1945 in Australia

Incumbents

• Monarch – George VI
• Governor-General – Alexander Hore-Ruthven, 1st Baron Gowrie, then the Duke of Gloucester
• Prime Minister – John Curtin, then Frank Forde, then Ben Chifley
• Chief Justice – Sir John Latham

  State Premiers

• Premier of New South Wales – William McKell
• Premier of Queensland – Frank Cooper
• Premier of South Australia – Thomas Playford IV
• Premier of Tasmania – Robert Cosgrove
• Premier of Victoria – Albert Dunstan, then Ian MacFarlan, then John Cain
• Premier of Western Australia – John Willcock, then Frank Wise

  State Governors

• Governor of New South Wales – John Loder, 2nd Baron Wakehurst
• Governor of Queensland – Sir Leslie Orme Wilson
• Governor of South Australia – Sir Charles Norrie
• Governor of Tasmania – Sir Ernest Clark, then Sir Hugh Binney
• Governor of Victoria – Sir Winston Dugan
• Governor of Western Australia – none appointed

  Events

• 30 January – Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester becomes Australia's first royal Governor-General.
• 31 January - A Stinson aircraft crashes in Victoria, killing all 10 on board.
• 9 May – Germany surrenders to the Allies, ending World War II in Europe.
• 26 June – Dr H. V. Evatt signs the United Nations Charter on behalf of Australia.
• 8 to 30 June – Perth receives of rain in twenty-three days, easily its heaviest monthly rainfall on record and unlikely to be approached due to anthropogenic global warming.
• 5 July – Prime Minister John Curtin dies in office from heart problems at The Lodge in Canberra.
• 6 July – Frank Forde is sworn in as Prime Minister of Australia, following the death of John Curtin. He will serve Australia's shortest term as Prime Minister, being replaced by Ben Chifley a week later.
• 7 July – The Australian 7th Division commences operations in the Battle of Balikpapan. Operations are completed by 21 July.
• 13 July – Ben Chifley is elected as leader of the Australian Labor Party, becoming the 16th Prime Minister of Australia.
• 15 August – Japan surrenders to the Allies, ending World War II. The day is known as V-P Day.
• 10 November – A general election is held in Victoria.

  Science and technology

• 12 December – Howard Florey shares the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on penicillin.

  Arts and literature

• William Dargie wins the Archibald Prize with his portrait of Edmund Herring
• Russell Drysdale painted The Drover's Wife

  Film

• 1 May – The Australian National Film Board is established.

  Sport

• 1 September – Eastern Suburbs defeats Balmain 22–18 in the final of the 1945 New South Wales Rugby Football League season.
• 29 September – The 1945 VFL Grand Final is held, and becomes known as the "Bloodbath" due to the wet, muddy conditions and frequent violence between players and amongst the spectators. Carlton defeats South Melbourne 15.13 to 10.15.
• 6 November – Rainbird wins the Melbourne Cup.
• 26 December – The first Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race begins. The British yacht Rani wins both line honours and the handicap, arriving in Hobart on 3 January.

  Births

• 1 January – Peter Duncan, politician
• 2 January – Diane Fahey, poet
• 2 January – Byron Lamont, botanist
• 8 January – Jeannie Lewis, musician
• 10 January – John Fahey, 38th Premier of New South Wales
• 15 January – John Peard, rugby league player and coach
• 19 January – Judith Clingan, composer and musician
• 22 January – Arthur Beetson, rugby league player and coach
• 22 January – Ken Ticehurst, politician
• 26 January – John Coates, mathematician
• 28 January – Peter Cochran, politician
• 11 February
• * Ralph Doubell, Olympic athlete
• * Peter Blackmore, politician
• 23 February – Robert Gray, poet
• 26 February – Peter Brock, racing driver
• 3 March – George Miller, film director and producer
• 16 March – Michael Cobb, politician
• 10 April – Kevin Berry, butterfly swimmer
• 13 April – Judy Nunn, actress, author
• 8 May – Janine Haines, politician
• 17 May – Tony Roche, tennis player
• 22 May – Bob Katter, politician
• 27 May – George Thompson, politician
• 29 May – Chris Barrie, Chief of the Defence Force
• 1 June – Kerry Vincent, chef and author
• 2 June – Michael Leunig, cartoonist
• 10 June – Martin Wesley-Smith, composer
• 5 July – Johnny Famechon, boxer
• 8 July – Graeme Blundell, actor
• 13 July – Ashley Mallett, cricketer
• 17 July – Athena Starwoman, astrologer
• 18 July – Max Tolson, soccer player
• 21 July – Geoff Dymock, cricketer
• 1 August – Ken Aldred, politician
• 2 August – Alex Jesaulenko, Australian rules football player
• 7 August – Graham Ramshaw, Australian rules football player
• 12 August – Mal Washer, politician
• 18 August – Gillian Bouras, writer
• 23 August – Ian McManus, politician
• 27 August – Kerry O'Brien, television journalist
• 22 October – Clover Moore, politician, 82nd Lord Mayor of the City of Sydney
• 25 October – Peter Ledger, illustrator
• 26 October – John Romeril, playwright
• 1 November – John Williamson, singer
• 15 November – Roger Donaldson, New Zealand film director
• 19 November – Barry Haase, politician
• 26 November – Roger Price, politician
• 28 November – John Hargreaves, actor
• 5 December – Joanne Burns, poet
• 7 December – Bob Martin, politician
• 15 December – Thaao Penghlis, actor
• 22 December – Sam Newman, Australian rules football player and media personality
• 31 December – Vernon Wells, actor

  Deaths

• 28 January – Samuel Dennis, politician
• 4 March – Harry Chauvel, soldier
• 5 March – Rupert Downes, soldier
• 6 April – Paddy Stokes, politician
• 15 April – Tom Collins, politician
• 5 June – Albert Piddington, High Court judge, lawyer and politician
• 5 July – John Curtin, Prime Minister of Australia
• 11 July – Frank Hill, politician
• 29 July – Henry Burrell, naturalist
• 5 August – Alfred Reid, politician
• 20 August – Sir Macpherson Robertson, confectioner
• 6 September – David Hall, politician and barrister
• 15 September – William Calman Grahame, politician
• 15 October – Tom Swiney, politician
• 12 November – Reginald Weaver, politician
• 6 December – Sir Edmund Dwyer-Gray, Premier of Tasmania