Omicron emerged as the dominant variant of COVID-19 as the new year began and its surge affected January's Australian Open tennis tournament.
Specifically, it affected international tennis icon Novak Djokovic.
The world number one hoped to win a record 21st grand slam title but his visa was cancelled and on arrival he was moved to Carlton's Park Hotel, where refugee advocates and tennis fans gathered and argued the merits of his case.
A more welcome record was set when Dylan Alcott became 2022's Australian of the Year - the first time in the award's 62-year history that a person with a disability was so recognised.
In February, the Federal Government reopened Australia's borders to fully vaccinated international visitors ((Feb 21)).
March was a grim month for cricket fans worldwide, as iconic spinner Shane Warne died suddenly in Thailand.
By mid-April the election campaign was officially underway.
Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank came under increased pressure to lift interest rates after Australia's annual inflation rate climbed to its highest level in two decades, fuelled by rising petrol prices and housing costs.
The consumer price index surged, taking the annual rate to 5.1 per cent.
By May 21st, Australia had a new government and Labor's Anthony Albanese became Australia's 31st Prime Minister.
June saw Australia's biggest interest rate rise in more than two decades, coinciding with sharply rising gas and electricity prices.
The Socceroos beat Peru to earn a spot in this year’s FIFA World Cup.
And the first of 2021's Census results were released, showing Australia is becoming increasingly diverse, less religious and its population has doubled in size over the last 50 years to 25.5 million.
Later in the month Australia lost two beloved music icons.
The lead vocalist of The Seekers, Judith Durham, died aged 79, her legacy spanning decades.
Just days later, actor and singer Olivia Newton-John died in the United States, leaving her fans and the entertainment world around the globe in mourning.
It could have been a happy finish to 2022, but the year end was blighted by the horror of an ambush at a remote property west of Brisbane, in Queensland.
Police work near the scene of a fatal shooting in Wieambilla, Queensland, Tuesday, December 13, 2022. Police have shot dead three people at a remote property on Queensland's Darling Downs after an ambush in which two officers and a bystander were killed. Source: AAP / JASON OBRIEN/AAPIMAGE
