31 January – Seven people die in the Waterfall train disaster, which happened due to the driver having a heart attack at the controls of the train & losing control of the train.
17 February – Tens of thousands of Australian protestors join millions more in other cities around the world in protesting the Iraq War. These are the biggest street protests seen since the Vietnam War.
20 March – The Iraq war begins. Australia sends 2000 military personnel to the conflict.
22 March – Bob Carr's ALP government is re-elected for a third term in New South Wales
28 April – All Pan Pharmaceuticals products are recalled by the Therapeutic Goods Administration after a number of safety problems were found at its manufacturing plant, in what was one of Australia's biggest ever recalls.
29 May – An attempted hijacking of Qantas Flight 1737 between Melbourne and Launceston is thwarted when a flight attendant and passengers subdue and disarm the culprit.
12 February – Australia beat England 3-1 in a friendly upset at Boleyn Ground, London.
3 April – First day of the Australian Track & Field Championships for the 2002–2003 season, which are held at the ANZ Stadium in Brisbane, Queensland. The 5,000 metres were conducted at the Melbourne Track Classic, Victoria on Saturday 1 March 2003. The 10,000 metres (men and women) were conducted at the Runaway Bay Grand Prix in Queensland on Saturday 12 April 2003.
6 April – Sydney Kings win their first championship by defeating Perth Wildcats 117-101 in Game 2 of the last best-of-three NBL Grand Final series.
7 April – The Crawford Report delivers recommendations to the Federal Government regarding the Structure, Governance and Management of Soccer in Australia.
1 June – Perth Glory avenge their defeat in the 2001–2002 NSL Grand Final by beating Olympic Sharks 2-0 in the Final at Subiaco Oval to become Champions for the first time in their history.
14 September – Paul Arthur wins the men's national marathon title, clocking 2:31:28 in Sydney, while Helen Tolhurst claims the women's title in 2:58:58.
27 September – The Brisbane Lions (20.14.134) defeat the Collingwood Magpies (12.12.84) to win the 107th VFL/AFL premiership. It is the third consecutive grand final win for Brisbane and the second consecutive year that they and Collingwood have met in the grand final.
12 October – New Zealander Greg Murphy and Rick Kelly dominate the Bob Jane T-marts Bathurst 1000 for the K-mart Racing Team. It was Murphy's third win, each for different teams, while at just 20 years of age, Kelly becomes the youngest winner in the races history. It was the fifth consecutive win for Holden, a new record.