1 January – Digital Television arrives in the major state capitals of Australia and states in it, with the ABC and SBS permitted to operate multi-channel services.
25 January – The Seven Network loses the TV rights to the AFL for the first time, since televised football began in 1957. The rights are won by a Nine Network-Network Ten-Fox Footy Channel consortium.
1 February – The Network Ten undergoes a major revamp in its production and circle logo and on air graphics as a part of a new network re-launch, with the launch of its motto Seriously Ten, which are both currently in use to the 2012 revamp.
5 February – The Weakest Link premieres on the Seven Network, airing twice a week, Mondays and Fridays, however, shortly before the commencement of the AFL season, the latter edition is moved forwards to Thursdays in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, and then in Sydney and Brisbane after the conclusion of the AFL season.
26 March – The $10,000 bank target is achieved for the first time on an episode of The Weakest Link.
10 April – American mystery fiction television series ' premieres on the Nine Network and is shown every Tuesday at 8:30 pm.
24 April – The Australian version of Big Brother premieres on Network Ten.
25 April – Brooke Marshall wins the second season of The Mole, taking home $100,000 in prize money. Michael Laffy is revealed as the Mole, and Hal Pritchard is the runner-up.
7 May – Nine players who were voted off The Weakest Link early in previous episodes were given a second chance to win up to $100,000.
27 May – Nine previous winners of The Weakest Link appear on the show again for another chance to win up to $100,000. In this episode, the $10,000 bank target is achieved again.
2 June – The ABBA Tribute Show goes to air live on the Nine Network.
24 June – Australian children's Sunday morning wrapper programme Couch Potato airs its final episode on ABC hosted by Abby Coleman and David Heinrich and finishing up with a rerun of SimsalaGrimm.
16 July –
*Network Ten's Melbourne-based drama series The Secret Life of Us makes its first screening debut.
*The first season of Big Brother was won by Ben Williams.
*Australian soap opera Home and Away has switched over to air on Channel 5 in the UK after ITV lost the rights to the series.
31 July – Australian miniseries Blue Murder finally screens in NSW and the ACT for the very first time on the ABC six years after its broadcast in other states and territories due to the life sentence of Neddy Smith.
1 August – The ABC launches its very first digital multi-channel service ABC Kids. The channel airs programmes aimed at children and runs from 6:00am to 6:00pm.
8 August –
*Australian rural drama series McLeod's Daughters, based on the 1996 telemovie of the same name, premieres on Nine Network, which broadcasts every Wednesday at 7:30 pm.
*Long running Australian soap opera Neighbours begins airing on television stations in Ireland for the very first time on RTÉ.
1 November – The ABC launches another digital multi-channel service called Fly TV. Airing from 6:00pm to 6:00am, the channel broadcasts music videos, reviews, comedy, drama, news programming, sport programmes, cartoons and current affairs for teenagers and young adults.
25 November - The 1999 Film Notting Hill starring Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts premieres on the Seven Network.
29 November – After 21 years, Sale of the Century is "rested". It later returns to the Nine Network as Temptation in 2005 and runs until 2007, and again 2008 until 2009. Also another Nine Network game show Burgo's Catch Phrase has given the axe after 4 years.
December – The Nine Network will introduce a watermark on its programs. Until now, the Channel Nine watermark will now be broadcast on all news, current affairs and Live programs.
December – A record $72,900 is won on The Weakest Links special titled The Best of the Best''.
This is a list of programmes which made their premiere on an Australian television network that had previously premiered on another Australian television network. The networks involved in the switch of allegiances are predominantly both free-to-air networks or both subscription television networks. Programs that have their free-to-air/subscription television premiere, after previously premiering on the opposite platform are not included. In some cases, programs may still air on the original television network. This occurs predominantly with programs shared between subscription television networks.
This is a list of programs which made their premiere on Australian subscription television that had previously premiered on Australian free-to-air television. Programs may still air on the original free-to-air television network.
