Australia during year 2022 A look back

Debate over when the federal election would be called was in the air until early April, when Scott Morrison fired the starting gun In the six weeks that followed, Australians considered who to elect as candidates campaigned across the country.

Anthony Albanese couldn't name Australia's unemployment rate on the first day of the election campaign, and Scott Morrison's "bulldozer" moment was captured on camera after he accidentally knocked over a child playing soccer on the campaign trail in Tasmania

The federal election also resulted in a teal "wave" that opened the door for independent candidates to enter parliament, significantly from traditionally Liberal electorates.

Scott Morrison was ousted as Prime Minister, and Anthony Albanese was sworn in as Australia's 31st prime minister, becoming the first-ever prime minister without an Anglo-Celtic surname.

Labor's victory also resulted in a life-altering decision for the Nadesalingam family In June, the family returned to Biloela after spending four years in immigration detention

Australia started 2022 in the throes of the omicron variant outbreak, which resulted in recordhigh COVID cases and restrictions across the country

Residents in Melbourne, having gone through the world's longest COVID-19 lockdown in 2021, saw continuing restrictions

Among the most high-profile cases was the visa trouble for tennis star Novak Djokovic, who, after landing in Melbourne on 5 January to compete in the Australian Open, was placed in immigration detention

It felt like it was non-stop rain in parts of the country as Australia faced its second consecutive La Niña season. In February, one of the biggest floods in modern Australian history inundated the New South Wales town of Lismore, displacing hundreds of residents

The one-in-1000-year weather event happened again four weeks later in Lismore and continued across the country as major flooding hit parts of New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, and parts of Queensland throughout 2022

In October, thousands attended vigils and rallies across Australia to pay tribute to Noongar teenager Cassius Turvey who was attacked by white men while walking home from school in Western Australia

The 15-year-old boy died ten days later in an induced coma after sustaining serious injuries and was farewelled across the country People attended a vigil at King George Square in Brisbane to mourn the death of Cassius Turvey

In December, crown prosecutors dropped charges against Bruce Lehrmann for the alleged rape of former Liberal party staffer Brittany Higgins in Parliament House after a mistrial in the case and over concerns for Ms Higgins's welfare