15 January – An Australian Sea Shepherd activist, Benjamin Potts, and his British colleague, Giles Lane, are detained on board the Japanese whaling vessel Yushin Maru No. 2 after boarding the ship which was inside the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary near Antarctica.[5]
17 January – An explosion in a wine processing shed at Drayton's Winery in the New South WalesHunter Valley kills two men including winery owner Trevor Drayton, and injures one.[7]
23 January – After 128 years, the final edition of The Bulletin is published. Its demise was announced on 20 January.[8]
22 February – Parliament descends into chaos with opposition frontbenchers ejected, question time suspended and speakers unable to control the house. A cardboard cut-out of the Prime Minister is bought into the parliament by opposition members angry about sitting time on a Friday.[11]
March
12 March – Adelaide experiences a national record heatwave for an Australian capital city, recording over ten straight days of temperatures over 35 degrees Celsius.[12]
18 April – Australian swimmer Nick D'Arcy has his Beijing ticket terminated following an incident at a nightclub involving former swimmer Simon Cowley.
30 April – The Victorian government agrees to implement safety measures for Melbournetaxi drivers, after dozens of taxis blockade the intersection of Flinders and Swanston Streets following the stabbing of a driver the previous day.[20]
8 August – The Australian Federal Police conduct what is claimed to be the world's biggest ecstasy drugs bust, seizing A$440 million worth of the drug.[32]
6 September – By-elections are held in the federal electorates of Mayo and Lyne, following the resignation of MPs Alexander Downer and Mark Vaile respectively. The Liberal Party retains Mayo, but the National Party loses Lyne to an independent candidate, Rob Oakeshott.
10 October – Prime Minister Kevin Rudd receives a phone call from U.S. PresidentGeorge W. Bush during a dinner party at The Lodge. A subsequent edition of The Australian newspaper reports that during the call, President Bush asked Rudd what the G-20 was. Although the White House and the Prime Minister deny this exchange took place, the Opposition uses the event to question Mr Rudd's discretion.[35]
15 December – Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announces that Australia will cut its greenhouse gas emissions by five per cent of 2000 levels by the year 2020, with an option to reduce by 15 per cent if other developing countries take similar action. The announcement is criticised by the Australian Greens and environmental groups as not going far enough.[37]
23 May – New South Wales Police seize a number of photographs depicting naked children by artist Bill Henson which were to be exhibited the previous day.[40]
12 September – Stephen Conte's novel The Zookeeper's War wins the Prime Minister's Literary Award for Fiction, and Ochre and Rust: Artefacts and Encounters on Australian Frontiers by Philip Jones wins the Non-Fiction award.[42]
14 January – Nine Network revamps its logo and on-air graphics as a part of a new network re-launch, and after a two-year absence, returns the famous "Nine Balls" logo, except instead of balls, they use discs.
7 February – Veteran television presenter Ray Martin quits the Nine Network after 30 years with the network.[47]
8 February – At 12:00 PM AEDT ABC TV officially became ABC1.[48]
7 April – The Nine Network makes the first episodes of the new series Canal Road available for download over the Internet, ahead of its television broadcast on 16 April.[50]
2 June – The Seven Network apologises after airing an episode of the hospital drama All Saints in which it is suggested that a child born of an incestuous relationship is likely to result in the child having Down's syndrome.[53]
28 July – TV journalist, This Is Your Life host and also a former host of A Current Affair, Mike Munro announces he is leaving the Nine Network after 22 years, due to budget cuts.
3 August – The Nine Network's Sunday program is broadcast for the last time after 27 years on air.
26 October – Ryan Briscoe takes his Team Penske run Dallara IR5 to victory in the 2008 Nikon Indy 300, becoming in the last running of the event, the first Australian driver to win the Gold Coast Indycar race.
28 December – The yacht Wild Oats XI claims its fourth consecutive line honours win in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. Quest is the race's handicap winner.[70]