The Amazing Race Australia

The Race

Teams

Route Markers

Clues

• Route Info: A general clue that may include a task to be completed by the team before they can receive their next clue.
• Detour: A choice between two tasks. Teams are free to choose either task or swap tasks if they find one option too difficult.
• Roadblock: A task only one team member can complete. Teams must choose which member will complete the task based on a brief clue about the task before fully revealing the details of the task.
• Fast Forward: A task that only one team may complete, allowing that team to skip all remaining tasks and head directly for the next Pit Stop. Teams may only claim one Fast Forward during the entire Race.

  Obstacles

• Intersection: When encountered, two teams have to mutually agree to team up and complete tasks together until they receive a clue indicating that they are no longer Intersected.
• Yield: At this obstacle, one team can force another trailing team to wait a pre-determined amount of time before continuing the Race.
• U-Turn: At this obstacle located after a Detour, one team can force another trailing team to return and complete the other option of the Detour they did not select.
• *In series 2, the "U-Turn Vote" was introduced, having all teams voting at the start of the leg for whom they wish to receive the U-turn. The team with the most votes would be U-Turned sometime during the leg.
• *Also, an "Anonymous U-Turn" is where a team may U-Turn another trailing team without having to reveal themselves.

  Legs

• The Express Pass: Introduced in season 1, the pass allows the holders to skip any task they want.
• * The Australia v New Zealand edition introduced a twist to the Express Pass, where the team that won the first leg won one pass for themselves and a second for another team.
• The Salvage Pass Introduced in season 2, The pass allows that team to either save the last team to arrive the current leg from elimination or gain a 1-hour time credit for the next leg.

  Non-elimination legs

• Marked for Elimination It was used for seasons one and two, where the penalised team must arrive first in the next leg or face a 30-minute time penalty.
• Speed Bump: Two iterations of the Speed Bump exist on the Australian version
• * On season 3, the Speed Bump was an additional task that the penalised team must complete before receiving their clue and continuing with the Race. This resembles the Speed Bump used on most seasons of most versions of the show.
• * On season 4, the Speed Bump added an additional aspect to the first task of the following leg, making it more difficult for the penalised team. This version of the Speed Bump resembled the Handicap penalty used on The Amazing Race Norway. This Speed Bump variation was also used on the 27th American season.

  Marathon legs

Rules and Penalties

Rules

• For the 1st season, both team members are to perform a maximum of 6 Roadblocks. It is assumed that a similar rule was used for season 2 but there were several Roadblocks that went unaired. The slightly shorter 3rd edition featured the rule with a 5-5 Roadblock split with the 11th and final Roadblock being open to either teammate. The 4th season did not feature such Roadblock rule.
• Unless otherwise stated, such as during Roadblocks, team members must stay within 6 meters of each other and stay close to their assigned camera and sound crew.

  Penalties

• If a team fails to complete a Roadblock, Detour, Speed Bump, or Route Info task, they receive a 4-hour penalty.
• If a team fails to complete an Intersection task, they receive a 2- or 4-hour penalty. This occurred to Anastasia & Chris and Sam & Renee of the 2011 edition. It is not stated but assumed that the larger penalty is given to the team that elects to quit with the smaller penalty given to the team forced to quit due to their intersected team quitting.
• If a team hitchhikes or travels in privately owned vehicles, they receive a 20-minute penalty. This occurred to Sam & Renae and Tyler & Nathan of season 1.
• If a team fails to take a particular type of transport or travel class, they receive a 10-minute penalty. This occurred to Jeff & Luke of season 1 who travelled on a second-class train carriage when told to travel on a third-class carriage.
• If a team sells their own items in order to raise money, they receive a 30-minute penalty. This occurred to Adam & Dane of season 2.
• If a team pulls another team's belongings out of their taxi, they receive a 2-hour penalty. This occurred to Joseph & Grace on season 2.
• If a team, in a leg where they're required to drive themselves, goes over a speed limit, they will occur a one-hour penalty. This occurred to Sid & Ash on season 4. The equivalent penalty on the American show is 30 minutes and any time deemed to have been gained from the speeding.

  Series overview

Broadcast & ratings

Countries and locales visited

Oceania

North America

South America

Europe

Africa

Asia

Reception

Awards and nominations