1938 in Australia

Incumbents

• Monarch – George VI
• Governor-General – Alexander Hore-Ruthven, 1st Baron Gowrie
• Prime Minister – Joseph Lyons
• Chief Justice – Sir John Latham

  State Premiers

• Premier of New South Wales – Bertram Stevens
• Premier of Queensland – William Forgan Smith
• Premier of South Australia – Richard L. Butler, then Thomas Playford IV
• Premier of Tasmania – Albert Ogilvie
• Premier of Victoria – Albert Dunstan
• Premier of Western Australia – John Willcock

  State Governors

• Governor of New South Wales – John Loder, 2nd Baron Wakehurst
• Governor of Queensland – Sir Leslie Orme Wilson
• Governor of South Australia – Sir Winston Dugan
• Governor of Tasmania – Sir Ernest Clark
• Governor of Victoria – William Vanneck, 5th Baron Huntingfield
• Governor of Western Australia – none appointed

  Events

• 26 January – Australia officially celebrates its sesquicentennial, the 150th anniversary of European settlement. Unofficially, it is a Day of Mourning for Indigenous Australians.
• 6 February – Three hundred beachgoers are dragged out to sea when three freak waves strike Bondi Beach in Sydney in an event known as "Black Sunday". A team of eighty surf lifesavers manage to rescue all but five people.
• 13 February – Nineteen people die when Sydney ferry the Rodney, carrying 150 passengers, capsizes in Sydney Harbour while farewelling US Navy cruiser.
• 1 April – New monthly newspaper Abo Call begins publication in Sydney, focusing on issues of Aboriginal rights and edited by activist Jack Patten.
• 11 May – Two jockeys are killed and two are injured in a horse racing accident at Morphettville Racecourse in Adelaide, South Australia.
• 25 October – Eighteen people die in Australia's worst air disaster when the Douglas DC-2 Kyeema crashes in the Dandenong Ranges in thick fog.
• 15 November – Waterside workers at Port Kembla, New South Wales refuse to load a consignment of scrap iron destined for Japan, arguing that it would be used for munitions. Attorney-General Robert Menzies attempts to force the loading of the cargo, earning himself the nickname "Pig Iron Bob".
• 21 December – A direct radio-telephone link is established between Canberra and Washington D.C.
• 28 December – The Sydney Mail ceases publication.

  Arts and literature

• 31 March – Xavier Herbert wins the Commonwealth 150th anniversary literary award for his novel Capricornia.
• 30 December – The Passing of the Aborigines by Daisy Bates is published.

  Sport

• 5 to 12 February – The 1938 British Empire Games are held in Sydney. Australia leads the medal tally at the games, winning 25 gold medals, 19 silver and 22 bronze.
• 2 September – Canterbury Bulldogs defeat Eastern Suburbs 19 to 6 in the grand final, becoming premiers of the 1938 NSWRL season.
• 1 November – Catalogue wins the Melbourne Cup.

  Births

• 12 January – Lewis Fiander, actor
• 12 January – Noel McNamara, crime victims supporter
• 13 January – Daevid Allen, musician
• 17 January – David Theile, backstroke swimmer
• 21 January – Steve Dunleavy, journalist
• 25 February – Herb Elliott, athlete
• 28 February – Dennis Olsen, pianist, actor and director
• 1 March – Henry Reynolds, historian
• 5 March – Mike Walsh, television presenter
• 19 March – John Winneke, judge
• 25 March – Anthony Carwardine, naval officer
• 20 April – Betty Cuthbert, athlete
• 5 June – Roy Higgins, jockey
• 18 June – Kevin Murray, Australian rules footballer
• 19 June – Ian Smith, actor and screenwriter
• 20 June – Joan Kirner, Premier of Victoria
• 23 June – John Gerovich, Australian rules footballer
• 25 June – Mick Allen, rower
• 27 June – Bob Baxt, lawyer
• 28 June – Sergio Silvagni, Australian rules footballer
• 8 July – Paul Cronin, television and film actor
• 13 July – Ian Macphee, politician, Minister for Immigration
• 16 July – Colin Rice, Australian rules footballer
• 23 July – Bert Newton, entertainer
• 28 July – Robert Hughes, art critic
• 9 August – Rodney Laver, tennis player
• 22 August – Roger Gyles, lawyer and judge
• 30 August – Murray Gleeson, High Court judge
• 6 September – Ernie Sigley, entertainer
• 8 October – Fred Stolle, tennis player
• 17 October – Les Murray, poet
• 30 October – Morris Lurie, writer
• 8 November – Bob Skilton, Australian rules footballer
• 26 November – Rodney Jory, physicist
• 4 December – Yvonne Minton, operatic soprano
• 11 December – Reg Livermore, actor, singer and television presenter
• 21 December – Frank Moorhouse, writer

  Deaths

• 6 January – John Gavin, film director
• 15 January – Paul Raphael Montford, sculptor
• 21 January – Will Dyson, cartoonist
• 31 January – John Barnes, politician
• 16 February – Thomas Molloy, WA politician
• 21 April – Sir Talbot Hobbs, architect
• 11 May – Lawrence Wells, explorer
• 17 May – Nora Clench, Canadian violinist
• 17 June – Ranji Hordern, cricketer
• 19 June – Jack Hides, explorer
• 22 June – C. J. Dennis, poet
• 29 June – Sir Colin Mackenzie, anatomist and museum administrator
• 30 August – Evelyn Marsden, survivor of the Titanic
• 11 September – Sir Philip Whistler Street, NSW Supreme Court judge
• 12 October – Hugh Massie, cricketer
• 25 October – Charles Hawker, politician
• 29 November – John Sandes, journalist and author