1926 in Australia

Incumbents

• Monarch – George V
• Governor-General – Henry Forster, 1st Baron Forster of Lepe then John Baird, 1st Viscount Stonehaven
• Prime Minister – Stanley Bruce
• Chief Justice – Adrian Knox

  State premiers

• Premier of New South Wales – Jack Lang
• Premier of Queensland – William McCormack
• Premier of South Australia – John Gunn, then Lionel Hill
• Premier of Tasmania – Joseph Lyons
• Premier of Victoria – John Allan
• Premier of Western Australia – Philip Collier

  State governors

• Governor of New South Wales – Sir Dudley de Chair
• Governor of Queensland – none appointed
• Governor of South Australia – Sir Tom Bridges
• Governor of Tasmania – Sir James O'Grady
• Governor of Victoria – George Rous, 3rd Earl of Stradbroke, then Arthur Somers-Cocks, 6th Baron Somers
• Governor of Western Australia – Sir William Campion

  Events

• 19 April – The High Court of Australia finds in the case of Clyde Engineering Co Ltd v Cowburn that the Forty-Four Hours Week Act 1925 was incompatible with Commonwealth legislation.
• 3 September – The Canberra Times is first published.
• 4 September – A federal referendum is held, containing two questions: Industry and Commerce and Essential Services. Neither question is passed.
• 13 September – Twenty-six people are killed in the Murulla railway accident.
• Helen Wayth wins the first Miss Australia Quest
• Ballerina Anna Pavlova tours Australia
• jazz music was made

  Science and technology

• 22 June – The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research is founded, the precursor to today's CSIRO.

  Arts and literature

• William McInnes wins the Archibald Prize

  Sport

• 18 September – South Sydney Rabbitohs defeat University, becoming premiers of the New South Wales Rugby Football League season 1926.
• 25 September – Melbourne defeat Collingwood 17.17 to 9.8 at the VFL grand final, becoming premiers of the 1926 VFL season.
• 2 November – Spearfelt wins the Melbourne Cup.
• New South Wales wins the Sheffield Shield

  Births

• 7 January – Joe Marston, soccer player
• 3 February – Raymond Martin, chemist
• 4 February – Dave Sands, boxer
• 6 February – Bruce Ruxton, former soldier and president of the RSL
• 8 February – Tony Street, politician
• 10 February – Arvi Parbo, businessman
• 16 February – Rayene Stewart Simpson, soldier and Victoria Cross recipient
• 6 March – Ray O'Connor, Premier of Western Australia
• 15 March – Thelma Keane, wife of cartoonist Bil Keane and inspiration for the "Mommy" character in The Family Circus
• 2 April – Jack Brabham, racing driver
• 13 April – Neil Betts, rugby union player
• 11 May – Frank Thring, actor
• 25 June – Kep Enderby, Esperantist and politician
• 27 June – Bruce Tozer, cricketer
• 1 July – Stan Obst, Australian rules footballer
• 3 July – Laurence Street, jurist and former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales
• 4 July – Stuart Thomas Butler, nuclear physicist
• 9 July – Peter Mullins, decathlete
• 12 July – Al Grassby, politician, Minister for Immigration
• 20 July – Russ Gorman, politician
• 31 July – Jack Pollard, sports writer and cricket historian
• 5 August – Doug McClelland, politician
• 15 August – Ted Allsopp, race walker
• 27 August – Reg Watson, television producer and screenwriter

• 8 September – Keith Adams, adventurer
• 16 September – Sir William Cole, public servant
• 18 September – Deirdre Jordan, academic and educator
• 30 September – Frank O'Neill, swimmer
• 11 October – Neville Wran, Premier of New South Wales
• 20 October – Peter Durack, politician, Attorney-General
• 7 November – Joan Sutherland, opera singer
• 15 November – Ivor Greenwood, politician, Attorney-General
• 26 November – Tom Hughes, politician, Attorney-General
• 31 December – Billy Snedden, politician, Leader of the Liberal Party

Deaths

• 9 January – William Henry Warren, engineer
• 12 January – Sir Austin Chapman, politician
• 27 April – Ada Cambridge, author
• 30 April – Sir Tim Coghlan, NSW state statistician
• 11 May – Hugh Dixson, businessman and philanthropist
• 15 May – Joseph James Fletcher, biologist
• 21 May – H. V. McKay, inventor of the Sunshine harvester
• 4 June – Fred Spofforth, cricketer
• 23 June – Henry Lowther Clarke, Anglican archbishop of Melbourne
• 28 June – William Archibald, South Australian politician
• 14 September – Charles Hedley, naturalist
• 3 October – Samuel James Mitchell, first Supreme Court of NT judge
• 11 December – Sir William McMillan, politician
• 11 December – Gottlieb Schuler, journalist
• 13 December – William Spence, trade union leader and politician
• Joe Slater composer, music publisher