The following lists events that happened during1980 in Australia.

← 1979 1978 1977 1980 in Australia → 1981 1982 1983
Decades:	1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s
See also:	1980 in Australian television 1980 in Australian literature Other events of 1980 Federal election Timeline of Australian history

• Monarch –Elizabeth II
• Governor-General –Sir Zelman Cowen
• Prime Minister –Malcolm Fraser
  • Deputy Prime Minister –Doug Anthony
  • Opposition Leader –Bill Hayden
• Chief Justice –Sir Garfield Barwick

• Premier of New South Wales –Neville Wran
  • Opposition Leader –John Mason
• Premier of Queensland –Joh Bjelke-Petersen
  • Opposition Leader –Ed Casey
• Premier of South Australia –David Tonkin
  • Opposition Leader –John Bannon
• Premier of Tasmania –Doug Lowe
  • Opposition Leader –Geoff Pearsall
• Premier of Victoria –Rupert Hamer
  • Opposition Leader –Frank Wilkes
• Premier of Western Australia –Sir Charles Court
  • Opposition Leader –Ron Davies
• Chief Minister of the Northern Territory –Paul Everingham
  • Opposition Leader –Jon Isaacs
• Chief Minister of Norfolk Island –David Buffett

• Governor of New South Wales –Sir Roden Cutler
• Governor of Queensland –Sir James Ramsay
• Governor of South Australia –Sir Keith Seaman
• Governor of Tasmania –Sir Stanley Burbury
• Governor of Victoria –Sir Henry Winneke
• Governor of Western Australia –Sir Wallace Kyle (until 30 September), thenSir Richard Trowbridge (from 25 November)
• Administrator of Norfolk Island –Peter Coleman
• Administrator of the Northern Territory –John England

• 9 January – Prime MinisterMalcolm Fraser announces sanctions against theSoviet Union following its invasion of Afghanistan.^[1]
• 17 January –Debbie Wardley becomes Australia's first female pilot to take to the skies when she co-pilots aFokker Friendship on Ansett Flight 232 on the so-called "milk run" fromAlice Springs toDarwin.^[2] The flight marks the end of a 15-month legal battle withAnsett Airlines to overcome gender-based discrimination which had prevented her from earlier taking the controls.^[3]
• 24 January – The first section ofMelbourne's underground railway loop is opened.
• 27 January –Frank Nugan of the failedNugan Hand Bank is found dead at the wheel of hisMercedes by police atLithgow.^[4]

• 19 February - Rock singerBon Scott of the bandAC/DC, at age 33 found dead having slept in parked car in London, UK.^[5][6]
• 21 February –Advance Airlines Flight 4210 crashes atSydney Airport, killing all 13 aboard theBeechcraft King Air 200 aircraft.^[7]
• 23 February – The1980 Western Australian state election takes place and theLiberal/Nationalcoalition government ofSir Charles Court is re-elected.^[8]

• 1 March – The federal executive of theAustralian Labor Party decides to intervene in the Queensland branch, with most key office-holders replaced.^[9]
• 25 March – Defence MinisterJames Killen announces thatCockburn Sound Western Australia will offer base and home port facilities to theUnited States Navy.^[10]

• 3 April – It's revealed that a sensitive report entitledThe Threat of the Internal Security of Australia is lost by theOffice of National Assessments.^[11][12]
• 26 April –Louise and Charmian Faulkner disappear from outside their flat inSt Kilda,Melbourne, Australia.^[13][14]
• 30 April – Automotive companyChrysler Australia Limited is taken over by Japanese companyMitsubishi after the American-basedChrysler Corporation sold its Australian subsidiary to the dynamic Japanese automobile manufacturer for $80 million.^[15] The declining fortunes ofChrysler's North American operations forced the sale.^[15]

• 1 May – The Australian branch ofEarthwatch Institute is established inSydney.
• 15 May – The telecommunications tower onCanberra'sBlack Mountain is officially opened.^[16][17]
• 23 May – The AustralianOlympic Federation announces it will send anOlympic delegation toMoscow, despite objections raised by theprime minister.^[18] The tight 6–5 ballot, announced by Federation President Syd Grange at Melbourne's Sheraton Hotel ends speculation about Australia's role following America's boycott of the games.^[19] Prime MinisterMalcolm Fraser is critical of the decision, expressing hope that the Australian participation would not be interpreted as an endorsement of Soviet policy.^[20]
• 24 May –Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip arrive in Australia.^[21][22]
• 26 May – TheHigh Court of Australia building inCanberra is opened byQueen Elizabeth II.^[23] Prince Philip is also in attendance.
• 31 May – TheRoyal Commission into Drug Trafficking (Woodward Royal Commission) estimates that there are at least 20,000heroin addicts in Australia.

• 7 June – The1980 Northern Territory general election takes place and Paul Everingham'sCountry Liberal Party government is re-elected.^[24]
• 23 June –
  • Australia's first "test tube baby" Candice Elizabeth Reed is born in Melbourne'sRoyal Women's Hospital.^[25][26][27]
  • David Opas, a Judge of theFamily Court of Australia is shot and killed outside his home.^[28]
• 26 June – Australian Richard Thorp, of the United States firm Mitchell, Giurgola and Thorp, wins the competition for the design of the newParliament House, Canberra.^[29]

• 1 July – Women are allowed to join surf clubs as full members.^[30]
• 4 July –Newcastle's afternoon newspaperThe Newcastle Sun ceases publication.^[31]

• 17 August – Nine-week-oldAzaria Chamberlain disappears from a campsite at Ayers Rock (Uluru), later confirmed to be taken by adingo.^[32][33]
• 22 August – Confusion reigns at the inquest into the death ofFrank Nugan of the failed Nugan Hand banking group. A letter is produced on the final day of the inquest signed by the secretary to the CommissionerMr. Justice Woodward, who presided over theRoyal Commission into Drug Trafficking, appears to clear Nugan of any involvement with narcotics dealing.

• 26 September – TheLonie Report in Victoria recommends the closure of half the suburbanrail lines, all country passenger rail lines and a number of tram routes.^[34] It also recommends hugefreeway expansion.^[34] The report is controversial and protests cause its recommendations to be moderated.
• 30 September –Bob Hawke retires as President of theAustralian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) to contest the seat ofWills in the federal election.^[35] Cliff Dolan becomes the new President of the ACTU.^[35][36]

• 1 October – TheCostigan Royal Commission begins in Melbourne, with the purpose of inquiring into the activities of theFederated Ship Painters and Dockers Union.^[37][38]
• 9 October – The standard-gauge railway fromTarcoola toAlice Springs is opened byPrincess Alexandra.^[39][40]
• 14 October – Violet Roberts, 52, and Bruce Roberts, 22, are released from prison after serving almost five years of their sentence after being found guilty in March 1976 of murdering their violent husband and father, Eric Leslie Roberts.^[41][42][43] The mother and son are "released on licence" just 24 hours after the New South Wales Attorney-GeneralFrank Walker recommended the action to the Department of Corrective Services, following sustained pressure from supporters who argued that the sentences were unduly harsh.^[41] The Attorney-General had publicly described the sentences as a miscarriage of justice.^[41]
• 18 October – The1980 Australian federal election is held withMalcolm Fraser'sLiberal/National CountryCoalitiongovernment re-elected with a substantially reduced majority, defeating theLabor Party led byBill Hayden.^[44] The Government also loses control of the Senate, with theAustralian Democrats winning the balance of power.^[45]

• 20 November – Former Prime Minister SirJohn McEwen dies.
• 29 November – The1980 Queensland state election takes place with the National Party government ofJoh Bjelke-Petersen being re-elected.^[46]

• 1 December – A memorial service is held for former Australian prime ministerSir John McEwen atSt Paul's Cathedral in Melbourne.^[47]
• 2 December – The Federal Government lifts controls regulating the interest rates offered by banks on customer deposits.^[48]
• 15 December – TheAzaria Chamberlain inquest begins inAlice Springs.^[49][50][51]
• 17 December –
  • Turkish Consul-General,Şarık Arıyak and his bodyguard, Engin Sever, are shot dead in the street outside the consulate inDover Heights, Sydney, becoming the victims of Australia's first political assassinations.^[52][53] The obscure international terrorist army, the "Justice Commandoes of Armenian Genocide", claim responsibility for the deaths only 20 minutes after the shootings.^[52][53]
  • AWoolworths store in theWollongong suburb ofWarilla is bombed, causing $300,000 worth of damage.^[54]
• 19 December – A Woolworths store atMaitland, New South Wales is bombed, suffering more than $300,000 worth of damage.^[54]
• 20 December – A Woolworths store atOrange, New South Wales receives a call from a man threatening to bomb a Woolworths store unless he is paid $1 million.^[54]
• 23 December –Victoria decriminaliseshomosexual acts between consenting adults, with the Royal Assent of the Crimes (Sexual Offences) Act 1980.^[55]
• 24 December – Woolworths' Town Hall store in the centre ofSydney is devastated by a bomb blast – the chain's third store to be targeted in nine days.^[54] Authorities received only 10 minutes' warning of the bombing, which miraculously caused no serious casualties after 2,000 shoppers and staff were evacuated from the area.^[54][56]
• 26 December – Police offer a $250,000 reward for information relating to the recent Woolworths bombings.^[54] The reward is the largest ever offered in Australian history.^[54]

• Jessica Anderson's novelThe Impersonators wins theMiles Franklin Award.^[57]

• 5 July – The Australian filmBreaker Morant opens inSydney andMelbourne, having been the toast of the recent1980 Cannes Film Festival.^[58]
• 18 September –The Club starringJack Thompson andGraham Kennedy is released to cinemas.^[59][60]

• 17 January –Gippsland'sGLV-10 becomesGLV-8.^[61] This is done so thatMelbourne's ATV-0 can becomeATV-10.^[61]
• 20 January – ATV-0 becomesATV-10.^[62] This move prompts the 0–10 Network to change its name toNetwork Ten, althoughBrisbane'sTVQ-0 would continue to broadcast on Channel 0 until 1988. On the same night, Ten's new drama seriesArcade premieres. It is regarded as the biggest flop inAustralian television history, costing over$3 million to make and being axed after 49 episodes.^[63]
• 14 July –Nine Network's new quiz showSale of the Century launches, bringing in record ratings with Nine winning the 7pm timeslot.^[64][65]
• 30 January –Kingswood Country debuts on theSeven Network.^[66]
• 15 October – Mini-seriesThe Last Outlaw debuts on Seven.
• 24 October – Australia's new multicultural television networkSBS is officially opened byMalcolm Fraser as it commences transmission inSydney & Melbourne onVHF Channel 0 &UHF Channel 28, becoming the firststation in Australia to use UHF frequencies.^[67]

• 5 July –Evonne Cawley (née Goolagong) wins the Wimbledon singles for the second time, easily beating the popular American championChris Evert-Lloyd 6–1, 7–6 in the final.^[68] She becomes the first woman to have won the Wimbledon singles nine years apart and is the first mother ever to take tennis' most coveted prize.^[68]
• 8 July – The inaugural1980 State of Origin game is played atLang Park, which is won byQueensland who defeatNew South Wales 20 – 10.^[69]
• 27 July –Laurie Whitty wins the men's national marathon title, clocking 2:19:00 inAdelaide.^[70]
• 27 September –
  • TheCanterbury Bulldogs defeat theEastern Suburbs Roosters (now Sydney Roosters) 18–4 to win the 73rdNSWRL premiership.^[71] It is the first premiership forCanterbury since 1942 & the last grand final played on a Saturday.^[71] In the process,Steve Gearin scores one of the most spectacular tries in history.^[71]Penrith finish in last position, claiming the wooden spoon.^[71]
  • TheRichmond Tigers (23.21.159) defeat theCollingwood Magpies (9.24.78) to win the 84thVFL premiership.^[72] It was the last premiership win forRichmond until 2017.^[73]
• 5 October –Alan Jones becomes the secondAustralian driver to win theFormula OneWorld Drivers Championship after winning thefinal race of theseason atWatkins Glen, New York.^[74]
• 4 November –Beldale Ball wins theMelbourne Cup.^[75]
• 13 December –Illawarra is accepted as the 13th team in the NSWRL premiership for 1982, making them the first team from outside the Sydney metropolitan area to compete in the competition sinceNewcastle in 1909.^[76]

• 5 January –Brad Meyers, rugby league player^[77]
• 7 January –Reece Simmonds, rugby league player^[78]
• 8 January –Adam Goodes, footballer^[79]
• 9 January –Luke Patten, rugby league player and referee^[80]
• 17 January –Kylie Wheeler, heptathlete^[81]
• 25 January –Alayna Burns, track cyclist^[82]
• 8 February –Cameron Muncey, singer and guitarist (Jet)
• 2 March –Rebel Wilson, actress and producer
• 13 March –Nathan Phillips, actor
• 27 March –Toni Cronk, field hockey goalkeeper
• 17 April –Cameron McKenzie-McHarg, former rower
• 15 April –Lauryn Mark, Olympic skeet shooter^[83]
• 25 April –Daniel MacPherson, actor
• 9 May –Grant Hackett, swimmer
• 10 May –Pete Gray, environmental activist (d.2011)
• 16 May –Simon Gerrans, road bicycle racer
• 23 May –Ben Ross, rugby league player
• 24 May –Anthony Minichiello, rugby league player
• 31 May –Craig Bolton, footballer and sportscaster
• 5 June –Chris Flannery, rugby league player
• 18 June –Craig Mottram, long and middle distance runner
• 29 June –James Courtney, motor racing driver
• 9 July
  • Brooke Krueger, hammer thrower
  • Wil Traval, actor
• 23 August –Bronwyn Eagles, hammer thrower
• 24 August –Rachael Carpani, actress
• 10 September -Caterina Mete, dancer, singer and choreographer (The Wiggles)
• 18 September –Chris Tarrant, Australian rules footballer
• 16 October –Timana Tahu, rugby league player
• 5 November –Luke Hemsworth, actor^[84]
• 28 November –Alex Greenwich, politician
• 16 December
  • Natalie Porter, basketball player and Olympic medalist
  • Axle Whitehead, actor and singer-songwriter
• 22 December –Matt Parker, recreational mathematician and author^[85]
• 25 December –Ricky Muir, politician

• 7 January –Eddie Scarf, Olympic wrestler and boxer (b.1908)^[86]
• 2 May –Clarrie Grimmett, cricketer (born inNew Zealand) (b.1891)^[87]
• 24 September –Pat Galvin, South Australian politician (b.1911)
• 11 November –Vince Gair, 27thPremier of Queensland (b.1901)^[88]
• 20 November –Sir John McEwen, 18thPrime Minister of Australia and 1stDeputy Prime Minister of Australia (b.1900)^[89]

• 1980 in Australian literature
• 1980 in Australian television
• List of Australian films of 1980

• 1980 in Australia
• 1980 by country
• Years of the 20th century in Australia

• CS1: unfit URL
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from March 2020
• Use Australian English from February 2012
• All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English