1976 in Australia
Incumbents
Events
- 5 January Family Law Act comes into effect, Elizabeth evatt is sworn in as first Chief justice of the Family Court of Australia.
- 1 May – Neville Wran Becomes NSW Premier
- 1 September - Cigarette + Tobacco advertising banned on TV + Radio
- 30 September – Blue Hills, the long running ABC radio serial, comes to an end after 32 years
- 4 December – The Royal Australian Navy's fleet of Grumman Tracker aircraft is destroyed by arson at Nowra, New South Wales
- Edward (Weary) Dunlop is announced as Australian of the Year
- Mining on Fraser Island ends.
- Random Breath Testing introduced in Victoria
Science and technology
Arts and literature
Film
Television
Nine Network soap operas The Young Doctors and The Sullivans both begin on air in November.
Sport
- 31 July – Victor Anderson wins the men's national marathon title, clocking 2:23:28.6 in Sydney.
Births
- 9 January – Amy Gillett (d. 2005), cyclist
- 18 January – Damien Leith, singer
- 17 February – Matthew Lappin, Australian rules footballer
- 19 February – Travis Denney, badminton player
- 24 February – Bradley McGee, cyclist
- 28 February – David Bradbury, politician
- 28 April – Paul Cleary, middle-distance runner
- 27 May – Bianca Netzler, field hockey player
- 4 June – Kasey Chambers, singer
- 21 June – Nigel Lappin, Australian rules footballer
- 7 August – Megan Gale, model
- 24 August- Alex O'Loughlin, actor
- 27 August – Mark Webber, Formula 1 driver
- 1 September – Marcos Ambrose, racing driver
- 7 September – Carmel Bakurski, field hockey defender
- 15 September – Brett Kimmorley, Rugby league footballer
- 7 November – Mark Philippoussis, tennis player
- 8 November – Brett Lee, cricketer
- 18 November – Matt Welsh, swimmer
- 30 November – Gail Miller, water polo player
- 6 December – Paul Crake, racing cyclist
- 31 December – Craig Reucassel, comedian
Deaths