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See also: 1988 in Australia, other events of 1989, 1990 in Australia

Incumbents

• Monarch – Queen Elizabeth II
• Governor General – Sir Ninian Stephen (until February 16), then Bill Hayden
• Prime Minister – Bob Hawke

Premiers and Chief Ministers

• Premier of New South Wales – Nick Greiner
• Premier of Queensland – Mike Ahern (until September 22), then Russell Cooper (until December 7), then Wayne Goss
• Premier of South Australia – John Bannon
• Premier of Tasmania – Robin Gray (until June 29), then Michael Field
• Premier of Victoria – John Cain
• Premier of Western Australia – Peter Dowding
• Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory – Rosemary Follett (from May 11, until December 5), then Trevor Kaine
• Chief Minister of the Northern Territory – Marshall Perron

Governors and Administrators

• Governor of New South Wales – Sir James Rowland (until January 20), then Sir David Martin
• Governor of Queensland – Sir Walter Campbell
• Governor of South Australia – Sir Donald Dunstan
• Governor of Tasmania – Sir Phillip Bennett
• Governor of Victoria – Dr Davis McCaughey
• Governor of Western Australia – Professor Gordon Reid (until October 30)
• Administrator of the Northern Territory – Eric Johnston (until July 1), then James Muirhead

Events

• January 1 - HECS is introduced with the commencement of the Higher Education Funding Act 1988.
• January 10 - Assistant Australian Federal Police commissioner Colin Winchester is shot dead in the driveway of his Canberra home by a sniper, later identified as David Harold Eastman.
• February 1 - Joan Kirner becomes Victoria's first female Deputy Premier after the resignation of Robert Fordham over the VEDC (Victorian Economic Development Co-operation) crisis.
• March 1 - The Industrial Relations Commission replaces the Australian Conciliation & Arbitration Commission.
• March 4 - First ACT (Australian Capital Territory) elections held
• March 6 - Former National Safety Council boss John Friedrich is arrested in Western Australia over allegations that he defrauded investors of $237 million.
• March 20 - Prime Minister Bob Hawke weeps on national television, as he admits marital infidelity.
• May 9 - Andrew Peacock deposes John Howard as Federal Opposition Leader and Leader of the Liberal Party.
• May 11 - The ACT Legislative Assembly meets for the first time
• May 15 - Australia's first private tertiary institution, Bond University, opens on the Gold Coast.
• May 29 - The Australian Labor Party in Tasmania signs the Labor-Green Accord with the Tasmanian Greens to form government.
• May 30 - Ananda Marga member Tim Anderson is arrested on charges related to the 1978 Hilton bombing.
• July 5 - Findings from the Fitzgerald Inquiry are released in Queensland.
• August 13 - Thirteen people die in a hot air balloon accident near Alice Springs, Northern Territory.
• August 23 - All of Australia's 1,645 domestic airline pilots resign over an airline's move to sack and sue them over a dispute, following a strike.
• October 20 - Grafton bus crash – 21 people are killed and 22 are injured when a tourist bus collides with a semi-trailer on the Pacific Highway near Grafton.
• November 10 - Gaby Kennard becomes the first Australian woman to fly non-stop around the world.
• November 25 - Elections in South Australia narrowly return the Labor government of John Bannon to power.
• December 2 - After 32 years in power, 19 of those under Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen, the National Party government is voted out of office in Queensland amid widespread allegations of corruption & is replaced by the Australian Labor Party. led by Wayne Goss.
• December 22 - Kempsey bus crash - Two tourist coaches collide on the Pacific Highway north of Kempsey, New South Wales, 35 are killed and 39 injured.
• December 28 - A magnitude 5.6 earthquake hits Newcastle, New South Wales, killing 13 people.

Unknown Dates

• The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) is established in New South Wales.
• Western Australia decriminalises homosexual acts between consenting adults.
• Alan Bond's Bond Corporation goes into receivership with the largest debt in Australian history.

Arts and literature

• Peter Carey's novel Oscar and Lucinda wins the Miles Franklin Award

Film

Television

• January - Young Talent Time is cancelled before the new series goes to air.
• March 31 - Phase 1 of Aggregation of television services occurs in Southern NSW, with WIN Television becoming a regional Nine Network affiliate, Prime Television becoming the Seven Network affiliate & Capital Television (now Southern Cross Ten) becoming the Network Ten affiliate.
• April 12 - Fast Forward premieres in Australia (1989-1992).
• June - Neighbours introduces a new look theme song. The theme is sung by Barry Crocker when it lasted until the end of 1994.
• July - Bob Shanks takes over as managing director of Network Ten due to ailing ratings & totally revamps the network, giving it the name 10 TV Australia as well as introducing a new lineup with increased game show content. Most of the new shows are axed by the end of the year.
• August - Acropolis Now premieres in Australia (1989-1992).
• September - Network Ten is sold to Steve Cosser, head of Broadcom Australia, for $22 million.
• December 31 - Phase 2 of Aggregation of Television services occurs in Orange & Wagga Wagga, with aggregation occurring in Wollongong & Canberra in March
• The Big Gig premieres in Australia (1989-1992).

Sport

• March 13 – NSWRL unveils massive advertising campaign featuring rock legend Tina Turner singing What You Get is What You See.
• March 17 – First day of the Australian Track & Field Championships for the 1988-1989 season, which are held at the QEII Stadium in Brisbane, Queensland.
• July 23 – Bradley Camp wins the men's national marathon title, clocking 2:10:10 in Brisbane, while Jan Federick claims the women's title in 2:51:30.
• August 11 – Canterbury Bulldogs & Canberra Raiders meet at the WACA Ground in Perth in the first NSWRL match played outside the eastern states. On the same day, it is announced that the VFL will become known as the AFL from next season.
• August 13 – Marconi Fairfield win the NSL with a 2-0 victory over Sydney Olympic, in the last season to be played in traditional Winter format.
• September 24 – Canberra upset Balmain 19-14 in extra time at the Sydney Football Stadium (now Aussie Stadium) to win one of the most dramatic & exciting grand finals ever & take the NSWRL premiership outside Sydney for the first time.
• September 30 – Hawthorn (21.18.144) defeat Geelong (21.12.138) to win the 93rd and indeed final VFL premiership until 1996, when the VFA would become known as the VFL.
• Brownlow Medal awarded to Paul Couch (Geelong).
• Cricket – Australia regains The Ashes on English soil for the first time in 40 years defeating England 4-0 in the 6 test series.

Births

• 1 February – Steven Browne, Australian rules footballer
• 8 February – Bronte Barratt, swimmer
• 25 February – Hayden Doyle, soccer player
• 15 March – Bryce Gibbs, Australian rules footballer
• 24 March – James Sellar, Australian rules footballer
• 4 April – Chris Herd, soccer player
• 20 April – Amy Steel, netballer
• 15 May – James Holland, soccer player
• 26 May – Laurence Braude, soccer player
• 30 May – Catherine McNeil, fashion model
• 9 June – Josephine Tomic, racing cyclist
• 12 June – Shane Lowry, soccer player
• 1 July – Daniel Ricciardo, racecar driver
• 13 July – Jack Bobridge, racing cyclist
• 18 July – Sebastian Ryall, soccer player
• 27 July – Talia Zucker, actress
• 15 August – Ryan McGowan, soccer player
• 19 September – Kimberly Mason, rhythmic gymnast
• 22 September – Renee Rollason, soccer player
• 18 October – Leigh Howard, racing cyclist
• 24 October – Eliza Taylor-Cotter, actress
• 26 October – Daniel Mullen, soccer player
• 22 December – Jared Petrenko, Australian rules footballer
• 22 December – Jharal Yow Yeh, rugby league footballer
• 31 December – Brydan Klein, tennis player

Deaths

• 17 March – Donald Friend, artist
• 11 August – John Meillon, actor