<ref name="Davison p609">{{Harvnb|Davison|Hirst|Macintyre|1998|p=609}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://foundingdocs.gov.au/item-did-25.html |title=Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942 (Cth) |publisher=National Archives of Australia |access-date=28 July 2014 |archive-date=12 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140212020054/http://foundingdocs.gov.au/item-did-25.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite Legislation AU|Cth|act|sowaa1942379|Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942}}</ref>

The [[Australian Capital Territory]] was formed in 1911 as the location for the future federal capital of [[Canberra]].<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=25 April 2020 |title=Establishing the nation's capital |url=https://www.parliament.act.gov.au/visit-and-learn/resources/factsheets/establishing-the-nations-capital |access-date=8 February 2024 |website=Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory |language=en |archive-date=8 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240208115409/https://www.parliament.act.gov.au/visit-and-learn/resources/factsheets/establishing-the-nations-capital |url-status=live }}</ref> While it was being constructed, [[Melbourne]] served as the temporary capital from 1901 to 1927.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://uninews.unimelb.edu.au/news/4332 |title=When Melbourne was Australia's capital city|last=Otto|first=Kristin|date=25 June – 9 July 2007|publisher=University of Melbourne |access-date=29 March 2010|location=Melbourne, Victoria |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100402083202/http://uninews.unimelb.edu.au/news/4332/ |archive-date=2 April 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[Northern Territory]] was transferred from the control of South Australia to the Commonwealth in 1911.<ref name="Souter2012">{{Cite book|first=Gavin|last=Souter|title=Lion & Kangaroo: The Initiation of Australia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oQIBMD23lL0C&pg=PT141|year=2012|publisher=Xoum Publishing|isbn=978-1-9220-5700-6|page=141|access-date=17 July 2023|archive-date=13 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230413130303/https://books.google.com/books?id=oQIBMD23lL0C&pg=PT141|url-status=live}}</ref> Australia became the colonial ruler of the [[Territory of Papua]] (which had initially been annexed by Queensland in 1883) in 1902 and of the [[Territory of New Guinea]] (formerly [[German New Guinea]]) in 1920.<ref name="McDermott">{{Cite journal |last=McDermott |first=Peter M |date=2009 |title=Australian Citizenship and the Independence of Papua New Guinea |url=https://austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/journals/UNSWLawJl/2009/3.html |journal=UNSW Law Journal |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=50–2 |via=[[Austlii]] |access-date=8 February 2024 |archive-date=8 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240208072215/https://austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/journals/UNSWLawJl/2009/3.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite Legislation AU|Cth|num_act|nga1920251920138|New Guinea Act 1920}}</ref> The two were unified as the [[Territory of Papua and New Guinea]] in 1949 and gained independence from Australia in 1975.<ref name="McDermott" /><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://unimelb.libguides.com/png |title=Papua New Guinea Legal Research Guide |publisher=University of Melbourne |access-date=2 April 2021 |archive-date=4 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604205454/https://unimelb.libguides.com/png |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Darwin 42.jpg|thumb|The 1942 [[Bombing of Darwin]], the first of over 100 [[Air raids on Australia, 1942–1943|Japanese air raids on Australia]] during [[World War II]]]]
In 1914, Australia joined the [[Allies of World War I|Allies]] in fighting the First World War, and took part in many of the major battles fought on the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2 June 2021 |title=First World War 1914–18 |url=https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/atwar/first-world-war |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240120020555/https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/atwar/first-world-war |archive-date=20 January 2024 |access-date= |website=Australian War Memorial}}</ref> Of about 416,000 who served, about 60,000 were killed and another 152,000 were wounded.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Tucker|first=Spencer |title=Encyclopedia of World War I|publisher=ABC-CLIO|location=Santa Barbara, California|year=2005|page=273|isbn=978-1-8510-9420-2|url={{GBurl|id=2YqjfHLyyj8C|p=273}}}}</ref> Many Australians regard the defeat of the [[Australian and New Zealand Army Corps]] (ANZAC) at [[Gallipoli Campaign|Gallipoli]] in 1915 as the "baptism of fire" that forged the [[Anzac spirit|new nation's identity]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Reed |first=Liz |title=Bigger than Gallipoli: war, history, and memory in Australia |publisher=University of Western Australia |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-9206-9419-7 |location=Crawley, Western Australia |page=5}}</ref><ref>Macintyre, Stuart (2000) ''A Concise History of Australia'' Cambridge: [[Cambridge University Press]], pp. 151–53, {{ISBN|978-0-521-62359-9}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=17 January 2024 |title=The Anzac legend |url=https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/wars-and-missions/ww1/personnel/anzac-legend |website=Department of Veterans' Affairs |access-date=9 February 2024 |archive-date=4 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240304225421/https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/wars-and-missions/ww1/personnel/anzac-legend |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Landing at Anzac Cove|beginning of the campaign]] is commemorated annually on [[Anzac Day]], a date which rivals [[Australia Day]] as the nation's most important.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Dennis |first1=Peter |title=The Oxford Companion to Australian Military History |last2=Grey |first2=Jeffrey |last3=Morris |first3=Ewan |last4=Prior |first4=Robin |last5=Bou |first5=Jean |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-1955-1784-2 |edition=2nd |location=Melbourne |pages=32, 38 |author2-link=Jeffrey Grey}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Manne |first=Robert |date=25 April 2007 |title=The war myth that made us |url=https://www.theage.com.au/opinion/the-war-myth-that-made-us-20070425-ge4qmh.html |access-date=9 February 2024 |website=The Age |language=en |archive-date=4 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240304225419/https://www.theage.com.au/opinion/the-war-myth-that-made-us-20070425-ge4qmh.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

From 1939 to 1945, Australia joined the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] in fighting the Second World War. Australia's [[Australian Defence Force|armed forces]] fought in the [[Pacific War|Pacific]], [[European Theatre of World War II|European]] and [[Mediterranean and Middle East theatre of World War II|Mediterranean and Middle East]] [[List of theaters and campaigns of World War II|theatres]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Beaumont |first=Joan |editor=Beaumont, Joan|author-link=Joan Beaumont |title=Australia's War, 1939–1945 |year=1996 |publisher=Allen & Unwin |location=Sydney |isbn=978-1-86448-039-9 |chapter=Australia's war: Europe and the Middle East}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Beaumont |first=Joan |editor=Beaumont, Joan |title=Australia's War, 1939–1945 |year=1996a |publisher=Allen & Unwin |location=Sydney |isbn=978-1-86448-039-9 |chapter=Australia's war: Asia and the Pacific}}</ref> The shock of Britain's [[fall of Singapore|defeat in Singapore]] in 1942, followed soon after by the [[bombing of Darwin]] and [[Air raids on Australia, 1942–43|other Japanese attacks on Australian soil]], led to a widespread belief in Australia that [[Proposed Japanese invasion of Australia during World War II|a Japanese invasion was imminent]], and a shift from the United Kingdom to the [[Australia–United States relations|United States]] as Australia's principal ally and security partner.<ref name="Davison pp22-3">{{Harvnb|Davison|Hirst|Macintyre|1998|pages=22–23}}</ref> Since 1951, Australia has been allied with the United States under the [[ANZUS]] treaty.<ref name="Davison p30">{{Harvnb|Davison|Hirst|Macintyre|1998|p=30}}</ref>

===Post-war and contemporary eras===
{{Main|History of Australia (1945–present)}}
[[File:Dutch Migrant 1954 MariaScholte=50000thToAustraliaPostWW2.jpg|thumb|left|[[Post-war immigration to Australia|Postwar migrants]] from Europe arriving in Australia in 1954]]
In the decades following World War II, Australia enjoyed significant increases in living standards, leisure time and suburban development.<ref name="Susan_Something">{{Cite book|editor-first=Susan|editor-last=Hosking|display-editors=etal |title=Something Rich and Strange: Sea Changes, Beaches and the Littoral in the Antipodes|url={{GBurl|id=6mQ_-ZD5xBUC|p=6}}|year=2009|publisher=Wakefield Press|isbn=978-1-8625-4870-1|pages=6–}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|first1=Brian|last1=Hodge|first2=Allen|last2=Whitehurst|title=Nation and People: An Introduction to Australia in a Changing World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qE0OAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA184|year=1967|publisher=Hicks, Smith|pages=184–|access-date=17 July 2023|archive-date=28 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328153346/https://books.google.com/books?id=qE0OAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA184|url-status=live}}</ref> Governments encouraged a [[Post-war immigration to Australia|large wave of immigration from across Europe]], with such immigrants referred to as "[[New Australians]]".<ref>{{Cite web |year=2001 |title=Immigration to Australia During the 20th Century – Historical Impacts on Immigration Intake, Population Size and Population Composition – A Timeline |url=http://www.immi.gov.au/media/publications/statistics/federation/timeline1.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080801014246/http://www.immi.gov.au/media/publications/statistics/federation/timeline1.pdf |archive-date=1 August 2008 |access-date=18 July 2008 |publisher=Department of Immigration and Citizenship (Australia)}}</ref> This required a relaxation of the [[white Australia policy]], that was justified to Australians using the slogan "populate or perish".<ref>{{Cite web |title='Populate or perish': Australia's postwar migration program |url=https://www.naa.gov.au/learn/learning-resources/learning-resource-themes/society-and-culture/migration-and-multiculturalism/populate-or-perish-australias-postwar-migration-program |access-date=2024-08-31 |website=[[National Archives of Australia]] |publisher=[[Australian Government]]}}</ref>

A member of the [[Western Bloc]] during the [[Cold War]], Australia participated in the [[Australia in the Korean War|Korean War]] and the [[Military history of Australia during the Malayan Emergency|Malayan Emergency]] during the 1950s and the [[Military history of Australia during the Vietnam War|Vietnam War]] from 1962 to 1972.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Fighting Australia's Cold War |date=2021 |publisher=ANU Press |isbn=978-1-76046-482-0 |editor-last=Dean |editor-first=Peter |location=Canberra |pages=1 |chapter=Introduction |editor-last2=Moss |editor-first2=Tristan |chapter-url=https://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/n9414/pdf/introduction.pdf |access-date=9 February 2024 |archive-date=12 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240112170033/https://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/n9414/pdf/introduction.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> During this time, tensions over communist influence in society led to [[1951 Australian Communist Party ban referendum|unsuccessful attempts]] by the [[Menzies Government (1949–1966)|Menzies Government]] to ban the [[Communist Party of Australia]],<ref>Frank Crowley (1973) ''Modern Australia in Documents, 1939–1970''. pp. 222–26. Wren Publishing, Melbourne. {{ISBN|978-0-1700-5300-6}}</ref> and a [[Australian Labor Party split of 1955|bitter split]] in the [[Australian Labor Party|Labor Party]] in 1955.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Calwell|first=Arthur Augustus |title=Be just and fear not|url=https://archive.org/details/bejustfearnot0000calw|url-access=registration|publisher=Lloyd O'Neil Pty Ltd.|location=[[Hawthorn, Victoria|Hawthorn]], [[Victoria, Australia|Victoria]]|year=1972|isbn=978-0-8555-0352-9 |page=[https://archive.org/details/bejustfearnot0000calw/page/188 188]}}</ref>

As a result of a [[Australian referendum, 1967 (Aboriginals)|1967 referendum]], the federal government gained the power to legislate with regard to Indigenous Australians, and Indigenous Australians were fully included in the [[Census in Australia|census]].<ref name="Edwards2004">{{Cite book|first=William Howell|last=Edwards|title=An Introduction to Aboriginal Societies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kF-_Pe5WX6UC&pg=PA132|year=2004|publisher=Cengage Learning Australia|isbn=978-1-8766-3389-9|pages=25–26, 30, 132–133|access-date=17 July 2023|archive-date=12 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412154810/https://books.google.com/books?id=kF-_Pe5WX6UC&pg=PA132|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Aboriginal title|Pre-colonial land interests]] (referred to as [[Native title in Australia|native title]] in Australia) was recognised in law for the first time when the [[High Court of Australia]] held in ''[[Mabo v Queensland (No 2)]]'' that Australia was neither ''[[terra nullius]]'' ({{Gloss|land belonging to no one}}) or "desert and uncultivated land" at the time of European settlement.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Galloway |first=Kate |date=26 April 2017 |title=Australian politics explainer: the Mabo decision and native title |url=http://theconversation.com/australian-politics-explainer-the-mabo-decision-and-native-title-74147 |access-date=25 January 2024 |website=The Conversation |language=en-US |archive-date=25 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240125000636/http://theconversation.com/australian-politics-explainer-the-mabo-decision-and-native-title-74147 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Davison pp. 5-7, 402">{{Harvnb|Davison|Hirst|Macintyre|1998|pages=5–7, 402}}</ref>

Following the abolition of the last vestiges of the [[White Australia policy]] in 1973,<ref>{{Cite web |url= http://www.border.gov.au/about/corporate/information/fact-sheets/08abolition |title= Fact Sheet – Abolition of the 'White Australia' Policy|location= Commonwealth of Australia|publisher= National Communications Branch, Department of Immigration and Citizenship|work= Australian Immigration |access-date= 27 March 2013 |archive-date= 19 September 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150919131355/http://www.border.gov.au/about/corporate/information/fact-sheets/08abolition |url-status= dead}}</ref> Australia's demography and culture transformed as a result of a large and ongoing wave of non-European immigration, mostly from Asia.<ref name="Davison pp338-6, 681-2">{{Harvnb|Davison|Hirst|Macintyre|1998|pages=338–39, 442–43, 681–82}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Sawer |first1=Geoffrey |title=The Australian Constitution and the Australian Aborigines |journal=Federal Law Review |date=1966 |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=17–36 |publisher=Australian National University |location=Canberra |doi=10.1177/0067205X6600200102 |s2cid=159414135 |issn=1444-6928 |url=http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/FedLawRw/1967/2.pdf |access-date=3 August 2020 |archive-date=17 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200917034746/http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/FedLawRw/1967/2.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The late 20th century also saw an increasing focus on foreign policy ties with other [[Pacific Rim]] nations.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Pacific Basin since 1945: A history of the foreign relations of the Asian, Australasian, and American rim states and the Pacific islands|last=Thompson|first=Roger C. |isbn=978-0-5820-2127-3|publisher=Longman|year=1994|url=https://archive.org/details/pacificbasinsinc0000thom}}</ref> The [[Australia Acts]] severed the remaining constitutional ties between Australia and the United Kingdom while maintaining the monarch in her independent capacity as [[Queen of Australia]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.foundingdocs.gov.au/item-did-32.html|title=Australia Act 1986 (Cth)|access-date=25 July 2020|work=Documenting a Democracy|publisher=Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House|archive-date=22 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190422204352/https://www.foundingdocs.gov.au/item-did-32.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Twomey |first=Anne |date=January 2008 |title=The States, the Commonwealth and the Crown—the Battle for Sovereignty |url=https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Senate/Powers_practice_n_procedures/pops/pop48/battlesovereignty |access-date= |website=Parliament of Australia |series=Papers on Parliament No. 48 |language=en-AU |quote= |archive-date=9 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220909014023/https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Senate/Powers_practice_n_procedures/pops/pop48/battlesovereignty |url-status=live }}</ref> In a [[1999 Australian republic referendum|1999 constitutional referendum]], 55% of voters rejected [[Republicanism in Australia|abolishing the monarchy]] and becoming a republic.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1999: Republic referendum: Queen and/or Country |url=https://moadoph.gov.au/explore/democracy/1999-republic-referendum |access-date=10 February 2024 |website=Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House |archive-date=17 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240117083033/https://www.moadoph.gov.au/explore/democracy/1999-republic-referendum |url-status=live }}</ref>

Following the [[September 11 attacks]] on the United States, Australia joined the United States in fighting the [[Military history of Australia during the War in Afghanistan|Afghanistan War]] from 2001 to 2021 and the [[Australian contribution to the 2003 invasion of Iraq|Iraq War]] from 2003 to 2009.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Neville |first=Leigh |year=2019 |title=The Australian Army at War 1976–2016|edition=First |publisher=Bloomsbury |location=London |isbn=978-1-4728-2631-2}}</ref> The nation's trade relations also became increasingly oriented towards East Asia in the 21st century, with China becoming the nation's [[List of the largest trading partners of Australia|largest trading partner]] by a large margin.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.dfat.gov.au/sites/default/files/fifty-years-of-Australias-trade.pdf |title=Fifty years of Australia's trade |website=Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade |access-date=11 January 2022 |archive-date=6 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221206235853/http://www.dfat.gov.au/sites/default/files/fifty-years-of-Australias-trade.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2020, during the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Australia|COVID-19 pandemic]], several of Australia's largest cities were [[COVID-19 lockdowns|locked down]] for extended periods and free movement across the national and state borders was restricted in an attempt to slow the spread of the [[Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2|SARS-CoV-2 virus]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dawson |first=Emma |year=2020 |title=What Happens Next? Reconstructing Australia After COVID-19| publisher=Melbourne University Press |location=Melbourne |isbn=978-0-5228-7721-2}}</ref>

==Geography==
{{Main|Geography of Australia|Environment of Australia}}
{{See also|Environmental issues in Australia}}

===General characteristics===
[[File:Reliefmap of Australia.png|thumb|upright=1.3|right|alt=Map showing the topography of Australia, showing some elevation in the west and very high elevation in mountains in the south-east|Topographic map of Australia. Dark green represents the lowest elevation and dark brown the highest.]]

Surrounded by the Indian and Pacific oceans,{{Refn|Australia describes the body of water south of its mainland as the [[Southern Ocean]], rather than the Indian Ocean as defined by the [[International Hydrographic Organization]] (IHO). In 2000, a vote of IHO member nations defined the term "Southern Ocean" as applying only to the waters between [[Antarctica]] and [[60th parallel south|60° south]] latitude.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://geography.about.com/od/learnabouttheearth/a/fifthocean.htm|last=Rosenberg|first=Matt |title=The New Fifth Ocean – The World's Newest Ocean – The Southern Ocean|publisher=About.com: Geography|date=20 August 2009 |access-date=5 April 2010 |archive-date=26 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120126025233/http://geography.about.com/od/learnabouttheearth/a/fifthocean.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref>|name="Southern Ocean"|group="N"}} Australia is separated from Asia by the [[Arafura Sea|Arafura]] and [[Timor Sea|Timor]] seas, with the [[Coral Sea]] lying off the Queensland coast, and the [[Tasman Sea]] lying between Australia and New Zealand. The world's smallest continent<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/places/continents/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080714145306/http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/places/continents/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=14 July 2008 |title=Continents: What is a Continent?|publisher=National Geographic Society |access-date=22 August 2009}} "Most people recognize seven continents — [[Asia]], [[Africa]], [[North America]], [[South America]], [[Antarctica]], [[Europe]], and Australia, from largest to smallest — although sometimes Europe and Asia are considered a single continent, [[Eurasia]]".</ref> and [[List of countries and outlying territories by total area|sixth-largest country by total area]],<ref name="Britannica">{{Cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/43654/Australia |title=Australia |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=22 August 2009 |archive-date=22 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090922214422/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/43654/Australia |url-status=live }} "Smallest continent and sixth largest country (in area) on Earth, lying between the Pacific and Indian oceans".</ref> Australia—owing to its size and isolation—is often dubbed the "island continent"<ref>{{Cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100423151730/http://www.ga.gov.au/education/geoscience-basics/landforms/islands.jsp|url=http://www.ga.gov.au/education/geoscience-basics/landforms/islands.jsp |publisher=Geoscience Australia |title=Islands |archive-date=23 April 2010}} "Being surrounded by ocean, Australia often is referred to as an island continent. As a continental landmass it is significantly larger than the many thousands of fringing islands{{Nbsp}}..."</ref> and is sometimes considered the world's [[List of islands by area|largest island]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.dfat.gov.au/aib/island_continent.html |title=Australia in Brief: The island continent|publisher=Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Australia) |access-date=29 May 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090604082917/http://www.dfat.gov.au/aib/island_continent.html |archive-date=4 June 2009 |url-status=dead}} "Mainland Australia, with an area of 7.69 million square kilometres, is the Earth's largest island but smallest continent".</ref> Australia has {{Cvt|34218|km}} of coastline (excluding all offshore islands),<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.environment.gov.au/soe/2006/publications/drs/indicator/142/index.html |title=State of the Environment 2006|publisher=Department of the Environment and Water Resources |access-date=19 May 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070710224519/http://www.environment.gov.au/soe/2006/publications/drs/indicator/142/index.html |archive-date=10 July 2007}}</ref> and claims [[Exclusive economic zone of Australia|an extensive exclusive economic zone]] of {{Convert|8148250|km2|sqmi}}. This exclusive economic zone does not include the [[Australian Antarctic Territory]].<ref>{{Cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090620022412/http://www.ga.gov.au/education/geoscience-basics/dimensions/oceans-seas.jsp|url=http://www.ga.gov.au/education/geoscience-basics/dimensions/oceans-seas.jsp |publisher=Geoscience Australia |title=Oceans and Seas – Geoscience Australia |archive-date=20 June 2009}}</ref> 

Mainland Australia lies between latitudes [[9th parallel south|9°]] and [[44th parallel south|44° south]], and longitudes [[112th meridian east|112°]] and [[154th meridian east|154° east]].<ref name="Geoscience-Australia-2014"/> Australia's size gives it a wide variety of landscapes, with tropical rainforests in the north-east, mountain ranges in the south-east, south-west and east, and desert in the centre.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.environment.gov.au/parks/national-landscapes/index.html |title=Parks and Reserves—Australia's National Landscapes|website=environment.gov.au|date=23 November 2011 |access-date=4 January 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120104114011/http://environment.gov.au/parks/national-landscapes/index.html |archive-date=4 January 2012}}</ref> The desert or semi-arid land commonly known as the [[outback]] makes up by far the largest portion of land.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Australia: Portrait of a continent|last1=Loffler|first1=Ernst|first2=Anneliese|last2=Loffler |author3=A. J. Rose|first4=Denis|last4=Warner|year=1983|publisher=Hutchinson Group (Australia)|location=Richmond, Victoria|isbn=978-0-0913-0460-7|pages=37–39}}</ref> Australia is the driest inhabited continent; its annual rainfall averaged over continental area is less than 500&nbsp;mm.<ref name=bomclim/> The [[List of countries and dependencies by population density|population density]] is 3.4 inhabitants per square kilometre, although the large majority of the population lives along the temperate south-eastern coastline. The population density exceeds 19,500 inhabitants per square kilometre in central Melbourne.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Previousproducts/3218.0Main%20Features702016-17?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=3218.0&issue=2016-17&num=&view=|title=Population Density|publisher=Australian Bureau of Statistics|date=26 March 2019|access-date=25 April 2020|archive-date=3 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200503083301/https://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs%40.nsf/Previousproducts/3218.0Main%20Features702016-17?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=3218.0&issue=2016-17&num=&view=|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2021 Australia had 10% of the global permanent meadows and pastureland.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en?details=cc8166en |title=World Food and Agriculture: Statistical Yearbook 2023 |date=2023 |publisher=[[Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations]] |isbn=978-92-5-138262-2 |language=en |doi=10.4060/cc8166en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231215161116/https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en?details=cc8166en |archive-date=15 December 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Forest cover]] is around 17% of Australia's total land area.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://openknowledge.fao.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/a6e225da-4a31-4e06-818d-ca3aeadfd635/content |title=Terms and Definitions FRA 2025 Forest Resources Assessment, Working Paper 194 |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |year=2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020, Australia |url=https://fra-data.fao.org/assessments/fra/2020/AUS/home/overview |website=Food Agriculture Organization of the United Nations}}</ref>

[[File:Fitzroy Island.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|left|[[Fitzroy Island (Queensland)|Fitzroy Island]], one of the 600 islands within the main archipelago of the Great Barrier Reef]]

The [[Great Barrier Reef]], the world's largest coral reef,<ref>{{Cite web|author=UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre|year=1980 |title=Protected Areas and World Heritage – Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area|url=http://sea.unep-wcmc.org/sites/wh/gbrmp.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070528210526/http://sea.unep-wcmc.org/sites/wh/gbrmp.html |archive-date=28 May 2007 |publisher=Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts |access-date=19 May 2007}}</ref> lies a short distance off the north-east coast and extends for over {{Cvt|2000|km}}. [[Mount Augustus (Western Australia)|Mount Augustus]], claimed to be the world's largest monolith,<ref name="Monolith">{{Cite news|url=https://www.smh.com.au/news/Western-Australia/Mount-Augustus/2005/02/17/1108500208314.html|title=Mount Augustus|publisher=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=17 February 2005|access-date=30 March 2010|archive-date=6 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206233728/http://www.smh.com.au/news/Western-Australia/Mount-Augustus/2005/02/17/1108500208314.html|url-status=live}}</ref> is located in Western Australia. At {{Cvt|2228|m}}, [[Mount Kosciuszko]] is the highest mountain on the Australian mainland. Even taller are [[Mawson Peak]] (at {{Cvt|2745|m}}), on the remote Australian [[States and territories of Australia|external territory]] of [[Heard Island and McDonald Islands|Heard Island]], and, in the Australian Antarctic Territory, [[Mount McClintock]] and [[Mount Menzies]], at {{Cvt|3492|m}} and {{Cvt|3355|m}} respectively.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ga.gov.au/education/geoscience-basics/landforms/highest-mountains.html|publisher=Geoscience Australia|title=Highest Mountains|access-date=2 February 2012|date=15 May 2014|archive-date=21 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321184228/http://ga.gov.au/education/geoscience-basics/landforms/highest-mountains.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Eastern Australia is marked by the [[Great Dividing Range]], which runs parallel to the coast of Queensland, New South Wales and much of Victoria. The name is not strictly accurate, because parts of the range consist of low hills, and the highlands are typically no more than {{Cvt|1600|m}} in height.<ref name="Johnson2009p202">{{Cite book|last=Johnson|first=David|year=2009
|title=The Geology of Australia|edition=2|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-5217-6741-5|page=202}}</ref> The [[Eastern Australian temperate forests|coastal uplands]] and a [[Brigalow Belt|belt of Brigalow grasslands]] lie between the coast and the mountains, while inland of the dividing range are large areas of grassland and shrubland.<ref name="Johnson2009p202"/><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Seabrooka
|first1=Leonie|last2=McAlpinea|first2=Clive|last3=Fenshamb|first3=Rod|year=2006 |title=Cattle, crops and clearing: Regional drivers of landscape change in the Brigalow Belt, Queensland, Australia, 1840–2004
|journal=Landscape and Urban Planning|volume=78|issue=4|pages=375–376|doi=10.1016/j.landurbplan.2005.11.007|bibcode=2006LUrbP..78..373S }}</ref> These include the [[Southeast Australia temperate savanna|western plains]] of New South Wales, and the [[Mitchell Grass Downs]] and [[Mulga Lands]] of inland Queensland.<ref>{{WWF ecoregion|name=Einasleigh Uplands savanna|id=aa0705|access-date =16 June 2010}}</ref><ref>{{WWF ecoregion|name=Mitchell grass downs|id=aa0707 |access-date=16 June 2010}}</ref><ref>{{WWF ecoregion|name=Eastern Australia mulga shrublands|id=aa0802 |access-date=16 June 2010}}</ref><ref>{{WWF ecoregion|name=Southeast Australia temperate savanna|id=aa0803 |access-date=16 June 2010}}</ref> The northernmost point of the mainland is the tropical [[Cape York Peninsula]].<ref name="Geoscience-Australia-2014"/>

[[File:Uluru, helicopter view, cropped.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|right|[[Uluru]] in the semi-arid region of Central Australia]]

The landscapes of the [[Top End]] and the [[Gulf Country]]—with their tropical climate—include forest, woodland, wetland, grassland, rainforest and desert.<ref>{{WWF ecoregion|name=Arnhem Land tropical savanna|id=aa0701 |access-date=16 June 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=27 June 2009 |title=Rangelands – Overview|work=Australian Natural Resources Atlas|publisher=Australian Government |url=http://www.anra.gov.au/topics/rangelands/overview/qld/ibra-gup.html|access-date =16 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100313224717/http://www.anra.gov.au/topics/rangelands/overview/qld/ibra-gup.html |archive-date=13 March 2010}}</ref><ref>{{WWF ecoregion|name=Cape York Peninsula tropical savanna|id=aa0703 |access-date=16 June 2010}}</ref> At the north-west corner of the continent are the sandstone cliffs and gorges of [[Kimberley (Western Australia)|The Kimberley]], and below that the [[Pilbara]]. The [[Victoria Plains tropical savanna]] lies south of the [[Kimberley tropical savanna|Kimberley]] and [[Arnhem Land tropical savanna|Arnhem Land]] savannas, forming a transition between the coastal savannas and the interior deserts.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Van Driesum|first=Rob|year=2002 |title=Outback Australia|publisher=Lonely Planet|isbn=978-1-8645-0187-2|page=306}}</ref><ref>{{WWF ecoregion |name=Victoria Plains tropical savanna|id=aa0709|access-date =16 June 2010}}</ref><ref>{{WWF ecoregion|name=Western Australian Mulga shrublands|id=aa1310 |access-date=16 June 2010}}</ref> At the heart of the country are the [[Central Ranges xeric scrub|uplands of central Australia]]. Prominent features of the centre and south include [[Uluru]] (also known as Ayers Rock), the famous sandstone monolith, and the inland [[Simpson Desert|Simpson]], [[Tirari-Sturt stony desert|Tirari and Sturt Stony]], [[Gibson Desert|Gibson]], [[Great Sandy-Tanami desert|Great Sandy, Tanami]], and [[Great Victoria Desert|Great Victoria]] deserts, with the famous [[Nullarbor Plain]] on the southern coast.<ref>{{WWF ecoregion|name=Central Ranges xeric scrub|id=aa1302 |access-date=16 June 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Banting|first=Erinn
|year=2003 |title=Australia: The land|publisher=Crabtree Publishing Company|isbn=978-0-7787-9343-4|page=[https://archive.org/details/australia00bant_2/page/10 10]
|url=https://archive.org/details/australia00bant_2/page/10}}</ref><ref name="Terrestrial-Ecoregions">{{WWF ecoregion|name=Tirari-Sturt stony desert|id=aa1309 |access-date=16 June 2010}}</ref><ref>{{WWF ecoregion|name=Great Sandy-Tanami desert|id=aa1304 |access-date=16 June 2010}}</ref> The [[Western Australian mulga shrublands]] lie between the interior deserts and Mediterranean-climate [[Southwest Australia]].<ref name="Terrestrial-Ecoregions"/><ref>{{WWF ecoregion|name=Western Australian mulga shrublands|id=aa1301 |access-date=1 June 2020}}</ref>

===Geology===
{{Main|Geology of Australia}}
[[File:Ausgeolbasic.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|right|Basic geological regions of Australia, by age]]

Lying on the [[Indo-Australian Plate]], the mainland of Australia is the lowest and most primordial landmass on Earth with a relatively stable geological history.<ref>Pirajno, F., Occhipinti, S.A. and Swager, C.P., 1998. ''Geology and tectonic evolution of the Palaeoproterozoic Bryah, Padbury and Yerrida basins, Western Australia: implications for the history of the south-central Capricorn orogen'' Precambrian Research, 90: 119–40</ref><ref>Pain, C.F., Villans, B.J., Roach, I.C., Worrall, L. & Wilford, J.R. (2012) "Old, flat and red – Australia's distinctive landscape" In: ''Shaping a Nation: A Geology of Australia'' Blewitt, R.S. (Ed.) Geoscience Australia and ANU E Press, Canberra. pp. 227–75 {{ISBN|978-1-9221-0343-7}}</ref> The landmass includes virtually all known rock types and from all geological time periods spanning over 3.8 billion years of the Earth's history. The [[Pilbara Craton]] is one of only two pristine [[Archean|Archaean]] 3.6–2.7 Ga (billion years ago) crusts identified on the Earth.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Gray|first1=DR|last2=Foster|first2=DA|year=2004 |title=Tectonic review of the Lachlan Orogen: historical review, data synthesis and modern perspectives|journal=Australian Journal of Earth Sciences|volume=51|issue=6|pages=773–817|doi=10.1111/j.1400-0952.2004.01092.x|s2cid=128901742}}</ref>

Having been part of all major [[supercontinent]]s, the [[Australia (continent)|Australian continent]] began to form after the breakup of [[Gondwana]] in the [[Permian]], with the separation of the continental landmass from the African continent and Indian subcontinent. It separated from Antarctica over a prolonged period beginning in the [[Permian]] and continuing through to the [[Cretaceous]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Hawkesworth|first1=CJ|display-authors=et al.|year=2010 |title=The generation and evolution of the continental crust|journal=Journal of the Geological Society|volume=167|issue=2|pages=229–248 |doi=10.1144/0016-76492009-072|bibcode=2010JGSoc.167..229H|s2cid=131052922}}</ref> When the [[last glacial period]] ended in about 10,000 BC, rising sea levels formed [[Bass Strait]], separating [[Tasmania]] from the mainland. Then between about 8,000 and 6,500 BC, the lowlands in the north were flooded by the sea, separating New Guinea, the [[Aru Islands]], and the mainland of Australia.<ref>Hillis RR & Muller RD. (eds) 2003 ''Evolution and dynamics of the Australian Plate'' Geological Society of Australia Special Publication 22: 432 p.</ref> The Australian continent is moving toward [[Eurasia]] at the rate of 6 to 7 centimetres a year.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Cawood|first1=PA|year=2005 |title=Terra Australis Orogen: ''Rodinia breakup and development of the Pacific and Iapetus margins of Gondwana during the Neoproterozoic and Paleozoic''|journal=Earth-Science Reviews|volume=69|issue=3–4|pages=249–279|doi=10.1016/j.earscirev.2004.09.001|bibcode=2005ESRv...69..249C}}</ref>

The Australian mainland's [[continental crust]], excluding the thinned margins, has an average thickness of 38{{Nbsp}}km, with a range in thickness from 24&nbsp;km to 59&nbsp;km.<ref>McKenzie et al. (ed) 2004 Australian Soils and Landscapes: an illustrated compendium [[CSIRO]] Publishing: 395 p.</ref> Australia's geology can be divided into several main sections, showcasing that the continent grew from west to east: the Archaean [[craton]]ic shields found mostly in the west, [[Proterozoic]] [[orogeny|fold belts]] in the centre and [[Phanerozoic]] [[sedimentary basins]], metamorphic and [[igneous rocks]] in the east.<ref>Bishop P & Pillans B. (eds) 2010, Australian Landscapes Geological Society of London Special Publication 346</ref>

The Australian mainland and Tasmania are situated in the middle of the [[tectonic plate]] and have no active volcanoes,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/land-of-earthquakes-and-volcanoes.htm |title=Land of earthquakes and volcanoes?|first=Kevin|last=Mccue |access-date=25 April 2010|date=26 February 2010|publisher=Australian Geographic |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100306150520/http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/land-of-earthquakes-and-volcanoes.htm |archive-date=6 March 2010}}</ref> but due to passing over the [[East Australia hotspot]], recent volcanism has occurred during the [[Holocene]], in the [[Newer Volcanics Province]] of western Victoria and south-eastern South Australia. Volcanism also occurs in the island of New Guinea (considered geologically as part of the Australian continent), and in the Australian external territory of [[Heard Island and McDonald Islands]].<ref>Van Ufford AQ & Cloos M. 2005 ''Cenozoic tectonics of New Guinea'' AAPG Bulletin 89: 119–140</ref> [[List of earthquakes in Australia|Seismic activity]] in the Australian mainland and Tasmania is also low, with the greatest number of fatalities having occurred in the [[1989 Newcastle earthquake]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ga.gov.au/urban/factsheets/earthquakes_newcastle.jsp |title=Earthquake History, Regional Seismicity And The 1989 Newcastle Earthquake |publisher=Geoscience Australia|date=22 June 2004 |access-date=27 June 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040826220212/http://www.ga.gov.au/urban/factsheets/earthquakes_newcastle.jsp |archive-date=26 August 2004}}</ref>

===Climate===
{{Main|Climate of Australia}}
[[File:Australia Köppen.svg|thumb|upright=1.2|right|[[Köppen climate classification|Köppen climate types]] of Australia<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Beck|first1=Hylke E.|last2=Zimmermann|first2=Niklaus E. |last3=McVicar|first3=Tim R.|last4=Vergopolan|first4=Noemi|last5=Berg|first5=Alexis|last6=Wood|first6=Eric F.|title=Present and future Köppen-Geiger climate classification maps at 1-km resolution |journal=Scientific Data|date=30 October 2018|volume=5|issue=1|page=180214|doi=10.1038/sdata.2018.214|pmid=30375988|pmc=6207062|bibcode=2018NatSD...580214B}}</ref>]]

The climate of Australia is significantly influenced by ocean currents, including the [[Indian Ocean Dipole]] and the [[El Niño–Southern Oscillation]], which is correlated with periodic [[Drought in Australia|drought]], and the seasonal tropical low-pressure system that produces cyclones in northern Australia.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/climate-watch/no-more-drought-its-a-permanent-dry/2007/09/06/1188783415754.html|title=No more drought: it's a 'permanent dry'|last=Kleinman|first=Rachel|date=6 September 2007|access-date=30 March 2010|publisher=The Age|location=Melbourne|archive-date=10 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010150803/http://www.theage.com.au/news/climate-watch/no-more-drought-its-a-permanent-dry/2007/09/06/1188783415754.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.independent.co.uk/world/australasia/article2465960.ece |title=Australia's epic drought: The situation is grim|last=Marks|first=Kathy|newspaper=The Independent|date=20 April 2007 |access-date=30 March 2010|location=London |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070422065131/http://news.independent.co.uk/world/australasia/article2465960.ece |archive-date=22 April 2007}}</ref> These factors cause rainfall to vary markedly from year to year. Much of the northern part of the country has a tropical, predominantly summer-rainfall ([[monsoon]]).<ref name=bomclim>{{Cite web |title=Australia – Climate of Our Continent|publisher=Bureau of Meteorology|url=http://www.bom.gov.au/lam/climate/levelthree/ausclim/zones.htm |access-date=17 June 2010 |archive-url=https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20090317054300/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/96122/20090317-1643/www.bom.gov.au/lam/climate/levelthree/ausclim/zones.html |archive-date=17 March 2009}}{{Cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> The south-west corner of the country has a [[Mediterranean climate]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Climate of Western Australia|publisher=Bureau of Meteorology|url=http://www.bom.gov.au/lam/climate/levelthree/ausclim/ausclimwa.htm |access-date=6 December 2009 |archive-url=https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20090317054300/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/96122/20090317-1643/www.bom.gov.au/lam/climate/levelthree/ausclim/ausclimwa.html |archive-date=17 March 2009}}{{Cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> The south-east ranges from [[oceanic climate|oceanic]] (Tasmania and coastal Victoria) to [[humid subtropical]] (upper half of New South Wales), with the highlands featuring [[alpine climate|alpine]] and [[subpolar oceanic climate]]s. The interior is [[arid]] to [[semi-arid]].<ref name=bomclim/>

Driven by climate change, average temperatures have risen [[Climate change in Australia|more than 1°C since 1960]]. Associated changes in rainfall patterns and climate extremes exacerbate existing issues such as drought and [[Bushfires in Australia|bushfires]]. 2019 was Australia's warmest recorded year,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bom.gov.au/state-of-the-climate/documents/State-of-the-Climate-2020.pdf|title=State of the Climate 2020|publisher=Bureau of Meteorology|date=November 2020|access-date=2 December 2020|archive-date=24 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124014610/http://www.bom.gov.au/state-of-the-climate/documents/State-of-the-Climate-2020.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> and the [[2019–20 Australian bushfire season|2019–2020 bushfire season]] was the country's worst [[List of Australian bushfire seasons|on record]].<ref>{{Cite news|title=Australia fires: Life during and after the worst bushfires in history|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/52410744|publisher=BBC News|date=28 April 2020|access-date=18 July 2020|archive-date=15 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220715111438/https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/52410744|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Greenhouse gas emissions by Australia|Australia's greenhouse gas emissions]] per capita are among the highest in the world.<ref>{{Cite report|date=9 March 2020|title=Environment at a Glance Indicators: Climate change|url=https://www.oecd.org/environment/environment-at-a-glance/Climate-Change-Archive-February-2020.pdf|publisher=OECD|page=6|access-date=3 December 2020|archive-date=21 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201221214907/https://www.oecd.org/environment/environment-at-a-glance/Climate-Change-Archive-February-2020.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Water restrictions in Australia|Water restrictions]] are frequently in place in many regions and cities of Australia in response to chronic shortages due to urban population increases and localised drought.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Heggie|first1=Jon |title=Making Every Drop Count: How Australia is Securing its Water Future|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/08/partner-content-how-australia-is-securing-its-water-future/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200718182729/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/08/partner-content-how-australia-is-securing-its-water-future/|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 July 2020|publisher=National Geographic|date=August 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.nwc.gov.au/urban/more/national-review-of-water-restrictions-in-australia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227083656/http://www.nwc.gov.au/urban/more/national-review-of-water-restrictions-in-australia |archive-date=27 February 2012 |title=National review of water restrictions in Australia|publisher=Australian Government National Water Commission|date=15 January 2010 |access-date=27 September 2012}}</ref> Throughout much of the continent, [[Floods in Australia|major flooding]] regularly follows extended periods of drought, flushing out inland river systems, overflowing dams and inundating large inland flood plains, as occurred throughout Eastern Australia in the early 2010s after the [[2000s Australian drought]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://theconversation.com/yes-australia-is-a-land-of-flooding-rains-but-climate-change-could-be-making-it-worse-157586|last=Gergis|first=Joelle|title=Yes, Australia is a land of flooding rains. But climate change could be making it worse|date=23 March 2021|website=The Conversation|access-date=2 April 2021|archive-date=4 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210404091437/https://theconversation.com/yes-australia-is-a-land-of-flooding-rains-but-climate-change-could-be-making-it-worse-157586|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Biodiversity===
{{See also|Fauna of Australia|Flora of Australia|Fungi of Australia}}
[[File:Koala climbing tree.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|left|alt=A koala holding onto a eucalyptus tree with its head turned so both eyes are visible|The [[koala]] and the ''[[Eucalyptus]]'' form an iconic Australian pair.]]

Although most of Australia is semi-arid or desert, the continent includes a diverse range of habitats from [[alpine climate|alpine]] heaths to [[tropical rainforest]]s. Fungi typify that diversity—an estimated 250,000 species—of which only 5% have been described—occur in Australia.<ref>Pascoe, I. G.; (1991) History of systematic mycology in Australia ''History of Systematic Botany in Australasia'' Ed. by: P. Short Australian Systematic Botany Society Inc. pp. 259–264</ref> Because of the continent's great age, extremely variable weather patterns, and long-term geographic isolation, much of Australia's [[biota (ecology)|biota]] is unique. About 85% of flowering plants, 84% of mammals, more than 45% of [[List of birds of Australia|birds]], and 89% of in-shore, temperate-zone fish are [[endemism|endemic]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.deh.gov.au/biodiversity/about-biodiversity.html |title=About Biodiversity |access-date=18 September 2007|publisher=Department of the Environment and Heritage |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070205015628/http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/about-biodiversity.html |archive-date=5 February 2007}}</ref> Australia has at least 755 species of reptile, more than any other country in the world.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lambertini|first=Marco|title=A Naturalist's Guide to the Tropics|year=2000|isbn=978-0-2264-6828-0|publisher=University of Chicago Press|url=http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/468283.html|format=excerpt|access-date=30 March 2010|archive-date=5 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170205010300/http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/468283.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Besides Antarctica, Australia is the only continent that developed without feline species. Feral cats may have been introduced in the 17th century by Dutch shipwrecks, and later in the 18th century by European settlers. They are now considered a major factor in the decline and extinction of many vulnerable and endangered native species.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-13/greg-hunt-feral-cat-native-animals-fact-check/5858282|title=Fact check: Are feral cats killing over 20 billion native animals a year?|date=20 November 2014|work=ABC News|access-date=22 January 2017|archive-date=8 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170108001903/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-13/greg-hunt-feral-cat-native-animals-fact-check/5858282|url-status=live}}</ref> Seafaring immigrants from Asia are believed to have brought the [[dingo]] to Australia sometime after the end of the last ice age{{Mdash}}perhaps 4000 years ago{{Mdash}}and Aboriginal people helped disperse them across the continent as pets, contributing to the demise of [[thylacines]] on the mainland.<ref name=jackson2015>{{cite book|last1=Jackson|first1=Stephen|last2=Groves|first2=Colin|title=Taxonomy of Australian Mammals|publisher=CSIRO Publishing, Clayton, Victoria, Australia|year=2015|pages=287–290|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RPznCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA288|isbn=978-1-4863-0013-6}}</ref> Australia is also one of 17 megadiverse countries.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Evans |first1=Megan C. |last2=Watson |first2=James E. M. |last3=Fuller |first3=Richard A. |last4=Venter |first4=Oscar |last5=Bennett |first5=Simon C. |last6=Marsack |first6=Peter R. |last7=Possingham |first7=Hugh P. |title=The Spatial Distribution of Threats to Species in Australia |journal=BioScience |date=April 2011 |volume=61 |issue=4 |page=282 |doi=10.1525/bio.2011.61.4.8 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

[[Forests of Australia|Australian forests]] are mostly made up of evergreen species, particularly [[eucalyptus]] trees in the less arid regions; [[Acacia|wattles]] replace them as the dominant species in drier regions and deserts.<ref name=dfat>{{Cite web |url=http://www.dfat.gov.au/facts/flora_and_fauna.html |title=About Australia: Flora and fauna |access-date=15 May 2010|date=May 2008|publisher=Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140211203954/http://www.dfat.gov.au/facts/flora_and_fauna.html |archive-date=11 February 2014}}</ref> Among well-known [[fauna of Australia|Australian animals]] are the [[monotreme]]s (the [[platypus]] and [[echidna]]); a host of [[marsupial]]s, including the [[kangaroo]], koala, and wombat, and birds such as the emu and the kookaburra.<ref name=dfat/> Australia is home to [[Animal attacks in Australia|many dangerous animals]] including some of the most venomous snakes in the world.<ref>{{Cite web |date=15 January 2015 |title=Snake bite – The Australian Venom Compendium Concept |url=http://www.avru.org/compendium/biogs/A000084b.htm |access-date=15 January 2022 |website= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150115112947/http://www.avru.org/compendium/biogs/A000084b.htm |archive-date=15 January 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[dingo]] was introduced by Austronesian people who traded with Indigenous Australians around 3000 [[Common Era|BCE]].<ref name="savolainen2004">{{Cite journal|last1=Savolainen|first1=P.|last2=Leitner|first2=T.|last3=Wilton|first3=A.N.|last4=Matisoo-Smith|first4=E.
|last5=Lundeberg|first5=J.|title=A detailed picture of the origin of the Australian dingo, obtained from the study of mitochondrial DNA|doi=10.1073/pnas.0401814101|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume=101|issue=33|pages=12387–12390|year=2004|pmid=15299143|pmc=514485|bibcode=2004PNAS..10112387S|doi-access=free}}</ref> Many animal and plant species became extinct soon after first human settlement,<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://uninews.unimelb.edu.au/view.php?articleID=170 |title=Humans to blame for extinction of Australia's megafauna|publisher=University of Melbourne|date=8 June 2001 |access-date=30 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100402065113/http://uninews.unimelb.edu.au/view.php?articleID=170 |archive-date=2 April 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> including the [[Australian megafauna]]; others have disappeared since European settlement, among them the thylacine.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.naturalworlds.org/thylacine/index.htm |title=The Thylacine Museum – A Natural History of the Tasmanian Tiger |publisher=The Thylacine Museum |access-date=14 October 2013 |archive-date=15 March 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060315214219/http://www.naturalworlds.org/thylacine/index.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.deh.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/ts-day/index.html |title=National Threatened Species Day |publisher=Department of the Environment and Heritage, Australian Government|year=2006 |access-date=21 November 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061209084616/http://www.deh.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/ts-day/index.html |archive-date=9 December 2006 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Many of Australia's ecoregions, and the species within those regions, are threatened by human activities and [[Invasive species in Australia|introduced]] animal, [[chromista]]n, fungal and plant species.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/invasive/index.html |title=Invasive species|publisher=Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts|date=17 March 2010 |access-date=14 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100629001302/http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/invasive/index.html |archive-date=29 June 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> All these factors have led to Australia's having the highest mammal extinction rate of any country in the world.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/wildlife/2012/10/australias-most-endangered-species|title=Australia's most endangered species|publisher=Australian Geographic|access-date=16 June 2014|date=2 October 2012|archive-date=7 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140707222631/http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/wildlife/2012/10/australias-most-endangered-species|url-status=live}}</ref> The federal ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' is the legal framework for the protection of threatened species.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.environment.gov.au/epbc/about/index.html |title=About the EPBC Act|publisher=Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts |access-date=14 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100531084042/http://www.environment.gov.au/epbc/about/index.html |archive-date=31 May 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> Numerous [[Protected areas of Australia|protected areas]] have been created under the [[Biodiversity action plan|National Strategy for the Conservation of Australia's Biological Diversity]] to protect and preserve unique ecosystems;<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/publications/strategy/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110312021249/http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/publications/strategy/index.html |archive-date=12 March 2011 |title=National Strategy for the Conservation of Australia's Biological Diversity|publisher=Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts|date=21 January 2010 |access-date=14 June 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/publications/strategy/chap1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110313222100/http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/publications/strategy/chap1.html |archive-date=13 March 2011 |title=Conservation of biological diversity across Australia |publisher=Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts|date=19 January 2009 |access-date=14 June 2010}}</ref> 65 [[wetland]]s are [[List of Ramsar sites in Australia|listed]] under the [[Ramsar Convention]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ramsar.org/document/the-list-of-wetlands-of-international-importance-the-ramsar-list|title=The List of Wetlands of International Importance|publisher=Ramsar Convention|pages=6–7|date=22 May 2010|access-date=14 June 2010|archive-date=15 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015201559/http://www.ramsar.org/document/the-list-of-wetlands-of-international-importance-the-ramsar-list|url-status=live}}</ref> and 16 natural [[World Heritage Site]]s have been established.<ref name="WHC">{{Cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/au|title=Australia|work=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |access-date=5 September 2009|archive-date=2 October 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091002202106/http://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/au|url-status=live}}</ref> Australia was ranked 21st out of 178 countries in the world on the 2018 [[Environmental Performance Index]].<ref>{{Citation |title=2018 EPI Results|url=https://epi.envirocenter.yale.edu/epi-topline|work=Environmental Performance Index|publisher=Yale Center for International Earth Science Information Network |access-date=24 September 2018 |archive-date=23 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190723205354/https://epi.envirocenter.yale.edu/epi-topline |url-status=dead}}</ref> There are more than 1,800 animals and plants on Australia's threatened species list, including more than 500 animals.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-06-24/australias-long-list-of-threatened-species/11234090|title='Haunting': What it's like watching the last of a species die|last=March|first=Stephanie|date=24 June 2019|work=ABC News|access-date=16 July 2019|archive-date=13 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190713234527/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-06-24/australias-long-list-of-threatened-species/11234090|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Paleontologists]] discovered a [[fossil]] site of a [[prehistoric]] [[rainforest]] in [[McGraths Flat]], in South Australia, that presents evidence that this now arid [[desert]] and dry [[shrubland]]/[[grassland]] was once home to an abundance of life.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mind-Blowing New Fossil Site Found in The 'Dead' Heart of Australia |author=Michelle Starr |date=7 January 2022 |website=Science Alert |url=https://www.sciencealert.com/incredible-new-fossil-site-found-in-the-dead-heart-of-australia |access-date=7 January 2022 |archive-date=7 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220107221514/https://www.sciencealert.com/incredible-new-fossil-site-found-in-the-dead-heart-of-australia |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=See the spectacular fossils from a newly discovered prehistoric rainforest |date=7 January 2022 |author=Michael Greshko |website=National Geographic |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/see-the-spectacular-fossils-from-a-newly-discovered-prehistoric-rainforest|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220107192025/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/see-the-spectacular-fossils-from-a-newly-discovered-prehistoric-rainforest|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 January 2022}}</ref>

==Government and politics==
{{Main|Australian Government|Politics of Australia}}
{{Multiple image
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| image1            = King Charles III (July 2023).jpg
| caption1          = [[Charles III]],<br />[[Monarchy of Australia|King of Australia]]
| image2            = Sam Mostyn 2024.jpg
| caption2          = [[Sam Mostyn]],<br />[[Governor-General of Australia|Governor-General]]
| image3            = Anthony Albanese portrait (cropped).jpg
| caption3          = [[Anthony Albanese]],<br />[[Prime Minister of Australia|Prime Minister]]
}}

Australia is a [[constitutional monarchy]], a [[parliamentary democracy]] and a [[federation]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=12 January 2024 |title=Australian system of government |url=https://peo.gov.au/understand-our-parliament/how-parliament-works/system-of-government/australian-system-of-government |access-date= |website=Parliamentary Education Office |language=en |archive-date=14 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240214204120/https://peo.gov.au/understand-our-parliament/how-parliament-works/system-of-government/australian-system-of-government |url-status=live }}</ref> The country has maintained its mostly unchanged [[Constitution of Australia|constitution]] alongside a stable [[Liberal democracy|liberal democratic]] political system since [[Federation of Australia|Federation]] in 1901. It is one of the world's oldest federations, in which power is divided between the federal and [[States and territories of Australia|state]] governments. The [[Politics of Australia|Australian system of government]] combines elements derived from the political systems of the United Kingdom (a [[Fusion of powers|fused executive]], constitutional monarchy and [[Party discipline|strong party discipline]]) and the United States ([[federalism]], a [[written constitution]] and [[bicameralism|strong bicameralism]] with an elected upper house), resulting in a distinct hybrid.<ref name="Thompson-1980">{{Cite journal |last=Thompson |first=Elaine |year=1980 |title=The 'Washminster' Mutation |journal=[[Australian Journal of Political Science|Politics]] |volume=15 |issue=2 |page=32 |doi=10.1080/00323268008401755}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=14 December 2023 |title=What is the Washminster system? |url=https://peo.gov.au/understand-our-parliament/your-questions-on-notice/questions/what-is-the-washminster-system |access-date= |website=Parliamentary Education Office |language=en |archive-date=15 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240215070719/https://peo.gov.au/understand-our-parliament/your-questions-on-notice/questions/what-is-the-washminster-system |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Separation of powers in Australia|Federal government power is partially separated]] between three groups:<ref name="Parliamentary Education Office-2023_2">{{Cite web |title=Separation of powers: Parliament, Executive and Judiciary |url=https://peo.gov.au/understand-our-parliament/how-parliament-works/system-of-government/separation-of-powers-parliament-executive-and-judiciary/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231031132705/https://peo.gov.au/understand-our-parliament/how-parliament-works/system-of-government/separation-of-powers-parliament-executive-and-judiciary/ |archive-date=31 October 2023 |access-date=8 November 2023 |website=Parliamentary Education Office |publisher= |language=en}}</ref>
* Legislature: the bicameral [[Parliament of Australia|Parliament]], comprising the [[Monarchy of Australia|monarch]], the [[Australian Senate|Senate]], and the [[Australian House of Representatives|House of Representatives]]
* Executive: the [[Cabinet of Australia|Cabinet]], led by the prime minister (the leader of the party or coalition with a majority in the House of Representatives) and other ministers they have chosen; formally appointed by the governor-general<ref name="Factbook-Government">{{Cite CIA World Factbook |country=Australia |section=Government |access-date=16 August 2024}}</ref>
* Judiciary: the [[High Court of Australia|High Court]] and other [[Australian court hierarchy|federal courts]]

[[Charles III]] reigns as [[King of Australia]] and is represented in Australia by the [[Governor-General of Australia|governor-general]] at the federal level and by the [[Governors of the Australian states|governors]] at the state level, who by [[Chapter II of the Constitution of Australia#Section 63: Provisions referring to Governor-General|section 63]] of the Constitution and convention act on the advice of their ministers.<ref name="Davison pp287–8">{{Harvnb|Davison|Hirst|Macintyre|1998|pages=287–88}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.gg.gov.au/governorgeneral/category.php?id=2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080804130529/http://www.gg.gov.au/governorgeneral/category.php?id=2 |archive-date=4 August 2008 |title=Governor-General's Role|publisher=Governor-General of Australia |access-date=23 April 2010}}</ref> Thus, in practice the governor-general acts as a legal figurehead for the actions of the [[Prime Minister of Australia|prime minister]] and the Cabinet. The governor-general may in some situations exercise [[reserve power]]s: powers exercisable in the absence or contrary to ministerial advice. When these powers may be exercised is governed by convention and their precise scope is unclear. The most notable exercise of these powers was the dismissal of the [[Whitlam government]] in the [[1975 Australian constitutional crisis|constitutional crisis of 1975]].<ref>{{Cite web|publisher=Parliament of Australia|date=23 January 1998 |access-date=18 June 2010|url=http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/rn/1997-98/98rn25.htm |title=The Reserve Powers of the Governor-General|author=Downing, Susan |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100726170040/http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/rn/1997-98/98rn25.htm |archive-date=26 July 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[File:Canberra (AU), Parliament House -- 2019 -- 1746.jpg|alt=A large white and cream coloured building with grass on its roof. The building is topped with a large flagpole.|left|thumb|[[Parliament House, Canberra|Parliament House]], [[Canberra]]]]
In the Senate (the upper house), there are 76 senators: twelve each from the states and two each from the mainland territories (the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory).<ref name=sen>{{Cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/elections/federal/2007/guide/senatecomposition.htm |title=Senate Summary|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=23 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100506235552/http://www.abc.net.au/elections/federal/2007/guide/senatecomposition.htm |archive-date=6 May 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> The House of Representatives (the lower house) has 151 members elected from single-member [[Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives|electoral divisions]], commonly known as "electorates" or "seats", allocated to states on the basis of population, with each of the current states guaranteed a minimum of five seats.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Muller |first=Damon |date=26 April 2023 |title=The process for, and consequences of, changing the size of the Commonwealth Parliament: a quick guide |url=https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/rp2223/Quick_Guides/ChangingSizeCommonwealthParliament |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230511175801/https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/rp2223/Quick_Guides/ChangingSizeCommonwealthParliament |archive-date=11 May 2023 |access-date= |website=Parliament of Australia |language=en-AU}}</ref> The lower house has a maximum term of three years, but this is not fixed and governments usually dissolve the house early for an election at some point in the 6 months before the maximum.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters |url=https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Completed_Inquiries/em/elect04/report |title=The 2004 Federal Election |date=10 October 2005 |publisher=Parliament of Australia |isbn=978-0-642-78705-7 |at=paras. 7.26–7.27 |language=en-AU |chapter=Parliamentary terms |chapter-url=https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Completed_Inquiries/em/elect04/chapter7 |access-date=25 January 2024 |archive-date=25 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240125005940/https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Completed_Inquiries/em/elect04/report |url-status=live }}</ref> Elections for both chambers are generally held simultaneously with senators having overlapping six-year terms except for those from the territories, whose terms are not fixed but are tied to the electoral cycle for the lower house. Thus only 40 of the 76 places in the Senate are put to each election unless the cycle is interrupted by a [[double dissolution]].<ref name="sen" />

Australia's [[electoral system of Australia|electoral system]] uses [[Instant-runoff voting|preferential voting]] for the House of Representatives and all state and territory lower house elections (with the exception of Tasmania and the ACT which use the [[Hare-Clark system]]). The Senate and most state upper houses use the [[single transferable vote|proportional system]] which combines preferential voting with [[proportional representation]] for each state. [[Compulsory voting|Voting and enrolment is compulsory]] for all enrolled citizens 18 years and over in every jurisdiction.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.aec.gov.au/pdf/voting/compulsory_voting.pdf |title=Compulsory Voting in Australia|last=Evans|first=Tim|year=2006|publisher=Australian Electoral Commission|page=4 |access-date=21 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090611200653/http://www.aec.gov.au/pdf/voting/compulsory_voting.pdf |archive-date=11 June 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://aec.gov.au/FAQs/Enrolment.htm#compulsory |title=Is it compulsory to enrol, regardless of age or disability?|work=Enrolment – Frequently Asked Questions|publisher=Australian Electoral Commission |access-date=11 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210524015925/https://aec.gov.au/FAQs/Enrolment.htm |archive-date=24 May 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |first=Judith |last=Brett |title=From Secret Ballot to Democracy Sausage: How Australia Got Compulsory Voting |publisher=Text Publishing Co |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-9256-0384-2}}</ref> The party with majority support in the House of Representatives forms the government and its leader becomes Prime Minister. In cases where no party has majority support, the governor-general has the constitutional power to appoint the prime minister and, if necessary, dismiss one that has lost the confidence of Parliament.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.gg.gov.au/content.php/page/id/3/title/governor-generals-role |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121014171300/http://www.gg.gov.au/content.php/page/id/3/title/governor-generals-role |archive-date=14 October 2012 |title=Governor-General's Role|publisher=Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia |access-date=13 January 2012}}</ref> Due to the relatively unique position of Australia operating as a [[Westminster system|Westminster]] parliamentary democracy with a powerful and elected upper house, the system has sometimes been referred to as having a "Washminster mutation",<ref name="Thompson-1980" /> or as a semi-parliamentary system.<ref name=Ganghof>{{Cite journal |last1=Ganghof |first1=S |title=A new political system model: Semi-parliamentary government |journal=European Journal of Political Research |date=May 2018 |volume=57 |issue=2 |pages=261–281 |doi=10.1111/1475-6765.12224 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

There are two major political groups that usually form government federally: the [[Australian Labor Party]] (ALP)<!-- NOTE TO EDITORS: The name of the party is spelt "Labor" (i.e., no "u") even though the usual Australian spelling is "labour". --> and the [[Coalition (Australia)|Coalition]], which is a formal grouping of the [[Liberal Party of Australia|Liberal Party]] and its minor partner, the [[National Party of Australia|National Party]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/elections/federal/2007/guide/glossary.htm#coalition |title=Glossary of Election Terms |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=23 April 2010 |archive-date=6 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210306034515/http://www.abc.net.au/elections/federal/2007/guide/glossary.htm#coalition |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/elections/federal/2007/results/sop.htm |title=State of the Parties|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=23 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100418163914/http://www.abc.net.au/elections/federal/2007/results/sop.htm |archive-date= 18 April 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> At the state level of government, the relationship between the Nationals and the Liberal Party differs, with the parties [[Liberal National Party of Queensland|merged in Queensland]] and the [[Country Liberal Party|Northern Territory]] (federal parliamentarians sit in either the Liberal or National partyroom however); in coalition in New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia; and in competition with the Liberals in South Australia and Tasmania.<ref>{{Cite web |date=30 July 2008 |title=The Liberal-National Party – a new model party? |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2008-07-30/the-liberal-national-party---a-new-model-party/457812 |access-date=8 September 2021 |website=ABC News |language=en-AU |archive-date=7 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221007033647/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2008-07-30/the-liberal-national-party---a-new-model-party/457812 |url-status=live }}</ref> Within Australian political culture, the Coalition is considered [[centre-right]] and the Labor Party is considered [[centre-left]].<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Fenna|first1=Alan|last2=Robbins|first2=Jane|last3=Summers|first3=John |title=Government Politics in Australia|publisher=Pearson Higher Education AU|location=London|year=2013|isbn=978-1-4860-0138-5|page=139}}</ref> Independent members and several minor parties have achieved representation in Australian parliaments, mostly in upper houses. The [[Australian Greens]] are the third largest party by both vote and membership and the fourth largest by parliamentary representation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/old-greens-wounds-reopen-as-members-vote-on-directly-electing-leader-20200422-p54m5r.html|title=Old Greens wounds reopen as members vote on directly electing leader|last=Harris|first=Rob|date=22 April 2020|newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald|access-date=24 April 2020|archive-date=22 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200422080256/https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/old-greens-wounds-reopen-as-members-vote-on-directly-electing-leader-20200422-p54m5r.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Jackson |first1=Stewart |title=The Australian Greens : from activism to Australia's third party |date=2016 |publisher=Melbourne University Press |isbn=978-0-5228-6794-7}}</ref> The [[2022 Australian federal election|most recent federal election]] was held on 21 May 2022 and resulted in the Australian Labor Party, led by [[Anthony Albanese]], being elected to [[Government of Australia|government]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=22 May 2022 |title=Anthony Albanese sworn in as Prime Minister |language=en-AU |work=ABC News |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-23/anthony-albanese-to-be-sworn-in-prime-minister/101089902 |access-date=22 May 2022 |archive-date=22 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220522182422/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-23/anthony-albanese-to-be-sworn-in-prime-minister/101089902 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===States and territories===
{{Main|States and territories of Australia}}
[[File:Australia states and territories labelled.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|right|Australia's states and territories]]

Australia has six states—[[New South Wales]] (NSW), [[Victoria (state)|Victoria]] (Vic), [[Queensland]] (Qld), [[Western Australia]] (WA), [[South Australia]] (SA) and [[Tasmania]] (Tas)—and two mainland self-governing territories—the [[Australian Capital Territory]] (ACT) and the [[Northern Territory]] (NT).<ref>{{Cite web |date=14 December 2023 |title=What's the difference between a territory and a state parliament? |url=https://peo.gov.au/understand-our-parliament/your-questions-on-notice |access-date= |website=Parliamentary Education Office |language=en |archive-date=18 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240318145108/https://peo.gov.au/understand-our-parliament/your-questions-on-notice |url-status=live }}</ref> 

The states have the general power to make laws except in the few areas where the constitution grants the Commonwealth exclusive powers.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pyke |first=John |title=Government powers under a Federal Constitution: constitutional law in Australia |date=2020 |publisher=Lawbook Co |isbn=978-0-455-24415-0 |edition=2nd |location=Pyrmont, NSW |pages=405–6}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=19 July 2022 |title=Three levels of government: governing Australia |url=https://peo.gov.au/understand-our-parliament/how-parliament-works/three-levels-of-government/three-levels-of-government-governing-australia |access-date=25 January 2024 |website=Parliamentary Education Office |language=en |archive-date=4 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240104073724/https://peo.gov.au/understand-our-parliament/how-parliament-works/three-levels-of-government/three-levels-of-government-governing-australia |url-status=live }}</ref> The Commonwealth can only make laws on topics listed in the constitution but its laws prevail over those of the states to the extent of any inconsistency.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pyke |first=John |title=Government powers under a Federal Constitution: constitutional law in Australia |date=2020 |publisher=Lawbook Co |isbn=978-0-455-24415-0 |edition=2nd |location=Pyrmont, NSW |pages=528–30, 577–80}}</ref><ref>{{Cite Legislation AU|Cth|act|coaca430|Australian Constitution|109}}. "When a law of a State is inconsistent with a law of the Commonwealth, the latter shall prevail, and the former shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be invalid."</ref> Since Federation, the Commonwealth's power relative to the states [[Australian constitutional law#Growth of federal power|has significantly increased]] due to the increasingly wide interpretation given to listed Commonwealth powers{{snd}}and because of the states' [[Fiscal imbalance in Australia|heavy financial reliance]] on Commonwealth grants.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pyke |first=John |title=Government powers under a Federal Constitution: constitutional law in Australia |date=2020 |publisher=Lawbook Co |isbn=978-0-455-24415-0 |edition=2nd |location=Pyrmont, NSW |pages=607–9}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Beck |first=Luke |title=Australian constitutional law: concepts and cases |date=2020 |publisher=Cambridge university press |isbn=978-1-108-70103-7 |location=Port Melbourne, VIC |pages=521–8}}</ref>

Each state and major mainland territory has its own [[Parliaments of the Australian states and territories|parliament]]—[[unicameralism|unicameral]] in the Northern Territory, the ACT and Queensland, and bicameral in the other states. The lower houses are known as the [[Legislative Assembly]] (the [[House of Assembly]] in South Australia and Tasmania); the upper houses are known as the [[Legislative council|Legislative Council]]. The [[head of government|head of the government]] in each state is the [[Premiers of the Australian states|Premier]] and in each territory the [[Chief Minister]]. The King is represented in each state by a [[Governors of the Australian states|governor]]. At the Commonwealth level, the King's representative is the governor-general.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.gg.gov.au/governorgeneral/category.php?id=2|publisher=Governor–General of the Commonwealth of Australia |title=Governor-General's Role |access-date=30 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080804130529/http://www.gg.gov.au/governorgeneral/category.php?id=2 |archive-date=4 August 2008}}</ref>

The Commonwealth government directly administers the internal [[Jervis Bay Territory]] and the other external territories: the [[Ashmore and Cartier Islands]], the [[Coral Sea Islands]], the [[Heard Island and McDonald Islands]], the [[Australian Indian Ocean Territories|Indian Ocean territories]] (Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands), [[Norfolk Island]],{{Refn|Norfolk Island previously was self-governed, however this was revoked in 2015.<ref>{{Cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080806021653/http://ag.gov.au/www/agd/agd.nsf/Page/Territories_of_AustraliaNorfolk_IslandAdministrator_of_Norfolk_Island|url=http://ag.gov.au/www/agd/agd.nsf/Page/Territories_of_AustraliaNorfolk_Island|publisher=Australian Government Attorney-General's Department |title=Administrator of Norfolk Island |archive-date=6 August 2008}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/may/12/norfolk-island-loses-its-parliament-as-canberra-takes-control|title=Norfolk Island loses its parliament as Canberra takes control|first1=Monica|last1=Tan|author2=Australian Associated Press|date=12 May 2015|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=21 October 2015|archive-date=28 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151028072820/http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/may/12/norfolk-island-loses-its-parliament-as-canberra-takes-control|url-status=live}}</ref>}} and the [[Australian Antarctic Territory]].{{Refn|This [[Territorial claims in Antarctica|Antarctic claim]] is recognised by only by New Zealand, the United Kingdom, France, and Norway.}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Australian Territories |url=https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/territories-regions-cities/australian-territories |access-date=16 February 2024 |website=Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts |archive-date=8 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240308213252/https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/territories-regions-cities/australian-territories |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Factbook-Government"/> The remote [[Macquarie Island]] and [[Lord Howe Island]] are part of Tasmania and New South Wales respectively.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Macquarie Island research station to be closed in 2017|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-09-13/macquarie-island-research-station-to-be-closed-in-2017/7839640|work=ABC News|date=13 September 2016|access-date=19 October 2019|archive-date=25 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191025034637/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-09-13/macquarie-island-research-station-to-be-closed-in-2017/7839640|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Southerden |first=Louise |date=8 November 2017 |title=Which island should you visit - Lord Howe or Norfolk? A guide to both |url=https://www.smh.com.au/traveller/inspiration/a-tale-of-two-islands-lord-howe-v-norfolk-20171107-gzg8tz.html |access-date= |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en |archive-date=16 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240216030715/https://www.smh.com.au/traveller/inspiration/a-tale-of-two-islands-lord-howe-v-norfolk-20171107-gzg8tz.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Foreign relations===
{{Main|Foreign relations of Australia}}
[[File:Diplomatic missions of Australia.png|thumb|left|upright=1.3|[[List of diplomatic missions of Australia|Diplomatic missions of Australia]]]]
Australia is a [[middle power]],<ref name="Lowy" /> whose foreign relations has three core bi-partisan pillars: commitment to the US alliance, engagement with the [[Indo-Pacific]] and support for international institutions, rules and co-operation.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gyngell |first=Allan |date=31 July 2022 |title=A new Australian foreign policy agenda under Albanese |url=https://eastasiaforum.org/2022/07/31/a-new-australian-foreign-policy-agenda-under-albanese/ |access-date= |website=East Asia Forum |language=en-AU |archive-date=17 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240217023926/https://eastasiaforum.org/2022/07/31/a-new-australian-foreign-policy-agenda-under-albanese/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Australian-Government-2017">{{Cite report |url=https://www.dfat.gov.au/sites/default/files/2017-foreign-policy-white-paper.pdf |title=2017 Foreign Policy White Paper |date=2017 |publisher=Australian Government |pages=1–8 |access-date=17 February 2024 |archive-date=19 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240119034716/https://www.dfat.gov.au/sites/default/files/2017-foreign-policy-white-paper.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Firth |first=Stewart |title=Australia in international politics: an introduction to Australian foreign policy |date=2011 |publisher=Allen & Unwin |isbn=978-1-74237-263-1 |edition=3rd |location=Crows Nest, NSW |pages=332–8 |language=en-AU}}</ref> Through the [[ANZUS]] pact and its status as a [[major non-NATO ally]], Australia maintains a [[Australia–United States relations|close relationship with the US]], which encompasses strong defence, security and trade ties.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Australia and the United States |url=https://usa.embassy.gov.au/australia-and-united-states |access-date=17 February 2024 |website=Australian Embassy and Consulates |archive-date=17 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240217023926/https://usa.embassy.gov.au/australia-and-united-states |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bureau of Political-Military Affairs |date=20 January 2021 |title=Major Non-NATO Ally Status |url=https://www.state.gov/major-non-nato-ally-status/ |access-date=25 January 2024 |website=[[United States Department of State]] |language=en-US |archive-date=27 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220227062358/https://www.state.gov/major-non-nato-ally-status/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In the Indo-Pacific, the country seeks to increase its trade ties through the open flow of trade and capital, whilst managing the rise of Chinese power by supporting the existing rules based order.<ref name="Australian-Government-2017" /> Regionally, the country is a member of the [[Pacific Islands Forum]], the [[Pacific Community]], the [[Association of Southeast Asian Nations#ASEAN Plus Three and ASEAN Plus Six|ASEAN+6 mechanism]] and the [[East Asia Summit]]. Internationally, the country is a member of the [[United Nations]] (of which it was a founding member), the [[Commonwealth of Nations]], the [[OECD]] and the [[G20]]. This reflects the country's generally strong commitment to [[multilateralism]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Page |first=Mercedes |date=31 May 2022 |title=Multilateralism matters again |url=https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/multilateralism-matters-again |access-date= |website=The Interpreter |publisher=Lowy Institute |language=en |archive-date=15 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240215011829/https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/multilateralism-matters-again |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Watson |first=Mark R |date=30 October 2023 |title=Australia and the Quad: A Watering Can or a Hammer? |url=https://www.nbr.org/publication/australia-and-the-quad-a-watering-can-or-a-hammer/ |access-date=15 February 2024 |website=The National Bureau of Asian Research |language=en |archive-date=15 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240215011829/https://www.nbr.org/publication/australia-and-the-quad-a-watering-can-or-a-hammer/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Australia is a member of several defence, intelligence and security groupings including the [[Five Eyes]] intelligence alliance with the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand; the ANZUS alliance with the United States and New Zealand; the [[AUKUS]] security treaty with the United States and United Kingdom; the [[Quadrilateral Security Dialogue]] with the United States, India and Japan; the [[Five Power Defence Arrangements]] with New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Malaysia and Singapore; and the [[Reciprocal Access Agreement|Reciprocal Access]] defence and security agreement with Japan.[[File:P20220524AS-1533_(52245766080).jpg|thumb|Australian Prime Minister [[Anthony Albanese]] with American President [[Joe Biden]] in Kantei, Tokyo, 2022]]
Australia has pursued the cause of international [[trade liberalisation]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Capling|first=Ann |title=Australia and the Global Trade System: From Havana to Seattle|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2013|isbn=978-0-5217-8525-9|page=116}}</ref> It led the formation of the [[Cairns Group]] and [[Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation]],<ref>{{Cite journal|author=Gallagher, P. W.|title=Setting the agenda for trade negotiations: Australia and the Cairns group|journal=Australian Journal of International Affairs|volume=42|issue=1 April 1988|pages=3–8|doi=10.1080/10357718808444955|year=1988}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.apec2007.org/aa.htm|title=APEC and Australia|publisher=APEC 2007|date=1 June 2007|access-date=23 April 2010|archive-date=21 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421170701/http://www.apec2007.org/aa.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> and is a member of the [[OECD|Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development]] (OECD) and the [[World Trade Organization]] (WTO).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.oecd.org/about/0,3347,en_33873108_33873229_1_1_1_1_1,00.html |title=Australia:About|publisher=Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development |access-date=23 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100420083545/http://www.oecd.org/about/0%2C3347%2Cen_33873108_33873229_1_1_1_1_1%2C00.html |archive-date=20 April 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/countries_e/australia_e.htm |title=Australia – Member information|publisher=World Trade Organization |access-date=23 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100525011833/http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/countries_e/australia_e.htm |archive-date=25 May 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> Beginning in the 2000s, Australia entered into the [[Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership]] and the [[Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership]] multilateral [[free trade agreement]]s as well as bilateral free trade agreements with the [[Australia–United States Free Trade Agreement|United States]], [[China–Australia Free Trade Agreement|China]], [[Japan–Australia Economic Partnership Agreement|Japan]], [[Australia–Korea Free Trade Agreement|South Korea]], [[Indonesia–Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement|Indonesia]], the [[Australia–United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement|United Kingdom]] and [[Closer Economic Relations|New Zealand]], with the most recent deal signed in 2023 with the UK.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Australia's free trade agreements (FTAs) |url=https://www.dfat.gov.au/trade/agreements/trade-agreements |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240119034906/https://www.dfat.gov.au/trade/agreements/trade-agreements |archive-date=19 January 2024 |access-date=25 January 2024 |website=Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade}}</ref>

Australia maintains a deeply integrated relationship with neighbouring New Zealand, with free mobility of citizens between the two countries under the [[Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement]] and free trade under the [[Closer Economic Relations]] agreement.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Trans-Tasman Roadmap to 2035 |url=https://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/new-zealand/trans-tasman-roadmap-2035 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230726060824/https://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/new-zealand/trans-tasman-roadmap-2035 |archive-date=26 July 2023 |access-date=7 February 2024 |website=Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade}}</ref> The most favourably viewed countries by the Australian people in 2021 include New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States and South Korea.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://poll.lowyinstitute.org/files/lowyinsitutepoll-2021.pdf|title=2021 Lowy Institute Poll|last=Kassam|first=Natasha|date=2021|publisher=Lowy Institute|access-date=16 January 2022|archive-date=19 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319051732/https://poll.lowyinstitute.org/files/lowyinsitutepoll-2021.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> It also maintains an [[International aid|international aid program]] under which some 75 countries receive assistance.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Australian Aid |url=https://www.dfat.gov.au/about-us/publications/Pages/australian-aid |website=Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade |access-date=15 February 2024 |archive-date=15 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240215012143/https://www.dfat.gov.au/about-us/publications/Pages/australian-aid |url-status=live }}</ref> Australia ranked fourth in the [[Center for Global Development]]'s 2021 [[Commitment to Development Index]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cgdev.org/publication/commitment-development-index-2021|title=The Commitment to Development Index 2021|last1=Mitchell|first1=Ian|last2=Robinson|first2=Lee|last3=Cichocka|first3=Beata|last4=Ritchie|first4=Euan|date=13 September 2021|access-date=17 August 2022|publisher=[[Center for Global Development]]|location=[[Washington, D.C.]]|archive-date=5 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221005091011/https://www.cgdev.org/publication/commitment-development-index-2021|url-status=live}}</ref>

The power over foreign policy is highly concentrated in the prime minister and the [[National Security Committee (Australia)|national security committee]], with major decision such as joining the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]] made with without prior Cabinet approval.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lee |first=David |date=31 December 2023 |title=Cabinet papers 2003: Howard government sends Australia into the Iraq war |url=http://theconversation.com/cabinet-papers-2003-howard-government-sends-australia-into-the-iraq-war-217812 |access-date=17 February 2024 |website=The Conversation |language=en-US |archive-date=17 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240217023925/http://theconversation.com/cabinet-papers-2003-howard-government-sends-australia-into-the-iraq-war-217812 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Firth |first=Stewart |title=Australia in international politics: an introduction to Australian foreign policy |date=2011 |publisher=Allen & Unwin |isbn=978-1-74237-263-1 |edition=3rd |location=Crows Nest, NSW |pages=78–84 |language=en-AU}}</ref> Similarly, the Parliament does not play a formal role in foreign policy and the power to declare war lies solely with the executive government.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Appleby |first=Gabrielle |date=2 September 2014 |title=Explainer: Australia's war powers and the role of parliament |url=http://theconversation.com/explainer-australias-war-powers-and-the-role-of-parliament-31112 |access-date=17 February 2024 |website=The Conversation |language=en-US |archive-date=6 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230906181159/https://theconversation.com/explainer-australias-war-powers-and-the-role-of-parliament-31112 |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade]] supports the executive in its policy decisions.

===Military===
{{Main|Australian Defence Force}}
[[File:HMAS Arunta and Canberra sailing in formation with other warships.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|right|[[HMAS Canberra (L02)|HMAS ''Canberra'']], a [[Canberra-class landing helicopter dock|''Canberra''-class]] [[landing helicopter dock]], and [[HMAS Arunta (FFH 151)|HMAS ''Arunta'']], an [[Anzac-class frigate|''Anzac''-class]] [[frigate]], sailing in formation]]

The two main institutions involved in the management of Australia's armed forces are the [[Australian Defence Force]] (ADF) and the [[Department of Defence (Australia)|Department of Defence]], together known as "[[Australian Defence Organisation|Defence]]".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Organisation structure |url=https://www.defence.gov.au/about/who-we-are/organisation-structure |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231103154937/https://www.defence.gov.au/about/who-we-are/organisation-structure |archive-date=3 November 2023 |access-date=16 February 2024 |website=Australian Government: Defence}}</ref> The Australian Defence Force is the military wing, headed by the [[Chief of the Defence Force (Australia)|chief of the defence force]], and contains three branches: the [[Royal Australian Navy]], the [[Australian Army]] and the [[Royal Australian Air Force]]. In 2021, it had 84,865 currently serving personnel (including 60,286 regulars and 24,581 reservists).<ref>{{Cite web |date=29 June 2022 |title=Australian Defence Force service |url=https://www.abs.gov.au/articles/australian-defence-force-service |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231119193626/https://www.abs.gov.au/articles/australian-defence-force-service |archive-date=19 November 2023 |website=[[Australian Bureau of Statistics]]}}</ref> The Department of Defence is the civilian wing and is headed by the secretary of defence. These two leaders collective manage Defence as a [[diarchy]], with shared and joint responsibilities.<ref>{{Cite report |url=https://www.defence.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-10/Defence-Annual-Report-2022-23.pdf |title=Defence Annual Report 2022–23 |date=18 September 2023 |publisher=Australian Government: Defence |page=23 |isbn=978-1-925890-47-1 |issn=1323-5036 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231217203427/https://www.defence.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-10/Defence-Annual-Report-2022-23.pdf |archive-date=17 December 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> The titular role of [[Commander-in-Chief|commander-in-chief]] is held by the [[Governor-General of Australia|governor-general]]; however, actual command is vested in the chief of the Defence Force.<ref>{{Cite Legislation AU|Cth|act|da190356|Defence Act 1903|9}}</ref>  The executive branch of the Commonwealth government has overall control of the military through the [[Minister for Defence (Australia)|minister of defence]], who is subject to the decisions of Cabinet and its [[National Security Committee (Australia)|National Security Committee]].<ref>{{Cite report |url=https://ad-aspi.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/import/12_53_35_PM_ASPI_defence_almanac_2011_12.pdf?VersionId=vNzXEQtA5bqdxWO9r60xyDAD45g2_d1H |title=Australian Defence Almanac: 2011–2012 |last=Khosa |first=Raspal |date=July 2011 |publisher=Australian Strategic Policy Institute |pages=2, 12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002182101/https://ad-aspi.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/import/12_53_35_PM_ASPI_defence_almanac_2011_12.pdf?VersionId=vNzXEQtA5bqdxWO9r60xyDAD45g2_d1H |archive-date=2 October 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> Major [[Australian intelligence agencies]] include the [[Australian Secret Intelligence Service]] (foreign intelligence), the [[Australian Signals Directorate]] (signals intelligence) and the [[Australian Security Intelligence Organisation]] (domestic security).

In 2022, defence spending was 1.9% of [[GDP]], representing the world's [[List of countries by military expenditures|13th-largest defence budget]].<ref>{{cite web |date=April 2023 |title=Trends in World Military Expenditure, 2022 |url=https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/2023-04/2304_fs_milex_2022.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230423231601/https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/2023-04/2304_fs_milex_2022.pdf |archive-date=23 April 2023 |access-date=29 April 2023 |publisher=[[Stockholm International Peace Research Institute]] |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2024, the ADF had active operations in the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific (including security and aid provisions); was contributing to UN forces in relation to [[United Nations Mission in South Sudan|South Sudan]], [[United Nations Disengagement Observer Force|Syria–Israel peacekeeping]], and [[Operation Argos|North Korea]]; and domestically was [[Operation Resolute|assisting to prevent asylum-seekers enter the country]] and assisting in [[natural disaster]] relief.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Operations |url=https://www.defence.gov.au/defence-activities/operations |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240130011529/https://www.defence.gov.au/defence-activities/operations |archive-date=30 January 2024 |access-date=25 February 2024 |website=[[Australian Defence Organisation|Defence]] |publisher=[[Australian Government]]}}</ref>

===Human rights===
{{See also|Human rights in Australia}}

Australia has generally strong protections for [[civil and political rights]], and the country has signed up to a wide range of international rights treaties.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Australia: Events of 2023 |url=https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2024/country-chapters/australia |access-date=2024-08-30 |website=World Report 2024 |publisher=[[Human Rights Watch]]}}</ref> Important documents protecting human rights include the [[Australian Constitution|Constitution]], the ''[[Racial Discrimination Act 1975]]'', the ''[[Sex Discrimination Act 1984]]'', the ''[[Disability Discrimination Act 1992]]'', and the ''[[Age Discrimination Act 2004]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Legal - Legislation |url=https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/legal/legislation |access-date=3 September 2023 |website=Australian Human Rights Commission}}</ref> [[Same-sex marriage in Australia|Same-sex marriage]] has been legal in the nation since 2017.<ref>{{cite news |date=26 June 2013 |title=The 20 most and least gay-friendly countries in the world |url=https://www.pri.org/stories/2013-06-26/20-most-and-least-gay-friendly-countries-world |access-date=31 December 2017 |work=Public Radio International}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Same-Sex Marriage Around the World |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/fact-sheet/gay-marriage-around-the-world/ |access-date=3 September 2023 |website=Pew Research Center}}</ref> Unlike other comparable Western democracies, Australia does not have a single federal [[charter of rights]] in the Constitution or under legislation; however, the ACT, Victoria, and Queensland have state-based ones. 

International organisations such as [[Human Rights Watch]] and [[Amnesty International]] have expressed concerns in areas including [[Immigration detention in Australia|asylum-seeker policy]], [[Indigenous deaths in custody]], the lack of entrenched [[Charter of rights|rights protection]], and [[Laws governing public demonstrations in Australia|laws restricting protesting]].<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=28 March 2023 |title=Amnesty International Report 2022/23: The state of the world's human rights |url=https://www.amnesty.org.au/amnesty-international-report-2022-23-the-state-of-the-worlds-human-rights/ |access-date=25 January 2024 |website=[[Amnesty International Australia]] |language=en-AU}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=11 January 2024 |title=Australia: Setbacks, Inaction on Key Rights Issues |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/01/11/australia-setbacks-inaction-key-rights-issues |access-date=25 January 2024 |website=[[Human Rights Watch]] |language=en-AU}}</ref>

==Economy==
{{Main|Economy of Australia}}
{{Further|Economic history of Australia|Tourism in Australia}}
[[File:Sydney central business district skyline, August 2021.jpg|thumb|The [[Sydney central business district|central business district of Sydney]] is the [[financial centre]] of Australia.]]
Australia's [[World Bank high-income economy|high-income]] [[mixed economy|mixed-market economy]] is rich in [[Mining in Australia|natural resources]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Russell|first=Clyde|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-column-russell-commodities-australia-idUKKBN2BM0WC |title=Column: Resource-rich Australia shows vagaries of any commodity supercycle|date=30 March 2021|work=[[Reuters]] |access-date=14 August 2022}}</ref> It is the world's [[List of countries by GDP (nominal)|fourteenth-largest]] by nominal terms, and the [[List of countries by GDP (PPP)|18th-largest]] by [[purchasing power parity|PPP]]. {{As of|2021}}, it has the [[List of countries by wealth per adult|second-highest amount]] of wealth per adult, after [[Luxembourg]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Global Wealth Databook 2021|url=https://www.credit-suisse.com/media/assets/corporate/docs/about-us/research/publications/global-wealth-databook-2021.pdf |access-date=14 August 2022|publisher=[[Credit Suisse]]}}</ref> and has the [[List of countries by financial assets per capita|thirteenth-highest]] financial assets per capita.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Carrera|first1=Jordi Bosco|last2=Grimm|first2=Michaela|last3=Halzhausen|first3=Arne|last4=Pelaya|first4=Patricia|url=https://www.allianz.com/content/dam/onemarketing/azcom/Allianz_com/economic-research/publications/specials/en/2021/october/2021_10_07_Global-Wealth-Report.pdf |title=ALLIANZ GLOBAL WEALTH REPORT 2021|date=7 October 2021|publisher=[[Allianz]] |access-date=14 August 2022}}</ref> Australia has a labour force of some 13.5 million, with an unemployment rate of 3.5% as of June 2022.<ref name="ABSLabourForce">{{Cite web|website=Australian Bureau of Statistics|url=https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/employment-and-unemployment/labour-force-australia/latest-release |title=Labour Force, Australia|date=14 July 2022 |access-date=14 August 2022}}</ref> According to the [[Australian Council of Social Service]], the [[Poverty in Australia|poverty rate of Australia]] exceeds 13.6% of the population, encompassing 3.2&nbsp;million. It also estimated that there were 774,000 (17.7%) children under the age of 15 living in relative poverty.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://povertyandinequality.acoss.org.au/poverty/|title=Poverty – Poverty and Inequality}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.acoss.org.au/media_release/report-shows-three-million-people-in-poverty-in-australia-and-why-we-must-act-to-support-each-other/|title=Report shows three million people in poverty in Australia and why we must act to support each other|date=21 February 2020|website=ACOSS}}</ref> The [[Australian dollar]] is the national currency, which is also used by three island states in the Pacific: [[Kiribati]], [[Nauru]], and [[Tuvalu]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/30205/ado2013-small-island-economies.pdf |title=Small island economies|year=2013|publisher=[[Asian Development Bank]] |access-date=14 August 2022|quote=All three countries use the Australian dollar as legal tender.}}</ref>

[[Australian government debt]], about $963 billion in June 2022, exceeds 45.1% of the country's total GDP, and is the world's [[List of countries by government debt|eighth-highest]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Dossor|first=Rob|url=https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/BudgetReview202122/CommonwealthDebt |title=Commonwealth debt|publisher=[[Parliament of Australia]] |access-date=14 August 2022}}</ref> Australia had the [[List of countries by household debt|second-highest level]] of [[household debt]] in the world in 2020, after Switzerland.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/HH_LS@GDD/AUS/CHE |title=Household debt, loans and debt securities|publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]] |access-date=14 August 2022}}</ref> [[Australian property market|Its house prices]] are among the highest in the world, especially in the large urban areas.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Neubauer|first=Ian|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/4/6/australians-home-ownership-dream-turns-soar-as-prices-soar |title='Ridiculous prices': Australians' home ownership dreams turn sour|work=[[Al Jazeera English|Al Jazeera]]|date=6 April 2022 |access-date=14 August 2022}}</ref> The large service sector accounts for about 71.2% of total GDP, followed by the industrial sector (25.3%), while [[Agriculture in Australia|its agriculture sector]] is by far the smallest, making up only 3.6% of total GDP.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/australia |title=Australia. CIA – The World Factbook |work=[[The World Factbook]]|publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]] |access-date=22 January 2011}}</ref> Australia is the world's [[List of countries by exports|21st-largest exporter]] and [[List of countries by imports|24th-largest importer]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.trademap.org/Country_SelProductCountry.aspx?nvpm=1%7c036%7c%7c%7c%7cTOTAL%7c%7c%7c2%7c1%7c1%7c2%7c1%7c%7c2%7c1%7c1%7c1 |title=List of importing markets for the product exported by Austral1ia in 2021|publisher=[[International Trade Centre]] |access-date=14 August 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.trademap.org/Country_SelProductCountry.aspx?nvpm=1%7c036%7c%7c%7c%7cTOTAL%7c%7c%7c2%7c1%7c1%7c1%7c1%7c%7c2%7c1%7c1%7c1 |title=List of supplying markets for the product imported by Australia in 2021|publisher=[[International Trade Centre]] |access-date=14 August 2022}}</ref> China is Australia's [[List of the largest trading partners of Australia|largest trading partner]] by a wide margin, accounting for roughly 40% of the country's exports and 17.6% of its imports.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/29/trade-war-with-china-australias-economy-after-covid-19-pandemic.html |title=Australia's growth may 'never return' to its pre-virus path after trade trouble with China, says economist|last=Tan|first=Weizhen|date=29 December 2020|publisher=[[CNBC]] |access-date=10 February 2021}}</ref> Other major export markets include Japan, the United States, and South Korea.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.dfat.gov.au/publications/trade-and-investment/trade-and-investment-glance-2020 |title=Trade and investment at a glance 2020|publisher=[[Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade]] |access-date=14 August 2022}}</ref>

Australia has high levels of competitiveness and economic freedom, and was ranked fifth in the [[Human Development Index]] in 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |last=United Nations Development Programme |date=September 2022 |title=United Nations Development Programme, The 2021/2022 Human Development Report: Uncertain times, unsettled lives, Shaping our future in a transforming world (p 272) |url=https://hdr.undp.org/content/human-development-report-2021-22 |access-date=13 August 2023 |website=United Nations}}</ref> {{As of|2022}}, it is ranked twelfth in the [[Index of Economic Freedom]] and nineteenth in the [[Global Competitiveness Report]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Country Rankings|url=https://www.heritage.org/index/ranking|publisher=[[The Heritage Foundation]]|access-date=14 August 2022|archive-date=30 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200430170123/https://www.heritage.org/index/ranking|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_TheGlobalCompetitivenessReport2022.pdf |title=The Global Competitiveness Report|publisher=[[World Economic Forum]]|last=Schwab|first=Klaus|author-link=Klaus Schwab|year=2022}}</ref> It attracted 9.5&nbsp;million international tourists in 2019,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://statistics.jnto.go.jp/en/graph/#graph--inbound--travelers--transition |title=Trends in the Visitor Arrivals to Japan by Year|publisher=JNTO |access-date=11 December 2020}}</ref> and was [[World Tourism rankings|ranked thirteenth]] among the countries of [[Asia-Pacific]] in 2019 for inbound tourism.<ref name="WTOB">{{Cite journal|date=August–September 2020|publisher=UNWTO |title=Statistical Annex|journal=UNWTO World Tourism Barometer|volume=18|issue=5|page=18|doi=10.18111/wtobarometereng.2020.18.1.5|doi-access=free}}</ref> The 2021 ''[[Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report]]'' ranked Australia seventh-highest in the world out of 117 countries.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Travel & Tourism Development Index 2021 |date=May 2022|publisher=[[World Economic Forum]]|url=https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Travel_Tourism_Development_2021.pdf |access-date=31 July 2022}}</ref> Its international tourism receipts in 2019 amounted to $45.7 billion.<ref name="WTOB"/>

===Energy===
{{Main|Energy policy of Australia|Renewable energy in Australia}}
In 2021–22, Australia's generation of electricity was sourced from [[Bituminous coal|black coal]] (37.2%), [[brown coal]] (12%), [[natural gas]] (18.8%), [[Hydroelectricity|hydro]] (6.5%), [[Wind power|wind]] (11.1%), [[Solar power|solar]] (13.3%), [[Bioenergy|bio-energy]] (1.2%) and others (1.7%).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Australian electricity generation - fuel mix |url=https://www.energy.gov.au/energy-data/australian-energy-statistics/data-charts/australian-electricity-generation-fuel-mix |access-date=5 February 2024 |website=energy.gov.au}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Australian electricity generation renewable sources |url=https://www.energy.gov.au/energy-data/australian-energy-statistics/data-charts/australian-electricity-generation-renewable-sources |access-date=5 February 2024 |website=energy.gov.au}}</ref> Total consumption of energy in this period was sourced from coal (28.4%), oil (37.3%), gas (27.4%) and renewables (7%).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Australian energy mix by state and territory 2021-22 |url=https://www.energy.gov.au/energy-data/australian-energy-statistics/data-charts/australian-energy-mix-state-and-territory-2021-22 |access-date=5 February 2024 |website=energy.gov.au}}</ref> From 2012 to 2022, the energy sourced from renewables has increased 5.7%, whilst energy sourced from coal has decreased 2.6%. The use of gas also increased by 1.5% and the use of oil stayed relatively stable with a reduction of only 0.2%.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Energy consumption |url=https://www.energy.gov.au/energy-data/australian-energy-statistics/energy-consumption |access-date=5 February 2024 |website=energy.gov.au}}</ref>

In 2020, Australia produced 27.7% of its electricity from renewable sources, exceeding the [[Renewable energy target|target]] set by the Commonwealth government in 2009 of 20% renewable energy by 2020.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Renewable Energy Target Scheme Design |url=http://www.climatechange.gov.au/renewabletarget/pubs/RET-scheme-design.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090515035607/http://www.climatechange.gov.au/renewabletarget/pubs/RET-scheme-design.pdf |archive-date=15 May 2009 |access-date=15 May 2009}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Clean Energy Council Australia |title=Clean Energy Australia Report 2021 |url=https://assets.cleanenergycouncil.org.au/documents/resources/reports/clean-energy-australia/clean-energy-australia-report-2021.pdf |access-date=3 June 2021 |website=Clean Energy Australia}}</ref> A new target of 82% percent renewable energy by 2030 was set in 2022<ref>{{Cite news |date=5 August 2023 |title=Australia will fall well short of 82 per cent renewable energy by 2030, analysts predict, as problems mount |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-06/australia-likely-to-fall-short-of-82pc-renewable-energy-target/102689392 |access-date=5 February 2024 |work=ABC News |language=en-AU}}</ref> and a target for [[net zero emissions]] by 2050 was set in 2021.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Evans |first=Jake |date=26 October 2021 |title=What is the government's plan to get Australia to net zero? |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-26/how-will-australia-reach-net-zero-by-2050-and-2030-targets/100565342 |access-date=11 February 2024 |work=[[ABC News (Australia)]] |language=en-AU}}</ref>

===Science and technology===
In 2019, Australia spent $35.6 billion on [[research and development]], allocating about 1.79% of GDP.<ref>{{Cite web |date=9 March 2021 |title=Research and Experimental Development, Businesses, Australia, 2019–20 financial year {{!}} Australian Bureau of Statistics |url=https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/industry/technology-and-innovation/research-and-experimental-development-businesses-australia/latest-release |access-date=20 May 2022 |website=www.abs.gov.au |language=en}}</ref> A recent study by [[Accenture]] for the Tech Council shows that the Australian tech sector combined contributes $167 billion a year to the economy and employs 861,000 people.<ref>{{Cite web |date=12 April 2022 |title=Australia wants a place in ranks of global tech nations |url=https://www.afr.com/technology/australia-wants-a-place-in-ranks-of-global-tech-nations-20220328-p5a8kh |access-date=20 May 2022 |website=Australian Financial Review |language=en}}</ref>  In addition, recent [[startup ecosystem]]s in Sydney and Melbourne are already valued at $34 billion combined.<ref>{{Cite web |date=23 September 2021 |title=Sydney's startup ecosystem is worth $24 billion, Melbourne's $10.5bn |url=https://www.startupdaily.net/2021/09/sydneys-startup-ecosystem-is-worth-24-billion-melbournes-10-5bn |access-date=20 May 2022 |website=Startup Daily |language=en-US}}</ref> Australia ranked 24th in the [[Global Innovation Index]] 2023.<ref>{{Cite book|last=WIPO |title=Global Innovation Index 2023, 15th Edition |url=https://www.wipo.int/global_innovation_index/en/2023/index.html |access-date=23 October 2023 |website=www.wipo.int |date=27 April 2024 |publisher=World Intellectual Property Organization |doi=10.34667/tind.46596 |isbn=978-92-805-3432-0 |language=en}}</ref>

With only 0.3% of the world's population, Australia contributed 4.1% of the world's published research in 2020, making it one of the top 10 research contributors in the world.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Research Output {{!}} Australian Innovation System Monitor |url=https://publications.industry.gov.au/publications/australianinnovationsystemmonitor/science-and-research/research-output/index.html |access-date=24 July 2022 |website=publications.industry.gov.au}}</ref><ref name="Berthold-2021">{{Cite web |last=Berthold |first=Emma |date=17 May 2021 |title=Science in Australia |url=https://www.science.org.au/curious/policy-features/science-australia |access-date=24 July 2022 |website=Curious |language=en}}</ref> [[CSIRO]], Australia's national science agency, contributes 10% of all research in the country, while the rest is carried out by universities.<ref name="Berthold-2021"/> Its most notable contributions include the invention of [[atomic absorption spectroscopy]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hannaford |first=Peter |title=Alan Walsh 1916–1998 |url=http://www.science.org.au/academy/memoirs/walsh2.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070224214248/http://www.science.org.au/academy/memoirs/walsh2.htm |archive-date=24 February 2007 |access-date=5 December 2022 |website=AAS Biographical Memoirs |publisher=[[Australian Academy of Science]]}}</ref> the essential components of [[Wi-Fi]] technology,<ref>{{Cite web |title=National Museum of Australia – Wi-fi |url=https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/wi-fi |access-date=6 December 2022 |website=www.nma.gov.au |publisher= |language=en}}</ref> and the development of the first commercially successful [[polymer banknote]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=CSIRO |date=25 November 2014 |title=Proceeds of crime: how polymer banknotes were invented |url=https://blog.csiro.au/proceeds-of-crime-how-polymer-banknotes-were-invented |access-date=6 December 2022 |website=CSIROscope |language=en-AU}}</ref>

Australia is a key player in supporting [[space exploration]]. Facilities such as the [[Square Kilometre Array]] and [[Australia Telescope Compact Array]] radio telescopes, telescopes such as the [[Siding Spring Observatory]], and ground stations such as the [[Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex]] are of great assistance in deep space exploration missions, primarily by [[NASA]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Williams |first=Dave |title=Australia's part in 50 years of space exploration with NASA |url=http://theconversation.com/australias-part-in-50-years-of-space-exploration-with-nasa-24530 |access-date=13 December 2022 |website=The Conversation |date=19 March 2014 |language=en}}</ref>

==Demographics==
{{Main|Demographics of Australia}}
{{Main list|List of cities in Australia by population}}
Australia has an average [[population density]] of 3.4 persons per square kilometre of total land area, which makes it one of the [[List of countries by population density|most sparsely populated countries in the world]]. The population is heavily concentrated on the east coast, and in particular in the south-eastern region between [[South East Queensland]] to the north-east and [[Adelaide]] to the south-west.<ref name="ABS-regional-population-latest" />

Australia is also highly urbanised, with 67% of the population living in the Greater Capital City Statistical Areas (metropolitan areas of the state and mainland territorial capital cities) in 2018.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/3218.0 |title=Main Features – Main Features |publisher=Commonwealth of Australia |agency=[[Australian Bureau of Statistics]] |date=27 March 2019|work=3218.0 – Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2017–18}}</ref> Metropolitan areas with more than one million inhabitants are [[Sydney]], [[Melbourne]], [[Brisbane]], [[Perth]] and [[Adelaide]].<ref name="ABS-regional-population-latest" />

In common with many other developed countries, Australia is experiencing a demographic shift towards an older population, with more retirees and fewer people of working age. In 2021 the [[median age|average age]] of the population was 39 years.<ref>{{Cite web |date=28 June 2022 |title=Population: Census |url=https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/population-census/latest-release |publisher=[[Australian Bureau of Statistics]]}}</ref> In 2015, 2.15% of the Australian population [[Australian diaspora|lived overseas]], one of the [[List of sovereign states and dependent territories by immigrant population#UN 2015 report: emigrant population|lowest proportions]] worldwide.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/migration/data/estimates2/estimates15.shtml |title=United Nations Population Division – Department of Economic and Social Affairs |access-date=13 May 2016}}</ref>

{{Largest cities of Australia}}

=== Ancestry and immigration ===
{{Main|Immigration to Australia}}
[[File:Australian Residents by Country of Birth 2021 Census.svg|thumb|upright=1.2| Australian residents by country of birth, 2021 census]]
Between 1788 and the [[Second World War]], the vast majority of [[settlers]] and [[immigrants]] came from the [[Anglo-Celtic Australians|British Isles]] (principally [[English Australians|England]], [[Irish Australians|Ireland]] and [[Scottish Australians|Scotland]]), although there was significant immigration from [[Chinese Australians|China]] and [[German Australians|Germany]] during the 19th century. Following Federation in 1901, a strengthening of the [[white Australia policy]] restricted further migration from these areas. However, this policy was relaxed following WW2 and in the decades following, Australia received a [[Post-war immigration to Australia|large wave of immigration]] from across [[European Australians|Europe]], with many more immigrants arriving from [[Southern Europe|Southern]] and [[Eastern Europe]] than in previous decades. All overt racial discrimination ended in 1973, with [[Multiculturalism in Australia|multiculturalism]] becoming official policy.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.immi.gov.au/facts/06evolution.htm |title=The Evolution of Australia's Multicultural Policy |access-date=18 September 2007|year=2005|publisher=Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060219130703/http://www.immi.gov.au/facts/06evolution.htm |archive-date=19 February 2006}}</ref> Subsequently, there has been a large and continuing wave of immigration from across the world, with [[Asian Australians|Asia]] being the largest source of immigrants in the 21st century.<ref name="Australian-Government-Department-of-Home-Affairs-2019">{{Cite web |url=https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/research-and-stats/files/report-migration-program-2018-19.pdf |title=2018–19 Migration Program Report|website=Australian Government Department of Home Affairs|date=30 June 2019}}</ref>

Today, Australia has the world's [[List of sovereign states and dependent territories by immigrant population|eighth-largest]] immigrant population, with immigrants accounting for 30% of the population, the [[List of sovereign states and dependent territories by immigrant population|highest proportion]] among major [[Western world|Western]] nations.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/migration-australia/2019-20#australia-s-population-by-country-of-birth |title=Main Features – Australia's Population by Country of Birth|publisher=Commonwealth of Australia |agency=[[Australian Bureau of Statistics]] |date=23 April 2021 |work=3412.0 – Migration, Australia, 2019–20}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=International migrant stock 2017: maps |website=United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division|url=https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/migration/data/estimates2/estimatesmaps.shtml?1t1 |access-date=15 January 2022 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181209122006/https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/migration/data/estimates2/estimatesmaps.shtml?1t1 |archive-date= 9 December 2018 }}</ref> In 2022–23, 212,789 permanent migrants were admitted to Australia, with a net migration population gain of 518,000 people inclusive of non-permanent residents.<ref>{{Cite web |date=15 December 2023 |title=Overseas Migration |url=https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/overseas-migration/latest-release |access-date=7 February 2024 |website=Australian Bureau of Statistics |language=en-AU}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023 |title=Australia's Migration Trends 2022–23 |url=https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/research-and-stats/files/migration-trends-2022-23.PDF |publisher=Department of Home Affairs}}</ref> Most entered on skilled visas,<ref name="Australian-Government-Department-of-Home-Affairs-2019"/> however the immigration program also offers visas for family members and [[refugee]]s.<ref name="immig">{{Cite web |title=Net Overseas Migration |url=https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/3412.0Main%20Features52018-19?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=3412.0&issue=2018-19&num=&view= |access-date=4 May 2020 |publisher=Australian Bureau of Statistics}}</ref>

The [[Australian Bureau of Statistics]] asks each Australian resident to nominate up to two [[ancestry|ancestries]] each [[Census in Australia|census]] and the responses are classified into broad ancestry groups.<ref>{{Cite web |date=28 June 2022 |title=Understanding and using Ancestry data |url=https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/detailed-methodology-information/information-papers/understanding-and-using-ancestry-data |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240209190954/https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/detailed-methodology-information/information-papers/understanding-and-using-ancestry-data |archive-date=9 February 2024 |website=Australian Bureau of Statistics}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/classifications/australian-standard-classification-cultural-and-ethnic-groups-ascceg/latest-release | title=Australian Standard Classification of Cultural and Ethnic Groups (ASCCEG), 2019 |website=Australian Bureau of Statistics | date=18 December 2019 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231121023512/https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/classifications/australian-standard-classification-cultural-and-ethnic-groups-ascceg/latest-release |archive-date=  21 November 2023 }}</ref> At the 2021 census, the most commonly nominated ancestry groups as a proportion of the total population were:<ref name="abs.gov.au">[https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/people-and-communities/cultural-diversity-census/2021/Cultural%20diversity%20data%20summary.xlsx Cultural diversity data summary]. 2021. Australian Bureau of Statistics.</ref> 57.2% [[European Australians|European]] (including 46% [[Northwestern Europe#Ethnographic definitions|North-West European]] and 11.2% [[Southern Europe|Southern]] and [[Eastern Europe]]an), 33.8% [[Demographics of Oceania|Oceanian]],{{Refn|group="N"|Includes those who nominate "Australian" as their ancestry.<ref name="Australian-Bureau-of-Statistics-2022"/> The Australian Bureau of Statistics has stated that most who nominate "Australian" as their ancestry have at least partial [[Anglo-Celtic Australian|Anglo-Celtic]] [[European Australian|European]] ancestry.<ref name="13010-Year-Book-Australia-1995">{{Cite news|url=http://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs@.nsf/94713ad445ff1425ca25682000192af2/49f609c83cf34d69ca2569de0025c182!OpenDocument |title=Feature Article – Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in Australia (Feature Article) |publisher=Commonwealth of Australia |agency=[[Australian Bureau of Statistics]] |work=1301.0 – Year Book Australia, 1995}}</ref>}} 17.4% [[Asian Australians|Asian]] (including 6.5% [[South Asia|Southern]] and [[Central Asia#Demographics|Central Asian]], 6.4% [[East Asia|North-East Asian]], and 4.5% [[Southeast Asia|South-East Asian]]), 3.2% [[Demographics of the Middle East and North Africa|North African and Middle Eastern]], 1.4% [[Americas#Demography|Peoples of the Americas]], and 1.3% [[Sub-Saharan Africa#Demographics|Sub-Saharan African]]. At the 2021 census, the most commonly nominated individual ancestries as a proportion of the total population were:{{Refn|group="N"|Each person may nominate more than one ancestry, so total may exceed 100%.<ref>{{cite web | title=Understanding and using Ancestry data | website=Australian Bureau of Statistics | date=28 June 2022 | url=https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/detailed-methodology-information/information-papers/understanding-and-using-ancestry-data | access-date=30 May 2024}}</ref>}}<ref name="Australian-Bureau-of-Statistics-2022"/> <!-- Only ancestries with >1% are listed. -->
{{Columns-list|colwidth=12em|
* [[English Australian|English]] (33%)
* [[Australians|Australian]] (29.9%){{Refn|group="N"|The Australian Bureau of Statistics has stated that most who nominate "Australian" as their ancestry have at least partial [[Anglo-Celtic Australian|Anglo-Celtic]] [[European Australian|European]] ancestry.<ref name="13010-Year-Book-Australia-1995"/>}}
* [[Irish Australian|Irish]] (9.5%)
* [[Scottish Australian|Scottish]] (8.6%)
* [[Chinese Australian|Chinese]] (5.5%)
* [[Italian Australian|Italian]] (4.4%)
* [[German Australian|German]] (4%)
* [[Indian Australian|Indian]] (3.1%)
* [[Aboriginal Australians|Aboriginal]] (2.9%){{Refn|group="N"|Those who nominated their ancestry as "Australian Aboriginal". Does not include [[Torres Strait Islanders]]. This relates to nomination of ancestry and is distinct from persons who identify as Indigenous (Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander) which is a separate question.}}
* [[Greek Australian|Greek]] (1.7%)
* [[Filipino Australian|Filipino]] (1.6%)
* [[Dutch Australian|Dutch]] (1.5%)
* [[Vietnamese Australian|Vietnamese]] (1.3%)
* [[Lebanese Australian|Lebanese]] (1%)
}}

At the 2021 census, 3.8% of the Australian population identified as being [[Indigenous Australians|Indigenous]]—[[Aboriginal Australians]] and [[Torres Strait Islanders]].{{Refn|group="N"|Indigenous identification is separate to the ancestry question on the Australian Census and persons identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander may identify any ancestry.}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/3238.0.55.001|title=Estimates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians|work=[[Australian Bureau of Statistics]]|date=June 2023}}</ref>

===Language===
{{Main|Languages of Australia}}
Although English is not the official language of Australia in law, it is the ''[[de facto]]'' official and national language.<ref name="language2">{{Cite web |title=Pluralist Nations: Pluralist Language Policies? |url=http://www.immi.gov.au/media/publications/multicultural/confer/04/speech18b.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081220020910/http://www.immi.gov.au/media/publications/multicultural/confer/04/speech18b.htm |archive-date=20 December 2008 |access-date=11 January 2009 |work=1995 Global Cultural Diversity Conference Proceedings, Sydney |publisher=[[Department of Immigration and Citizenship]]}} "English has no de jure status but it is so entrenched as the common language that it is de facto the official language as well as the national language."</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ward |first=Rowena |date=2019 |title='National' and 'Official' Languages Across the Independent Asia-Pacific |journal=Journal of Multidisciplinary International Studies |volume=16 |issue=1/2 |pages=83–4 |doi=10.5130/pjmis.v16i1-2.6510 | doi-access=free |quote=The use of English in Australia is one example of both a de facto national and official language: it is widely used and is the language of government and the courts, but has never been legally designated as the country's official language.}}</ref> [[Australian English]] is a major variety of the language with a distinctive accent and lexicon,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Moore |first=Bruce |title=The Vocabulary Of Australian English |url=http://www.nma.gov.au/libraries/attachments/exhibitions/vocabulary_of_australian_english/files/5471/Vocabulary%20of%20Australian%20English.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110320004658/http://www.nma.gov.au/libraries/attachments/exhibitions/vocabulary_of_australian_english/files/5471/Vocabulary%20of%20Australian%20English.pdf |archive-date=20 March 2011 |access-date=5 April 2010 |publisher=National Museum of Australia}}</ref> and differs slightly from other varieties of English in grammar and spelling.<ref>"The Macquarie Dictionary", Fourth Edition. The Macquarie Library Pty Ltd, 2005.</ref> [[General Australian]] serves as the standard dialect.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lalande |first=Line |date=4 May 2020 |title=Australian English in a nutshell |url=https://www.noslangues-ourlanguages.gc.ca/en/blogue-blog/australian-english-eng |publisher=Government of Canada}}</ref> The Australian sign language known as [[Auslan]] was used at home by 16,242 people at the time of the 2021 census.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Census of Population and Housing: Cultural diversity data summary, 2021, TABLE 5. LANGUAGE USED AT HOME BY STATE AND TERRITORY |url=https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/people-and-communities/cultural-diversity-census/2021#data-downloads |access-date=7 May 2021 |website=Australian Bureau of Statistics}}</ref>

At the 2021 census, English was the only language spoken in the home for 72% of the population. The next most common languages spoken at home were [[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]] (2.7%), [[Arabic language|Arabic]] (1.4%), [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]] (1.3%), [[Cantonese]] (1.2%) and [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]] (0.9%).<ref>{{Cite web |title=2021 Australia, Census All persons QuickStats |url=https://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/quickstats/2021/AUS |website=Australian Bureau of Statistics |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240315155123/https://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/quickstats/2021/AUS |archive-date= 15 March 2024 }}</ref>

Over 250 [[Australian Aboriginal languages]] are thought to have existed at the time of first European contact.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.arts.gov.au/what-we-do/indigenous-arts-and-languages/indigenous-languages-and-arts-program/national-indigenous-languages-report |title=National Indigenous Languages Report |publisher=Commonwealth of Australia |year=2020 |location=Canberra |pages=13}}</ref> The National Indigenous Languages Survey (NILS) for 2018–19 found that more than 120 Indigenous language varieties were in use or being revived, although 70 of those in use were endangered.<ref>National Indigenous Language Report (2020). pp. 42, 65</ref> The 2021 census found that 167 Indigenous languages were spoken at home by 76,978 Indigenous Australians — Yumplatok ([[Torres Strait Creole]]), [[Djambarrpuyngu]] (a [[Yolŋu languages|Yolŋu language]]) and [[Pitjantjatjara dialect|Pitjantjatjara]] (a [[Western Desert language]]) were among the most widely spoken.<ref>{{Cite web |date=28 June 2022 |title=Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: Census |url=https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-peoples/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-people-census/2021 |access-date=7 May 2023 |website=Australian Bureau of Statistics}}</ref> NILS and the Australian Bureau of Statistics use different classifications for Indigenous Australian languages.<ref>National Indigenous Languages Report (2020). p. 46</ref>

===Religion===
{{Main|Religion in Australia}}
[[File:St Mary's Cathedral as viewed from Hyde Park, Sydney.jpg|thumb|[[St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney|St Mary's Cathedral]] in Sydney belongs to the [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic Church]], Australia's largest religious denomination.]]
Australia has no [[state religion]]; section 116 of the [[Australian Constitution]] prohibits the [[Federal Government of Australia|Australian government]] from making any law to establish any religion, impose any religious observance, or prohibit the free exercise of any religion.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About Australia: Religious Freedom |url=http://www.dfat.gov.au/facts/religion.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110806061716/http://www.dfat.gov.au/facts/religion.html |archive-date=6 August 2011 |access-date=31 December 2011 |publisher=Dfat.gov.au}}</ref> However, the states still retain the power to pass religiously discriminatory laws.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Puls |first=Joshua |date=1998 |title=The Wall of Separation: Section 116, the First Amendment and Constitutional Religious Guarantees |url=https://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/FedLRev/1998/6.pdf |journal=Federal Law Review |page=160 |via=Austlii}}</ref>

At the 2021 census, 38.9% of the population identified as having [[Irreligion in Australia|"no religion"]],<ref name="Australian-Bureau-of-Statistics-2022">{{Cite web |date=2022 |title=General Community Profile |url=https://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/community-profiles/2021/AUS/download/GCP_AUS.xlsx |series=2021 Census of Population and Housing |publisher=Australian Bureau of Statistics |type=[[Excel]] file}}</ref> up from 15.5% in 2001.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/quickstats/2001/0 | title=2001 Australia, Census All persons QuickStats |website=Australian Bureau of Statistics |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240308064233/https://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/quickstats/2001/0 |archive-date= 8 March 2024 }}</ref> The largest religion is [[Christianity]] (43.9% of the population).<ref name="Australian-Bureau-of-Statistics-2022"/> The largest Christian denominations are the [[Catholic Church in Australia|Roman Catholic Church]] (20% of the population) and the [[Anglican Church of Australia]] (9.8%). Non-British immigration since the [[Second World War]] has led to the growth of non-Christian religions, the largest of which are [[Islam]] (3.2%), [[Hinduism]] (2.7%), [[Buddhism]] (2.4%), [[Sikhism]] (0.8%), and [[Judaism]] (0.4%).<ref>{{Cite web |date=7 April 2022 |title=Religious affiliation in Australia |url=https://www.abs.gov.au/articles/religious-affiliation-australia |access-date= |website=Australian Bureau of Statistics |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Australian-Bureau-of-Statistics-2022"/>

In 2021, just under 8,000 people declared an affiliation with traditional Aboriginal religions.<ref name="Australian-Bureau-of-Statistics-2022"/> In [[Australian Aboriginal mythology]] and the [[animist]] framework developed in Aboriginal Australia, the [[Dreaming (spirituality)|Dreaming]] is a [[sacred]] era in which ancestral [[totem]]ic spirit beings formed [[Creation myth|The Creation]]. The Dreaming established the laws and structures of society and the ceremonies performed to ensure continuity of life and land.<ref>Flood, Josephine (2019). pp. 163–69</ref>

===Health===
{{See also|Health care in Australia}}
Australia's life expectancy of 83 years (81 years for males and 85 years for females)<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.IN?locations=AU |title=Life expectancy at birth, total (years) – Australia|publisher=[[World Bank]] |access-date=17 August 2022}}</ref> is the [[List of countries by life expectancy|fifth-highest in the world]]. It has the highest rate of skin cancer in the world,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.health.gov.au/internet/skincancer/publishing.nsf/Content/fact-2 |title=Skin cancer – key statistics|year=2008|publisher=[[Department of Health and Ageing]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140208171642/http://www.health.gov.au/internet/skincancer/publishing.nsf/Content/fact-2 |archive-date=8 February 2014}}</ref> while [[Tobacco smoking|cigarette smoking]] is the largest preventable cause of death and disease, responsible for 7.8% of the total mortality and disease. Ranked second in preventable causes is [[hypertension]] at 7.6%, with obesity third at 7.5%.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.aihw.gov.au/publications/hwe/bodaiia03/bodaiia03-c05.pdf |title=Risks to health in Australia|website=Australian Institute of Health and Welfare|date=26 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110226105813/http://www.aihw.gov.au/publications/hwe/bodaiia03/bodaiia03-c05.pdf |archive-date=26 February 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=19 February 2011 |title=quitnow – Smoking – A Leading Cause of Death |url=http://quitnow.info.au/internet/quitnow/publishing.nsf/Content/warnings-graph |access-date=15 January 2022 |website= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110219073743/http://quitnow.info.au/internet/quitnow/publishing.nsf/Content/warnings-graph |archive-date=19 February 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Australia ranked 35th in the world in 2012 for its proportion of obese women<ref>{{Cite web |title= Global prevalence of adult obesity | date=January 2012 |url=http://www.iaso.org/site_media/uploads/Global_prevalence_of_adult_obesity_Ranking_by_country_2012.pdf |access-date=15 January 2022 |website= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120829014750/http://www.iaso.org/site_media/uploads/Global_prevalence_of_adult_obesity_Ranking_by_country_2012.pdf |archive-date=29 August 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and near the top of [[Developed country|developed nations]] for its proportion of [[Obesity in Australia|obese]] adults;<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/Publishing.nsf/Content/health-pubhlth-strateg-hlthwt-obesity.htm |title=About Overweight and Obesity|publisher=Department of Health and Ageing |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100507033011/http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/health-pubhlth-strateg-hlthwt-obesity.htm |archive-date=7 May 2010 |url-status=dead |access-date=11 May 2010}}</ref> 63% of its adult population is either overweight or obese.<ref name="aihw">{{Cite web |url=http://www.aihw.gov.au/overweight-and-obesity |title=Overweight and obesity|date=25 February 2021 |publisher=Australian Institute of Health and Welfare}}</ref>

Australia spent around 9.91% of its total GDP to health care in 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.XPD.CHEX.GD.ZS?locations=AU |title=Current healthcare expenditure (% of GDP) – Australia|publisher=[[World Bank]] |access-date=17 August 2022}}</ref> It introduced a [[National health insurance|national insurance scheme]] in 1975.<ref name="Biggs-2004">{{Cite web |url=http://www.aph.gov.au/library/intguide/SP/medicare.htm |title=Medicare – Background Brief|last=Biggs|first=Amanda|date=29 October 2004|publisher=Commonwealth of Australia|location=Canberra, ACT|work=Parliament of Australia: Parliamentary Library |access-date=16 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100414012007/http://www.aph.gov.au/library/intguide/SP/medicare.htm |archive-date=14 April 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Following a period in which access to the scheme was restricted, the scheme became [[Universal health care|universal]] once more in 1981 under the name of [[Medicare (Australia)|Medicare]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=5 June 2020 |title=International Health Care System Profiles: Australia |url=https://www.commonwealthfund.org/international-health-policy-center/countries/australia |access-date=7 February 2024 |website=The Commonwealth Fund |language=en}}</ref> The program is nominally funded by an income tax surcharge known as the [[Medicare levy]], currently at 2%.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.ato.gov.au/Individuals/Medicare-levy |title=Medicare levy|publisher=Australian Taxation Office|date=18 October 2017 |access-date=9 April 2018 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130629085049/http://www.ato.gov.au/Individuals/Medicare-levy/ |archive-date=29 June 2013}}</ref> The states manage hospitals and attached outpatient services, while the Commonwealth funds the [[Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme]] (subsidising the costs of medicines) and [[general practice]].<ref name="Biggs-2004"/>

===Education===
{{Main|Education in Australia}}
[[File:Parkville - University of Melbourne (Ormond College).jpg|thumb|upright|Australia has the highest ratio of international students per capita in the world, with Melbourne ranking fifth among the 2023 ''[[QS World University Rankings#QS Best Student Cities|QS Best Student Cities]]'' ([[University of Melbourne]] pictured).]]
School attendance, or registration for [[Homeschooling in Australia|home schooling]],<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Townsend|first1=Ian |title=Thousands of parents illegally home schooling|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-01-28/thousands-of-parents-illegally-home-schooling/3798008 |access-date=2 December 2015|work=ABC News|date=30 January 2012}}</ref> is compulsory throughout Australia. Education is primarily the responsibility of the individual states and territories; however, the Commonwealth has significant influence through funding agreements.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Australian Education System |url=https://www.dfat.gov.au/sites/default/files/australian-education-system-foundation.pdf |access-date=6 February 2024 |publisher=Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade |pages=7–9}}</ref> Since 2014, a [[Australian Curriculum|national curriculum]] developed by the Commonwealth has been implemented by the states and territories.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ross |first=Emily |date=18 November 2021 |title=Why do Australian states need a national curriculum, and do teachers even use it? |url=http://theconversation.com/why-do-australian-states-need-a-national-curriculum-and-do-teachers-even-use-it-171745 |access-date=6 February 2024 |website=The Conversation |language=en-US}}</ref> Attendance rules vary between states, but in general children are required to attend school from the age of about 5 until about 16.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.immi.gov.au/living-in-australia/settle-in-australia/everyday-life/education |title=Education|publisher=Department of Immigration and Citizenship |access-date=14 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140218220904/http://www.immi.gov.au/living-in-australia/settle-in-australia/everyday-life/education |archive-date=18 February 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.dfat.gov.au/facts/education_in_australia.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514101140/http://www.dfat.gov.au/facts/education_in_australia.html |archive-date=14 May 2011 |title=Our system of education|publisher=Australian Government: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade |access-date=13 January 2012}}</ref> In some states (Western Australia, Northern Territory and New South Wales), children aged 16–17 are required to either attend school or participate in vocational training, such as an [[apprenticeship]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://det.wa.edu.au/schoolsandyou/detcms/navigation/parents-and-community/schooling/?oid=Category-id-3869597 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321204923/http://det.wa.edu.au/schoolsandyou/detcms/navigation/parents-and-community/schooling/?oid=Category-id-3869597 |archive-date=21 March 2012 |title=The Department of Education – Schools and You – Schooling|website=det.wa.edu.au |access-date=31 December 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Education Act (NT) – Section 20 |url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nt/consol_act/ea104/s20.html|website=austlii.edu.au}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Education Act 1990 (NSW) – Section 21 |url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/ea1990104/s21b.html|work=austlii.edu.au}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Minimum school leaving age jumps to 17|url=http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-national/minimum-school-leaving-age-jumps-to-17-20090128-7r4d.html|publisher=The Age |access-date=30 May 2013|date=28 January 2009}}</ref> According to the 2022 [[PISA]] evaluations, Australian 15-year-olds ranked ninth in the OECD for reading and science and tenth for maths. However, less than 60% of Australian students achieved the National Proficiency Standard – 51% in maths, 58% in science and 57% in reading.<ref>{{Cite web |date=4 December 2023 |title=PISA 2022 Results (Volume I and II) - Country Notes: Australia |url=https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/2023/11/pisa-2022-results-volume-i-and-ii-country-notes_2fca04b9/australia_aa76963a.html |access-date=31 July 2024 |website= |publisher=OECD |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Long |first=Claudia |date=6 December 2023 |title=Australia is now in the world's top 10 academic performers – but the data paints a complex picture |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-12-05/pisa-international-school-rankings-in-maths-science-reading/103185468 |access-date=31 July 2024 |work=ABC News Australia}}</ref>

Australia has an adult literacy rate that was estimated to be 99% in 2003.<ref name=cialittab>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2103.html#136 |title=Literacy|work=CIA World Factbook |access-date=10 October 2013 |archive-date=24 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161124171442/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2103.html#136 |url-status=dead}}</ref> However, a 2011–2012 report for the Australian Bureau of Statistics found that 44% of the population does not have high literary and numeracy competence levels, interpreted by others as suggesting that they do not have the "skills needed for everyday life".<ref>{{Cite web |date=9 October 2013 |title=Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies, Australia |url=https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/education/programme-international-assessment-adult-competencies-australia/latest-release |website=Australian Bureau of Statistics}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/backgroundbriefing/2013-09-22/4962902 |title=A literacy deficit|website=abc.net.au|date=22 September 2013 |access-date=10 October 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=12 April 2021 |title=Australia's adult literacy crisis |url=https://ala.asn.au/stories/australias-adult-literacy-crisis/ |access-date=26 January 2024 |website=Adult Learning Australia |language=en-US}}</ref>

Australia has 37 government-funded universities and three private universities, as well as a number of other specialist institutions that provide approved courses at the higher education level.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ausitaleem.com.pk/australian-education-system.shtml |title=Australian Education {{pipe}} Australian Education System {{pipe}} Education {{pipe}} Study in Australia|publisher=Ausitaleem.com.pk |access-date=31 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119063252/http://www.ausitaleem.com.pk/australian-education-system.shtml |archive-date=19 January 2012}}</ref> The OECD places Australia among the most expensive nations to attend university.<ref>[http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/44/35/37376068.pdf Education at a Glance 2006] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102101942/http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/44/35/37376068.pdf|date=2 January 2016}} Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development</ref> There is a state-based system of vocational training, known as [[Technical and further education|TAFE]], and many trades conduct apprenticeships for training new tradespeople.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.australianapprenticeships.gov.au/about/default.asp |title=About Australian Apprenticeships|publisher=Australian Government |access-date=23 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091111234035/http://www.australianapprenticeships.gov.au/about/default.asp |archive-date=11 November 2009}}</ref> About 58% of Australians aged from 25 to 64 have vocational or tertiary qualifications<ref>{{Cite web|website=Australian Bureau of Statistics|url=http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/94713ad445ff1425ca25682000192af2/1a79e7ae231704f8ca256f720082feb9!OpenDocument |title=Year Book Australia 2005 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160409132916/http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs%40.nsf/94713ad445ff1425ca25682000192af2/1a79e7ae231704f8ca256f720082feb9%21OpenDocument |archive-date=9 April 2016 |date=21 January 2005 }}</ref> and the tertiary graduation rate of 49% is the highest among OECD countries. 30.9% of Australia's population has attained a higher education qualification, which is among the highest percentages in the world.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/the-most-educated-countries-in-the-world.html;_ylt=AlaWy8IcyeBaviKi7_.WJyhE6odG;_ylu=X3oDMTJrY2d2NGZyBG1pdANDeFMgRmluYW5jaWFsbHkgRml0IEFydGljbGUgQXJ0aWNsZSBCb2R5IFByb2QEcG9zAzMEc2VjA01lZGlhQXJ0aWNsZUJvZHlBc3NlbWJseQ--;_ylg=X3oDMTNjdGVoaXJqBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDY2IyOTRhMGEtYmY2OS0zYTdlLThlYTUtZWFlNTU3YWI1ZTc3BHBzdGNhdANleGNsdXNpdmVzfGZpbmFuY2lhbGx5Zml0BHB0A3N0b3J5cGFnZQ--;_ylv=3?page=1 |title=The Most Educated Countries in the World – Yahoo Finance|last=Sauter|first=Michael B.|publisher=Finance.yahoo.com|date=24 September 2012 |access-date=14 November 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160204213400/http://finance.yahoo.com/news/the-most-educated-countries-in-the-world.html%3B_ylt%3DAlaWy8IcyeBaviKi7_.WJyhE6odG%3B_ylu%3DX3oDMTJrY2d2NGZyBG1pdANDeFMgRmluYW5jaWFsbHkgRml0IEFydGljbGUgQXJ0aWNsZSBCb2R5IFByb2QEcG9zAzMEc2VjA01lZGlhQXJ0aWNsZUJvZHlBc3NlbWJseQ--%3B_ylg%3DX3oDMTNjdGVoaXJqBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDY2IyOTRhMGEtYmY2OS0zYTdlLThlYTUtZWFlNTU3YWI1ZTc3BHBzdGNhdANleGNsdXNpdmVzfGZpbmFuY2lhbGx5Zml0BHB0A3N0b3J5cGFnZQ--%3B_ylv%3D3?page=1 |archive-date=4 February 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|url=http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/09/27/and-the-worlds-most-educated-country-is |title=And the World's Most Educated Country Is ...|magazine=Time|first=Samantha |last=Grossman|date=27 September 2012 |access-date=14 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2016/quickstat/036 |title=2016 Census QuickStats: Australia |website=censusdata.abs.gov.au |access-date=14 February 2018 |archive-date=20 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620052901/http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2016/quickstat/036 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Australia has the highest ratio of [[International students in Australia|international students]] per head of population in the world by a large margin, with 812,000 international students enrolled in the nation's universities and vocational institutions in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.theaustralian.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=TAWEB_WRE170_a&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theaustralian.com.au%2Fbusiness%2Fproperty%2Fbooming-student-market-a-valuable-property%2Fnews-story%2F6bb3823260aa3443f0c26909406d089b&memtype=anonymous&mode=premium&nk=5cfb870de12779cf853780286e352a51-1587312248 |title=Subscribe to The Australian {{pipe}} Newspaper home delivery, website, iPad, iPhone & Android apps|website=theaustralian.com.au}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2019/11/australian-universities-double-down-on-international-students |title=Australian universities double down on international students|first1=Leith van OnselenLeith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB|last1=Fund|first2=MB Super Leith has previously worked at the Australian|last2=Treasury|first3=Victorian |last3=Treasury|first4=Goldman|last4=Sachs|date=31 October 2019|website=MacroBusiness}}</ref> Accordingly, in 2019, international students represented on average 26.7% of the student bodies of Australian universities. International education therefore represents one of the country's largest exports and has a pronounced influence on the country's demographics, with a significant proportion of international students remaining in Australia after graduation on various skill and employment visas.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-27/temporary-graduate-visa-485-boom/10035390 |title=Record number of international students sticking around on work visas|first=political reporter Jackson|last=Gothe-Snape|date=27 July 2018|newspaper=ABC News}}</ref> Education is Australia's third-largest export, after iron ore and coal, and contributed over $28 billion to the economy in 2016–17.<ref name="Berthold-2021"/>

==Culture==
{{Main|Culture of Australia}}
[[File:Sydney Opera House, botanic gardens 1.jpg|thumb|The [[Sydney Opera House]] was completed in 1973 and declared a UNESCO [[World Heritage Site]] in 2007, making it the youngest building to have received the designation.<ref>''[[Architect Magazine]]'' (August 2007), '''96''' (11), p. 14</ref>]]
Contemporary Australian culture reflects the country's [[Australian Aboriginal culture|Indigenous traditions]], [[Culture of the United Kingdom|Anglo-Celtic heritage]], and post-1945 history of [[multiculturalism in Australia|multicultural immigration]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Jupp1|pp=796–802}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Teo|White|2003|pp=118–20}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Jupp1|pp=808–12, 74–77}}</ref> The [[culture of the United States]] has also been influential.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=White |first1=Richard |date=1 January 1983 |title=A Backwater Awash: The Australian Experience of Americanisation |journal=Theory, Culture and Society |volume=1 |issue=3 |pages=108–122 |doi=10.1177/026327648300100309 |s2cid=144339300}}</ref> The evolution of Australian culture since British colonisation has given rise to distinctive cultural traits.<ref name="Davison pp98–92">{{Harvnb|Davison|Hirst|Macintyre|1998|pages=98–99}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Teo|White|2003|pp=125–27}}</ref>

Many Australians identify egalitarianism, [[mateship]], irreverence and a lack of formality as part of their [[national identity]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cultural life |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Australia/Cultural-life |access-date=5 February 2024 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2016 |title=Australian Culture: Core Concepts |url=https://culturalatlas.sbs.com.au/australian-culture/australian-culture-core-concepts |access-date=5 February 2024 |website=Cultural Atlas |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Australian Citizenship: Our Common Bond |url=https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/citizenship-subsite/files/our-common-bond-testable.pdf |publisher=Australian Government |page=36}}</ref> These find expression in [[Australian slang]], as well as [[Australian comedy|Australian humour]], which is often characterised as dry, irreverent and ironic.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Luu |first=Chi |date=7 February 2018 |title=Small Poppy Syndrome: Why are Australians so Obsessed With Nicknaming Things? |url=https://daily.jstor.org/australians-obsessed-nicknaming/ |access-date=12 February 2024 |website=JSTOR Daily |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kidd |first1=Evan |last2=Kemp |first2=Nenagh |last3=Kashima |first3=Emiko S. |last4=Quinn |first4=Sara |date=June 2016 |title=Language, Culture, and Group Membership: An Investigation Into the Social Effects of Colloquial Australian English |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0022022116638175 |journal=Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology |language=en |volume=47 |issue=5 |pages=713–733 |doi=10.1177/0022022116638175 |hdl=11858/00-001M-0000-002E-24A7-F |s2cid=147360478 |issn=0022-0221 |url-access=subscription|hdl-access=free }}</ref> New citizens and visa holders are required to commit to "Australian values", which are identified by the [[Department of Home Affairs (Australia)|Department of Home Affairs]] as including: a respect for the freedom of the individual; recognition of the rule of law; opposition to racial, gender and religious discrimination; and an understanding of the "[[:wikt:fair go|fair go]]", which is said to encompass the equality of opportunity for all and compassion for those in need.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Meeting our requirements: Australian values |url=https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/help-support/meeting-our-requirements/australian-values |access-date=6 February 2024 |publisher=Department of Home Affairs}}</ref> What these values mean, and whether or not Australians uphold them, has been debated since before Federation.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Snow |first=Deborah |date=18 January 2019 |title=Australian values: what the bloody hell are they? |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/australian-values-what-the-bloody-hell-are-they-20190118-p50s76.html |access-date=6 February 2024 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Dyrenfurth |first=Nick |date=June 2007 |title=John Howard's Hegemony of Values: The Politics of 'Mateship' in the Howard Decade |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10361140701319994 |journal=Australian Journal of Political Science |language=en |volume=42 |issue=2 |pages=211–230 |doi=10.1080/10361140701319994 |s2cid=154041199 |issn=1036-1146 |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Crowe |first=Shaun |date=14 January 2015 |title=Book review: Mateship – A Very Australian History |url=http://theconversation.com/book-review-mateship-a-very-australian-history-35858 |access-date=6 February 2024 |website=The Conversation |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Zhuang |first=Yan |date=19 November 2021 |title=What Does Mateship Mean to You? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/19/world/asia/what-does-mateship-mean-to-you.html |work=New York Times}}</ref>

===Arts===
{{Main|Australian art|Australian literature|Theatre of Australia|Dance in Australia|Music of Australia}}
[[File:Sidney Nolan Snake.jpg|thumb|Held at the [[Museum of Old and New Art]] in Hobart, Tasmania, [[Sidney Nolan]]'s ''[[Snake (Nolan)|Snake]]'' mural (1970) is inspired by the Aboriginal creation myth of the [[Rainbow Serpent]], as well as desert flowers in bloom after a drought.<ref>"Sidney Nolan's Rainbow Serpent is larger than life" (16 June 2012), ''The Australasian''.</ref>]]
Australia has over 100,000 [[Indigenous Australian art#Stone art|Aboriginal rock art]] sites,<ref>Tacon, Paul S. C.; Ouzman, Sven (2004). "Worlds within stone: the inner and outer rock-art landscapes of northern Australia and southern Africa". In Nash, George; Chippindale, Christopher (ed.). ''The Figured Landscapes of Rock-Art: Looking at Pictures in Place''. Cambridge University Press. pp. 39–68. 9780521524247.</ref> and traditional designs, patterns and stories infuse [[contemporary Indigenous Australian art]], "the last great art movement of the 20th century" according to critic [[Robert Hughes (critic)|Robert Hughes]];<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/06/arts/06iht-aborigine.html |title=Powerful growth of Aboriginal art |last=Henly |first=Susan Gough |date=6 November 2005 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> its exponents include [[Emily Kame Kngwarreye]].<ref>Smith, Terry (1996). "Kngwarreye Woman, Abstract Painter", p. 24 in ''Emily Kngwarreye – Paintings'', North Ryde NSW: Craftsman House / G + B Arts International. {{ISBN|978-90-5703-681-1}}.</ref> Early colonial artists showed a fascination with the unfamiliar land.<ref name="wwwartgallerynswgovau"/> The [[impressionism|impressionistic]] works of [[Arthur Streeton]], [[Tom Roberts]] and other members of the 19th-century [[Heidelberg School]]—the first "distinctively Australian" movement in Western art—gave expression to nationalist sentiments in the lead-up to Federation.<ref name="wwwartgallerynswgovau">{{Cite web |title=Collection {{pipe}} Art Gallery of NSW|url=https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/collection/ |access-date=15 January 2022|website=www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au}}</ref> While the school remained influential into the 1900s, [[modern art|modernists]] such as [[Margaret Preston]] and [[Clarice Beckett]], and, later, [[Sidney Nolan]], explored new artistic trends.<ref name="wwwartgallerynswgovau"/> The landscape remained central to the work of Aboriginal watercolourist [[Albert Namatjira]],<ref>Sayers, Andrew (2001). ''Australian Art''. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. pp. 78–88. {{ISBN|978-0-19-284214-5}}.</ref> as well as [[Fred Williams (artist)|Fred Williams]], [[Brett Whiteley]] and other post-war artists whose works, eclectic in style yet uniquely Australian, moved between the [[figurative art|figurative]] and the [[abstract art|abstract]].<ref name="wwwartgallerynswgovau"/><ref>{{Cite web |title=Brett Whiteley: nature :: Art Gallery NSW|url=https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/exhibitions/brett-whiteley-nature/ |access-date=15 January 2022|website=www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au}}</ref>

[[Australian literature]] grew slowly in the decades following European settlement though Indigenous [[oral tradition]]s, many of which have since been recorded in writing, are much older.<ref>Sarwal, Amit; Sarwal, Reema (2009). ''Reading Down Under: Australian Literary Studies Reader''. SSS Publications. p. xii. {{ISBN|978-8-1902-2821-3}}.</ref> In the 19th century, [[Henry Lawson]] and [[Banjo Paterson]] captured the experience of [[Australian bush|the bush]] using a distinctive Australian vocabulary.<ref>Mulligan, Martin; Hill, Stuart (2001). ''Ecological Pioneers: A Social History of Australian Ecological Thought and Action''. Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-5210-0956-0}}, p. 72.</ref> Their works are still popular; Paterson's [[bush poetry|bush poem]] "[[Waltzing Matilda]]" (1895) is regarded as Australia's unofficial national anthem.<ref>O'Keeffe, Dennis (2012). ''Waltzing Matilda: The Secret History of Australia's Favourite Song''. [[Allen & Unwin]]. p. back cover. {{ISBN|978-1-7423-7706-3}}.</ref> [[Miles Franklin]] is the namesake of Australia's [[Miles Franklin Award|most prestigious literary prize]], awarded annually to the best novel about Australian life.<ref>{{Cite web |date=27 February 2012 |title=The Miles Franklin Literary Award – australia.gov.au |url=http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/miles-franklin-literary-award |access-date=15 January 2022 |website= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227135804/http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/miles-franklin-literary-award |archive-date=27 February 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Its first recipient, [[Patrick White]], went on to win the [[Nobel Prize in Literature]] in 1973.<ref>[http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/australias-nobel-laureates Australia's Nobel Laureates and the Nobel Prize] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819205739/http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/australias-nobel-laureates |date=19 August 2016 }}, australia.gov.au. Retrieved 17 April 2015.</ref> Australian [[Booker Prize]] winners include [[Peter Carey (novelist)|Peter Carey]], [[Thomas Keneally]] and [[Richard Flanagan]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Hughes-d'Aeth|first=Tony |title=Australia's Booker prize record suggests others will come in Flanagan's wake|url=http://theconversation.com/australias-booker-prize-record-suggests-others-will-come-in-flanagans-wake-33025 |access-date=15 January 2022|website=The Conversation |date=15 October 2014 |language=en}}</ref> Australian public intellectuals have also written seminal works in their respective fields, including feminist [[Germaine Greer]] and philosopher [[Peter Singer]].<ref>Williams, Robyn (12 November 2016). [https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-12/three-books-australian-authors-changed-20th-century/8008380 "Three Australian books that changed history"], ABC Radio National. Retrieved 12 November 2016.</ref>

[[File:ACDC-Hughes-long ago.jpg|thumb|upright|Arising from the [[Pub rock (Australia)|Australian pub rock]] scene, [[AC/DC]] ranks among the world's [[List of best-selling music artists|best-selling music acts]].]]
In the performing arts, Aboriginal peoples have traditions of religious and secular song, dance and rhythmic music often performed in [[corroboree]]s.<ref>Flood (2019). pp. 62, 64-5</ref> At the beginning of the 20th century, [[Nellie Melba]] was one of the world's leading opera singers,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.themonthly.com.au/encounters-shane-maloney-nellie-melba-enrico-caruso--160 |title=Nellie Melba & Enrico Caruso |work=[[The Monthly]]|author=Maloney, Shane |date= January 2006 |access-date=23 April 2010}}</ref> and later popular music acts such as the [[Bee Gees]], [[AC/DC]], [[INXS]] and [[Kylie Minogue]] achieved international recognition.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Compagnoni |first=Tom |date=4 September 2022 |title=The 43-year-old invention behind 2022's biggest music sensation |url=https://www.smh.com.au/culture/music/the-sydney-invention-that-transformed-the-sound-of-music-20220904-p5bf93.html |website=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref> Many of Australia's performing arts companies receive funding through the Australian government's [[Australia Council for the Arts|Australia Council]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/13753/Australia_Council_for_the_Arts_-_Funding_Guide_2010.pdf |year=2010 |title=Arts funding guide 2010 |publisher=[[Australia Council]] |access-date=14 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100705002654/http://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/13753/Australia_Council_for_the_Arts_-_Funding_Guide_2010.pdf |archive-date=5 July 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> There is a symphony orchestra in each state,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/50231/LECG_Orchestras_Review_evaluation_summary.pdf |title=Evaluation of the Orchestras Review 2005 funding package implementation |access-date=23 April 2010 |publisher=Australia Council |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110314080534/http://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/50231/LECG_Orchestras_Review_evaluation_summary.pdf |archive-date=14 March 2011 }}</ref> and a national opera company, [[Opera Australia]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/the_arts/artists_and_orgs/artists/opera_australia |title=Opera Australia |publisher=Australia Council |access-date=23 April 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080723135113/http://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/the_arts/artists_and_orgs/artists/opera_australia |archive-date=23 July 2008 }}</ref> well known for its famous [[soprano]] [[Joan Sutherland]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/music/opera |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110406111552/http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/music/opera |archive-date=6 April 2011 |title=Opera in Australia |publisher=Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts |date=5 March 2007}}</ref> Ballet and dance are represented by [[The Australian Ballet]] and various state companies. Each state has a publicly funded theatre company.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.minister.dbcde.gov.au/brandis/media/media_releases/2007/35_per_cent_increase_in_funding_for_australias_major_performing_arts_companies |title=35 per cent increase in funding for Australia's major performing arts companies |author=Brandis, George |publisher=Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts |date=8 May 2007 |access-date=23 April 2010 |author-link=George Brandis |archive-url=https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20071112025600/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/36698/20071112-1356/www.minister.dcita.gov.au/brandis/media/media_releases/2007/35_per_cent_increase_in_funding_for_australias_major_performing_arts_companies.html |archive-date=12 November 2007}}{{Cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

===Media===
{{Main|Cinema of Australia|Television in Australia|Media of Australia}}
[[File:The Story of the Kelly Gang 1906.jpg|thumb|left|Actor playing the [[bushranger]] and outlaw [[Ned Kelly]] in ''[[The Story of the Kelly Gang]]'' (1906), the world's first feature-length narrative film]]
''[[The Story of the Kelly Gang]]'' (1906), the world's first [[feature film|feature-length]] narrative film, spurred a boom in [[cinema of Australia|Australian cinema]] during the [[silent film]] era.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=37899&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html |title=Return of the Kelly Gang |work=[[UNESCO Courier]] |author=Chichester, Jo |publisher=[[UNESCO]] |year=2007 |access-date=1 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100204220758/http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID%3D37899%26URL_DO%3DDO_TOPIC%26URL_SECTION%3D201.html |archive-date= 4 February 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> After World War I, [[Hollywood (film industry)|Hollywood]] monopolised the industry,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.afc.gov.au/downloads/policies/early%20history_final1.pdf |title=The first wave of Australian feature film production |access-date=23 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090706104843/http://www.afc.gov.au/downloads/policies/early%20history_final1.pdf |archive-date=6 July 2009}}</ref> and by the 1960s Australian film production had effectively ceased.<ref>{{Cite web |work=Australian Government: Culture Portal |url=http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/film |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110327002350/http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/film |archive-date=27 March 2011 |title=Culture.gov.au – "Film in Australia" |publisher=Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Commonwealth of Australia |date=22 November 2007}}</ref> With the benefit of government support, the [[Australian New Wave]] of the 1970s brought provocative and successful films, many exploring themes of national identity, such as ''[[Picnic at Hanging Rock (film)|Picnic at Hanging Rock]]'', ''[[Wake in Fright]]'' and ''[[Gallipoli (1981 film)|Gallipoli]]'',<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Krausz |first=Peter |date=2002 |title=Australian Identity: A Cinematic Roll Call |url=http://students.adelaidehs.sa.edu.au/Subjects/Issues/australianidentity.pdf |journal=Australian Screen Education Online |issue=29 |pages=24–29 |issn=1443-1629 |access-date=22 January 2016 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303200657/http://students.adelaidehs.sa.edu.au/Subjects/Issues/australianidentity.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> while ''[[Crocodile Dundee]]'' and the [[Ozploitation]] movement's ''[[Mad Max (franchise)|Mad Max]]'' series became international blockbusters.<ref>Moran, Albert; Vieth, Errol (2009). ''The A to Z of Australian and New Zealand Cinema''. Scarecrow Press. {{ISBN|978-0-8108-6347-7}}, p. 35.</ref> In a film market flooded with foreign content, Australian films delivered a 7.7% share of the local box office in 2015.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Quinn|first=Karl|date=4 December 2015 |title=Australian film has had its biggest year at the box office ever. Why? |url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/australian-film-has-had-its-biggest-year-at-the-box-office-ever-why-20151204-glfut3.html |access-date=15 January 2022|website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}}</ref> The [[AACTA Awards|AACTAs]] are Australia's premier film and television awards, and notable [[List of Australian Academy Award winners and nominees|Academy Award winners from Australia]] include [[Geoffrey Rush]], [[Nicole Kidman]], [[Cate Blanchett]] and [[Heath Ledger]].<ref>[http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/awards/ten-great-australian-moments-at-the-oscars/story-e6frfpli-1226841441307 "Ten Great Australian Moments at the Oscars"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140308090335/http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/awards/ten-great-australian-moments-at-the-oscars/story-e6frfpli-1226841441307 |date=8 March 2014 }} (26 February 2014), news.com.au. Retrieved 7 February 2016.</ref>

Australia has two public broadcasters (the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] and the multicultural [[Special Broadcasting Service]]), three commercial television networks, several pay-TV services,<ref name="BBC-News-2009">{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/1250188.stm|work=BBC News |title=Country profile: Australia|date=13 October 2009 |access-date=7 April 2010}}</ref> and numerous public, non-profit television and radio stations. Each major city has at least one daily newspaper,<ref name="BBC-News-2009"/> and there are two national daily newspapers, ''[[The Australian]]'' and ''[[The Australian Financial Review]]''.<ref name="BBC-News-2009"/> In 2020, [[Reporters Without Borders]] placed Australia 25th on a list of 180 countries ranked by [[freedom of the press|press freedom]], behind New Zealand (8th) but ahead of the United Kingdom (33rd) and United States (44th).<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://rsf.org/en/ranking_table |title=Press Freedom Index 2020 |publisher=[[Reporters Without Borders]] |year=2020 |access-date=22 November 2020 |archive-date=24 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160424043201/https://rsf.org/en/ranking_table |url-status=dead }}</ref> This relatively low ranking is primarily because of the limited diversity of commercial media ownership in Australia;<ref>{{Cite web |title=Media Ownership In Australia – 1999 {{pipe}} AustralianPolitics.com|url=https://australianpolitics.com/1999/12/01/media-ownership-in-australia.html |access-date=15 January 2022|website=australianpolitics.com}}</ref> most print media are under the control of [[News Corporation]] (59%) and [[Nine Entertainment Co.|Nine Entertainment Co]] (23%).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Minter |first=Elizabeth |date=12 April 2021 |title=Media concentration by Murdoch, Nine and Stokes, and ABC cuts, a danger to democracy – report |url=https://michaelwest.com.au/media-concentration-by-murdoch-nine-and-stokes-and-abc-cuts-a-danger-to-democracy-report/ |access-date=7 February 2024 |website=Michael West |language=en}}</ref>

===Cuisine===
{{Main|Australian cuisine}}
[[File:Shiraz Wein.jpg|thumb|[[South Australian wine]]s]]
Most Indigenous Australian groups subsisted on a [[hunter-gatherer]] diet of native fauna and flora, otherwise called [[bush tucker]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.teachers.ash.org.au/bushtucker |title=Bush Tucker Plants, or Bush Food |publisher=Teachers.ash.org.au |access-date=26 April 2011| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511094258/http://www.teachers.ash.org.au/bushtucker/| archive-date= 11 May 2011 | url-status=live}}</ref> It has increased in popularity among non-Indigenous Australians since the 1970s, with examples such as [[Backhousia citriodora|lemon myrtle]], the [[Macadamia|macadamia nut]] and [[kangaroo meat]] now widely available.<ref>Lockhart, Jessica Wynne (4 August 2023). [https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/the-next-superfoods-may-come-from-australia-180982660/ "The Next Superfoods May Come From Australia"], ''[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]]''. Retrieved 5 February 2024.</ref><ref>McCubbing, Gus (4 November 2022). [https://www.afr.com/companies/agriculture/bush-food-industry-worth-80m-but-could-double-by-2025-study-20221104-p5bvn3#:~:text=The%20bush%20food%20industry%2C%20according,potential%20to%20double%20by%202025. "Bush food industry worth $80m but could double by 2025: study"], ''[[Australian Financial Review]]''. Retrieved 5 February 2024.</ref>

The first colonists introduced [[British cuisine|British]] and [[Irish cuisine]] to the continent.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/foodanddrink/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100326134155/http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/foodanddrink/ |archive-date=26 March 2010 |title=Australian food and drink|publisher=Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts |date=23 September 2008}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.sbs.com.au/food/cuisineindex/RecipeByCuisineMain/383 |title=Modern Australian recipes and Modern Australian cuisine|publisher=[[Special Broadcasting Service]] |access-date=23 April 2010| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100503111747/http://www.sbs.com.au/food/cuisineindex/RecipeByCuisineMain/383| archive-date= 3 May 2010 | url-status=live}}</ref> This influence is seen in dishes such as [[fish and chips]], and in the [[Meat pie (Australia and New Zealand)|Australian meat pie]], which is related to the British [[steak pie]]. Also during the colonial period, Chinese migrants paved the way for a distinctive [[Australian Chinese cuisine]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Jonsen|first=Helen |title=Kangaroo's Comments and Wallaby's Words: The Aussie Word Book|publisher=Hippocrene Books|year=1999|isbn=978-0-7818-0737-1|page=23}}</ref>

Post-war migrants transformed Australian cuisine, bringing with them their culinary traditions and contributing to new [[fusion cuisine|fusion]] dishes.<ref>Newton, John (2018). ''The Getting of Garlic: Australian Food from Bland to Brilliant, with Recipes Old and New''. NewSouth Publishing. ISBN 9781742244365, pp. 32, 230–231.</ref> Italians introduced espresso coffee and, along with Greeks, helped develop Australia's café culture, of which the [[flat white]] and [[avocado toast]] are now considered Australian staples.<ref>Waters, Cara (15 June 2015). [https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/australia-food-blog/2015/jun/15/smashed-avo-anyone-five-australian-creations-taking-the-world-by-storm "Smashed avo, anyone? Five Australian creations taking the world by storm"], ''The Guardian''. Retrieved 6 February 2024.</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/flat-white-coffee-culture-antipodean-mcdonalds-advert-starbucks-latte-a8246111.html |title=How the flat white conquered the coffee scene|work=[[The Independent]]|date=9 April 2018 |access-date=4 October 2018}}</ref> [[pavlova (food)|Pavlovas]], [[lamington]]s, [[Vegemite]] and [[Anzac biscuits]] are also often called iconic Australian foods.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Santich|first=Barbara |title=Bold Palates: Australia's Gastronomic Heritage|publisher=Wakefield Press|year=2012|isbn=978-1-7430-5094-1|page=290}}</ref>

Australia is a leading exporter and consumer of [[wine]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.wineaustralia.com/report-downloads/08d4027a-e89e-469d-bf9a-a5b548237ea4 |title=Australian wine: Production, sales and inventory report, 2018–19|date=12 February 2020|website=wineaustralia.com|publisher=Wine Australia |access-date=11 April 2020 |archive-date=11 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200411112731/https://www.wineaustralia.com/report-downloads/08d4027a-e89e-469d-bf9a-a5b548237ea4 |url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Australian wine]] is produced mainly in the southern, cooler parts of the country.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cellarmasters.com.au/discover/wine-regions/australia|publisher=Cellarmasters|title=Wine Regions of Australia|access-date=2 April 2021|archive-date=14 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414225154/https://www.cellarmasters.com.au/discover/wine-regions/australia|url-status=dead}}</ref> The nation also ranks highly in [[List of countries by beer consumption per capita|beer consumption]],<ref name="Kirin">[http://www.kirinholdings.co.jp/english/ir/news_release051215_4.html Per Capita Beer Consumption by Country (2004)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080623213209/http://www.kirinholdings.co.jp/english/ir/news_release051215_4.html |date=23 June 2008 }}, Table 3, Kirin Research Institute of Drinking and Lifestyle – Report Vol. 29–15 December 2005, Kirin Holdings Company.</ref> with each state and territory hosting numerous breweries.

===Sport and recreation===
{{Main|Sport in Australia}}
[[File:2017 AFL Grand Final panorama during national anthem.jpg|thumb|The [[Melbourne Cricket Ground]] is strongly associated with the history and development of [[cricket]] and [[Australian rules football]], Australia's two most popular spectator sports.<ref>{{Cite web |date=14 September 2009 |title=National Sports Museum – Heritage Listing |url=http://www.nsm.org.au/The%2520MCG/Heritage%2520Listing.aspx?p=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090914092919/http://www.nsm.org.au/The%20MCG/Heritage%20Listing.aspx?p=1 |url-status=dead |archive-date=14 September 2009 |access-date=15 January 2022 |website= }}</ref>]]
The most popular sports in Australia by adult participation are: swimming, athletics, cycling, soccer, golf, tennis, basketball, surfing, netball and cricket.<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 2023 |title=Clearinghouse for sport: Ausplay National Sport and Activity Physical Participation Report 2022-23, p 9 |url=https://www.clearinghouseforsport.gov.au/research/ausplay/results#latest |archive-url= |access-date=11 May 2024 |website=Australian Sports Commission}}</ref>

Australia is one of five nations to have participated in every [[Summer Olympics]] of the modern era,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Oxlade |first=Chris |author-link=Chris Oxlade (writer) |url=https://archive.org/details/olympics0000oxla/page/61 |title=Olympics |author2=Ballheimer, David |publisher=DK |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-7566-1083-8 |series=DK Eyewitness |page=[https://archive.org/details/olympics0000oxla/page/61 61]}}</ref> and has hosted the Games twice: [[1956 Summer Olympics|1956]] in Melbourne and [[2000 Summer Olympics|2000]] in Sydney.<ref name="Davison pp479-80">{{Harvnb|Davison|Hirst|Macintyre|1998|pages=479–80}}</ref> It is also set to host the [[2032 Summer Olympics|2032 Games]] in [[Brisbane]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=21 July 2021 |title=Brisbane announced as 2032 Olympic Games host city at IOC meeting in Tokyo |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-21/brisbane-queensland-announced-as-2032-olympic-games-host-city/100311320 |access-date=22 July 2021 |work=[[ABC News (Australia)]]}}</ref> Australia has also participated in every [[Commonwealth Games]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Flag Bearers |url=http://www.commonwealthgames.org.au/page/65/by-games |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140726210627/http://www.commonwealthgames.org.au/page/65/by-games |archive-date=26 July 2014 |access-date=23 April 2010 |publisher=Australian Commonwealth Games Association}}</ref> hosting the event in [[1938 British Empire Games|1938]], [[1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games|1962]], [[1982 Commonwealth Games|1982]], [[2006 Commonwealth Games|2006]] and [[2018 Commonwealth Games|2018]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Past Commonwealth Games |url=http://www.thecgf.com/games/games_index.asp?linkresults=1 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100315102922/http://www.thecgf.com/games/games_index.asp?linkresults=1 |archive-date=15 March 2010 |access-date=23 April 2010 |publisher=Commonwealth Games Federation}}</ref>

Cricket is a major national sport.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Harte |first1=Chris |title=The Penguin history of Australian cricket |last2=Whimpress |first2=Bernard |publisher=Viking |year=2008 |isbn=9780670072880 |edition=3rd |location=Camberwell, Vic |pages=1}}</ref> The [[Australia national cricket team|Australian national cricket team]] competed against [[England cricket team|England]] in the first [[Test cricket|Test]] match (1877) and the first [[One Day International]] (1971), and against [[New Zealand cricket team|New Zealand]] in the first [[Twenty20 International]] (2004), winning all three games.<ref>{{Harvp|Harte|Whimpress|2008|pp=92-94, 528, 722}}</ref> It has also won the men's [[Cricket World Cup]] a record six times.<ref>{{Cite news |date=20 November 2023 |title=Australia stuns India to claim record-extending sixth Cricket World Cup crown in Ahmedabad |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-19/live-updates-cricket-world-cup-final-india-vs-australia/103124084 |access-date=20 November 2023 |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref>

Australia has professional leagues for [[football in Australia|four football codes]], whose relative popularity is [[Barassi Line|divided geographically]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fujak |first=Hunter |date=15 July 2022 |title=The Barassi Line: a globally unique divider splitting Australia's footy fans |url=http://theconversation.com/the-barassi-line-a-globally-unique-divider-splitting-australias-footy-fans-185132 |access-date=4 February 2024 |website=The Conversation |language=en-US}}</ref> Originating in Melbourne in the 1850s, [[Australian rules football]] attracts the most television viewers in all states except New South Wales and Queensland, where [[rugby league]] holds sway, followed by [[rugby union]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273772263|date=21 December 2013 |title=The 'Barassi Line': Quantifying Australia's Great Sporting Divide |access-date=16 August 2018}}</ref> [[Association football|Soccer]], while ranked fourth in television viewers and resources, has the highest overall participation rates.<ref>{{Cite book|last1 = Skinner |first1 = James |last2 = Zakus H. |first2 = Dwight | last3 = Edwards |first3 = Allan | editor-first= Brown|editor-last = Adam|title = Football and Community in the Global Context: Studies in Theory and Practice|publisher = Routledge|year = 2013|pages = 92–93|chapter = Coming in from the Margins: Ethnicity, Community Support and the Rebranding of Australian Soccer |isbn = 978-1-317-96905-1}}</ref>

The [[surf lifesaving]] movement originated in Australia, and the volunteer lifesaver is one of the country's icons.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Booth|first=Douglas|author-link=Doug Booth |title=Australian Beach Cultures: The History of Sun, Sand and Surf|publisher=Routledge|year=2012|isbn=978-0-7146-8178-8|page=39}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Australia|Oceania}}
* [[Outline of Australia]]
* [[Index of Australia-related articles]]
* [[International rankings of Australia]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group="N"}}
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== Sources ==
{{Free-content attribution
| title = World Food and Agriculture – Statistical Yearbook 2023
| author = FAO
| publisher = FAO
| documentURL = https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en?details=cc8166en
| license statement URL = https://commons.wikimedia.org/whttps://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:World_Food_and_Agriculture_-_Statistical_Yearbook_2023.pdf
| license = CC BY-SA IGO 3.0
}}

==Bibliography==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{Cite book |title=The Oxford Companion to Australian History|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Melbourne|year=1998|isbn=978-0-1955-3597-6|last1=Davison|first1=Graeme|last2=Hirst|first2=John|author-link2=John Hirst (historian)|last3=Macintyre|first3=Stuart|author-link3=Stuart Macintyre}}
* &nbsp;Flood, Josephine (2019). The Original Australians: The Story of the Aboriginal People (2nd&nbsp;ed.). Crows Nest, NSW: Allen and Unwin. ISBN&nbsp;9781760527075.
* {{Cite book|first=James|last=Jupp|year=2001 |title=The Australian people: an encyclopedia of the nation, its people, and their origins|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-5218-0789-0|ref=CITEREFJupp1}}
* {{Cite book|first1=James|last1=Jupp|author2=Director Centre for Immigration and Multicultural Studies James Jupp |title=The Australian People: An Encyclopedia of the Nation, Its People and Their Origins|url={{GBurl|id=wgoFxfSTfYAC|p=35}}|year=2001|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-5218-0789-0|ref=CITEREFJupp2}}
* {{Cite book |title=Australian painting 1788–1990|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Melbourne|year=1991|isbn=978-0-1955-4901-0|author1=Smith, Bernard|author2=Smith, Terry|ref=Smith|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/6028116/}}
* {{Cite book|last1=Teo|first1=Hsu-Ming |last2=White|first2=Richard|year=2003 |title=Cultural history in Australia|publisher=University of New South Wales Press|isbn=978-0-8684-0589-6}}
{{Refend}}

==Further reading==
{{Further|Bibliography of Australian history}}
{{Refbegin}}
* Blainey, Geoffrey (2015). The Story of Australia's People, Volume 1: The Rise and Fall of Ancient Australia, Penguin Books Australia Ltd., Vic. {{ISBN|978-0-6700-7871-4}}
* Denoon, Donald, et al. (2000). ''A History of Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific''. Oxford: Blackwell. {{ISBN|978-0-631-17962-7}}.
* Goad, Philip and Julie Willis (eds.) (2011). ''The Encyclopedia of Australian Architecture''. Port Melbourne, Victoria: Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-5218-8857-8}}.
* Hughes, Robert (1986). ''The Fatal Shore: The Epic of Australia's Founding''. Knopf. {{ISBN|978-0-394-50668-5}}.
* [[John Milne|Milne, John (1886)]]. [https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/69580 Colonial facts and fictions: Humorous sketches]. United Kingdom: Chatto and Windus.
* {{Cite book |last=Kemp |first=David |title=The Land of Dreams: How Australians Won Their Freedom, 1788–1860 |url={{GBurl|id=LUVvDwAAQBAJ}} |year=2018 |publisher=Melbourne University Publishing |isbn=978-0-5228-7334-4 |oclc=1088319758}}  
* Powell, J.M. (1988). ''An Historical Geography of Modern Australia: The Restive Fringe''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-521-25619-3}}
* Robinson, G.M., Loughran, R.J., and Tranter, P.J. (2000). ''Australia and New Zealand: Economy, Society and Environment''. London: Arnold; New York: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-340-72033-2}} paperback, {{ISBN|978-0-340-72032-5}} hardback.
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Spoken Wikipedia|date=17 January 2006|AustraliaPart1.ogg|AustraliaPart2.ogg}}
{{Sister project links|voy=Australia|d=Q408|collapsible=collapsed}}
* [https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/australia/ Australia profile] on ''[[The World Factbook]]''
* [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-15674351 Australia profile] from [[BBC News]]
* [https://www.oecd.org/australia/ Australia profile] from the [[Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development|OECD]]
* {{Curlie|Regional/Oceania/Australia}}
* {{Wikiatlas|Australia}}
* {{Osmrelation-inline|80500}}

'''Government'''
* [https://www.aph.gov.au/ Parliament of Australia]
* [https://www.dfat.gov.au/ Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade]
* [https://www.naa.gov.au/ National Archives of Australia]
* [https://www.abs.gov.au/ Australian Bureau of Statistics]

'''Travel'''
* {{official website|https://www.australia.com/}} of Tourism Australia
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