Smash-hit survival series Alone Australia is back from 26 March on SBS and . Dropped into the unpredictable and unforgiving wilds of the West Coast Ranges of Tasmania (Lutruwita), ten new trailblazing survivalists will push themselves to the limit, alone, totally isolated and with zero contact from the outside world.
Battling the elements, they will be forced to adapt to the wild will of nature, all in the hopes of being the last one standing and winning a life-changing prize of $250,000. And this is a season of firsts: one participant grabs the title of the oldest player in the series' history, and there are five women among the ten participants.
Meet the ten trailblazers taking on this ultimate test of endurance:
BEN, 38
English Teacher, SA
Hailing from a small town in South Australia, this country-born English teacher and bush poet has a knack for words — and a commitment to weekend bush skills practice that borders on obsession. A Christian, dedicated husband, and proud father of three (including a set of twins), Ben juggles family life, teaching, and community involvement with big energy and admirable enthusiasm. A former A-Grade SANFL footballer, with 227 games under his belt, Ben continues to be involved with his local team. His athletic body and competitive mindset give him the stamina, strength and resilience needed to tackle any challenge and he’s counting on them, as well as his faith, for a competitive edge going into this experience.
Well-versed in his local bushlands, Ben is practiced in both live and deadfall trapping techniques and has extensive experience foraging for native plants such as saltbush, wild lettuce, prickly pear and quandong. For Ben, the Alone challenge represents the ultimate outdoor experience — a true test of his skills and endurance. While the kudos of a win serves as good incentive, his deeper motivation is clear; a win is not just for him, but for the greater good of his family.
The big question: Will the skills he developed in South Australia's drier outback prove effective in the cold, wet forests of Tasmania's West Coast Ranges?
“I am just as comfortable quoting Shakespeare as I am gutting a rabbit.”
CEILIDH, 34
Disability Services Officer, QLD
Ceilidh is a fearless adventurer who never lets obstacles stand in the way of what she’s determined to achieve — and Alone is no exception. Though she currently leads a suburban life as a Disability Services Officer living on the Sunshine Coast, she escapes to the wild whenever possible, indulging her passion for fishing and foraging.
Deaf since birth, Ceilidh has always found her deepest connection to the world through nature — a bond first nurtured by her father, who introduced her to the outdoors and took her fishing as early as three years old. He taught her how to bait a hook, catch fish, whittle tools and craft spears; skills that shaped her confidence as a child and fuelled a lifelong love of building and bushcraft into adulthood.
A certified carpenter, building designer and a national BMX champion, Ceilidh adds woodworking skills, physical strength, emotional resilience and grit to her survival toolbox. Whilst hunting and trapping are not her forte, she is confident in her ability to sustain herself through fishing and foraging. Facing Alone comes with unique challenges, but Ceilidh is ready. She hopes to inspire young kids, especially girls, in the Deaf community to get out into nature. And if she wins? She and her wife and their dog Patty can buy the house of their dreams in Tasmania – the state in which they were married.
The big questions: Will her lean build work against her? Will the isolation become too much to bear?
“If there’s water, there’s life; put me near a body of water and I’ll find you something in it.”
CORINNE, 38
Food Safety Consultant, TAS
An only child, raised in the rural highlands of Scotland, now an adult living alone on 10 acres of suburban bushland in the south of Tasmania, Corinne is not one to be intimidated by the cold, the wet or the isolation! With a deep passion for bushcraft, she thrives on play with natural materials, crafting utensils, baskets, and traps, but foraging is her true survival forte. It was her fascination with foraging that led her to start and grow a successful bushfood business, which she recently sold to pay off her home and focus on her dream of off-grid living.
Self-taught and fiercely self-reliant, Corinne is a true do-it-yourselfer. She can butcher a carcass and tan a hide, but there’s one challenge she has yet to face: taking an animal's life. Despite her success with catch-and-release, having repeatedly, successfully trapped many possums, the final step — ending a life — remains her greatest challenge. It’s the ultimate test she must pass if she is to procure enough protein to go the distance. Currently living alongside chickens and two goats, Corinne is also working toward bringing her elderly father from Scotland to live closer to her. This Alone experience marks what she hopes will be her final solo adventure. If she wins, the prize money will bring her one step closer to realising her ultimate dream — becoming a mother and starting a family.
The big questions: Can she take an animal’s life in order to survive? Will she struggle with boredom?
“I think I’ll do okay. I’m stoic, stubborn and have a little bit of that masochism that goes a long way in a survival situation.”
EVA, 31
Rewilding Facilitator, NSW
Home for Eva is a rustic, off-grid cabin in the hinterlands of NSW, where she lives with her partner. It is here where she thrives on sharing her passion for all things wild and igniting adventure and joy in others through her own outdoor education school.
Eva’s deep connection with nature came later in life. Shaped by city and party culture in her youth, she discovered the natural world as a young adult. This revelation completely shifted her path; she left her former life behind to embrace the wilderness, which now defines both her lifestyle and work. As a rewilding facilitator, Eva leads workshops to help others reconnect with nature.
For the past six years, she’s lived mostly outdoors, immersing herself in bushcraft, building projects, and tanning animal skins for clothing and homewares. Her self-sufficient lifestyle is tightly woven with her local community of like-minded individuals, living almost entirely off the land. She forages for wild greens daily and feeds on cicadas, witchetty grubs, moths, and ants. Eva regularly eats wild meat, including deer and kangaroo, and is skilled in processing and using every part of an animal. Despite her comfort with hunting, she’s never had to hunt bigger game for herself. Fishing and foraging will be her focus, but she’ll be trapping anything she can to ensure a food supply.
The prize money would mean a more comfortable off-grid lifestyle, but more importantly for Eva, this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to go deeper than ever into her connection with nature.
The big questions: Can she rely solely on fishing and foraging if hunting fails her? How will she handle extreme hunger, a challenge she's never truly faced before?
“This is not a weekend hobby for me, it’s a lifestyle.”
KARLA, 35
Expedition Leader, QLD
Karla is always on the go – she hasn’t stopped travelling, moving, skilling-up or adventuring since she first started. Her relentless energy and drive have defined her life of adventure and exploration. When she’s not on a ship leading expeditions across the globe, she’s travelling around Australia, living nomadically out of her 4WD.
Growing up in the Girl Guides, a lot of her childhood and teenage years were spent in the outdoors – and everything she’s done since has been outside!
Karla has worn many hats: wildlife zookeeper, commercial helicopter pilot, Kimberley fishing guide, and member of the Army Reserves among them. All will serve her well as she faces the challenges of Alone. Karla can fend for herself. She has extensive hands-on experience with wildlife – she can read animal behaviours, track, and catch them by hand.
A seasoned big game hunter, she’s now looking forward to facing a new test: hunting without her trusted firearms or bow. A confident trapper, fisher and forager, she’s comfortable in her ability to make use of what the land offers. “Bush tucker is my jam.” she says, “I’ve eaten scorpions, snails, spiders, and mealworms – foraging is what I rely on the most in the wild.” For the past six years, Karla has thrived in solitude, travelling solo and working remotely, embracing the freedom of living life on her own terms. Winning would elevate her nomadic lifestyle to the next level.
The big questions: Can a lifelong nomad, so accustomed to constant movement and freedom, truly settle down in one place? Or will boredom get the best of her?
“I want to find out if I really know my shit, or if I’m full of it!”
MATT, 31
Indigenous Youth Worker, WA
Identifying as a Yanyuwa, Waanyi/Garawa man, Matt’s deep connection to culture stems from the teachings of Aboriginal elders and community leaders from Yawuru — Broome — where he lives rurally with his wife and two children.
A true country boy at heart, Matt grew up on a cattle station, developing a profound bond with the land. While his athleticism took him to the heights of professional rugby league, playing 17 NRL games for the Canberra Raiders and NZ Warriors, it was his connection to country that ultimately called him back, leaving the sporting world behind to work with community and Indigenous youth.
Matt is highly skilled in traditional practices like goanna hunting, spearing stingrays, fishing in the shallows, and pig hunting with a nulla-nulla. A member of the Australian Bow Hunters Association, proficient with compound and recurve bows, and hunts with rifles, bows, and traps. His fishing skills include fly fishing, ocean and freshwater fishing with bait, spears, handlines, and catch-and-release traps. In addition to his hunting and fishing prowess, Matt is resourceful in bushcraft. He’s crafted spears, clubs, yabby traps, fish traps, crab traps, lures, and crab hooks, all using traditional methods.
His motivation is simple: he wants to inspire the youth he teaches to step up and have a go – and if he wins, he plans to travel Australia in a caravan with his family, exploring the beauty of the land and passing down knowledge and tradition to the next generation.
The big question: Can a coastal Kimberley survivalist adapt his body and skills to the icy challenges of Tasmania’s rugged West Coast Ranges?
“Growing up, I didn’t watch ‘Bob the Builder’, I’d be out trying to hunt grandpa’s rabbits. I’ve literally been hunting my whole life and I’ve been outdoors since before I can remember.”
MUZZA, 63
Bushman, VIC
Muzza might be the oldest participant ever on Alone Australia, but at “63 years young,” he’s quick to remind everyone that age is just a number. With the fitness and strength to match his adventurous spirit, this professional bushman and gifted storyteller has lived a life as rugged and varied as the Australian outback itself.
Over the years, Muzza’s career has included stints as a farmer, FIFO worker in the Pilbara, gold hunter, roo shooter, tuna fisherman, and pump mechanic — to name just a few. His body, marked by scars, is a living roadmap of encounters with Australia’s most formidable wildlife, each with a story to tell.
Raised on a dairy farm, Muzza’s playground was the bush from the moment he could walk. His fishing, hunting, bushcraft, tracking, trapping, and building skills were honed through a lifetime of hands-on experience. Today, he still provides 80% of his family’s protein through hunting and fishing, bringing home venison, rabbits, fish, and seafood. Yet his true passion is fishing. Before his father passed, he gifted Muzza a book of 100 fish species to catch in Australia — a challenge Muzza has nearly completed.
Now retired in country Victoria, Muzza doesn’t sit still for long. One adventure after another has included a 700km solo trek along the Australian Alpine Track, completed over five weeks – but Alone Australia will be his greatest challenge yet. Muzza will be missing his wife of 44 years, his two children, their partners and five grandchildren, but he’s ‘never-say-die ready’ for this – it’s not about the money, it’s about the thrill of it; “bring it on!”
The big question: Can Muzza’s body withstand an unforgiving Tasmanian winter, or will his family’s fears of injury or illness prove true?
“I want to be the inspiration for my age group to get off their arses and challenge themselves. People hit their 60s and think they’re old - bullshit!”
SHAY, 30
Professional Trapper, NZ
Shay, a shy and soft-spoken North Island New Zealander, has always felt more at home in nature than anywhere else. A possum trapper since 16, he spends many days deep in the bush hunting for meat and fur to support his family. Living mostly off wild animals — venison, possum, wallaby, hedgehog, and rabbits — Shay and his wife prioritise sustainable, wild food. “It’s just better,” Shay says. “No chemicals. Better for the environment. You play the role of a predator and provide for your family. Win/win.”
In recent years, Shay has shared his knowledge of New Zealand’s flora, fauna, and bush food on his YouTube channel, enjoying the process of documenting his adventures. A master tracker and trapper used to New Zealand’s harsh winters, he’s ready for the unique challenges of the Tasmanian wilderness. To prepare, he’s sewn possum skins into his oilskin jacket, a practice that keeps him warm and dry in the NZ bush.
Shay’s motivation for Alone Australia is clear: the prize money offers a chance to live debt-free and off the grid, securing a self-sufficient future for his family. But the adventure presents a personal challenge — he’s never been away from his two daughters for more than two weeks. The opportunity to secure their future makes the sacrifice worthwhile.
The big question: With his slight frame and difficulty maintaining weight, could this be the Achilles’ heel that tests the resilience of this otherwise capable bushman?
“Tapping out is not an option... It might sound crazy, but I’m going to be there for 300 days.”
TOM, 33
Ecologist, NSW
Tom lives a lifestyle grounded in self-sufficiency, nurturing his family with homegrown fruits, vegetables, foraged foods, and wild game — from small catches to larger hunts. A trained ecologist, he is currently an at-home-dad who also works as a zoo educator and runs his own nature education business, leading guided safaris and creating engaging content for councils across Sydney.
An expert in trapping, plant and insect identification as well as foraging, Tom has refined his skills through years of study and practice. Fishing, a lifelong passion, is where he truly excels, having mastered various techniques across all water types. Born without his right hand due to symbrachydactyly, Tom has confronted challenges head-on, adapting to life with and without prosthetics. His exceptional adaptability shines through in his mastery of activities like rock climbing, building, hunting, swimming, kayaking, horseback riding, and fishing — all skilfully executed.
Before fatherhood, Tom was an avid adventurer, exploring Patagonia, trail running, cycling, kayaking, and even undertaking an expedition to Antarctica. Now, the opportunity to compete in Alone offers a chance to reconnect with his adventurous spirit. If victorious, Tom plans to purchase the home where he grew up and raise his family on land that is part of a critically endangered ecosystem — ensuring a future for both his family and the land he holds dear.
The big question: How will Tom cope with the isolation and separation from his family?
“I don’t think you go into something like this without being a little unhinged. In the wild parts of Tasmania, it’s cold, it’s rugged, it’s unforgiving. All 10 of us are batshit crazy.”
YONKE, 52
Farmer & Permaculturalist, VIC
Yonke is a stoic yet playful single mother, managing a 20-acre permaculture farm in rural Victoria while raising an 11-year-old daughter and twin teenage boys. Her life is a blend of hard work, sustainability, spirituality and nurturing her children in a close-knit, rural setting. She also runs rewilding workshops when she finds the time.
Raised by an adventurous single mother, Yonke spent much of her childhood travelling across Asia, deeply immersing herself in Eastern philosophies. With Dutch heritage, she left Australia at 18 to study forestry in the Netherlands, aiming to understand how forest communities thrive. Her journey continued in Brazil, where she lived in the forest for three months. Her profound connection to forests and plant life means the idea of cutting down a tree for shelter is more distressing than hunting an animal for food.
A passionate fisher, Yonke has cast her line in waters from the highlands of Tasmania to the jungles of Brazil. She has spearfished in the ocean, tickled trout, and learned the importance of patience and adaptability in these environments.
Foraging is Yonke's greatest strength. Her exceptional ability to identify and use what nature offers has been central to her survival, giving her a deep confidence heading into Alone. This talent, honed through years of farming and living off the land, allows her to solve problems instinctively, making the most of every resource the wilderness provides.
The big question: Will Yonke struggle with the absence of community? Will she find the deep connection she is seeking while juggling survival and documentary making?
“I’ve spent my life looking at how humans connect with the wild world, through anthropology, ethnobotany, forestry and this is the next of level of it all – I just want to know what it feels like to completely rely on nature to sustain myself.”
Alone Australia Season 3 premieres with a double episode Wednesday March 26 at 7.30pm on SBS and before finishing with a double finale on 4 June. All twelve episodes will be available with subtitles in Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Arabic, Vietnamese and Korean, and with audio description for blind or vision-impaired audiences.
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