How 2025 Changed Australian Culture
A deep dive into the events that changed Australian culture.
2025 will be remembered as one of the most culturally significant years of the 2020s, comparable to the advent of COVID-19 in 2020 and the chaotic year that was 2023, to change the Australian zeitgeist.
From a Federal Election that delivered an earthquake to Australia’s political system, rising new celebrities and cultural presence globally, the Trump Effect, and the unfortunate Bondi Terror Attack, 2025 has changed Australian culture.
This deep dive explores the top events and issues of 2025, which not only fundamentally changed the Australian cultural canon but will likely be discussed for years to come.
BLUEY, MOVIES & THE FATE OF OPHELIA
If 2024 was dominated by the year of being a ‘brat’, a ‘femininomenon’ or a ‘tortured poet’, 2025 instead saw a return to safer viewing and listening, with audiences choosing to keep to what they know.
Continuing its outstanding performance in 2024, Bluey managed to rack up over 25 billion minutes of stream time globally, outperforming other global performers such as season 3 of The White Lotus and season 5 of Stranger Things. For adult audiences, the workplace mockumentary The Paper, (the follow-up to The Office) outperformed expectations, being renewed for a second season in the future.
The Australian box office enjoyed its strongest year since 2019, crossing the $1 billion threshold, showing Australians have finally returned to the cinema since the COVID-19 Pandemic. The long-anticipated Minecraft Movie led the global charge, with $36.8mil in domestic earnings. Other films, such as Kangaroo, an Australian local comedy focusing on the outback, succeeded in becoming the highest-growth local film of the year, earning $5.2mil.
Australia may also be about to see its first next-generation movie star with Joseph Zada, 20, having a massive 2025. Not only has he been cast to lead the next Hunger Games prequel ‘Sunrise on the Reaping’ as a young Haymitch Abernathy, but also for his roles in ‘Total Control’ and ‘Invisible Boys’.
Taylor Swift retained her position as #1 on the charts, once again remaining Australia’s favourite singer following the release of her twelfth album, The Life of a Showgirl, which, despite mixed critical reception, dominated the charts with tracks such as ‘The Fate of Ophelia’. American country and pop singer Morgan Wallen came close to topping the charts with the release of his fourth studio album, I’m the Problem, which debuted #1 on the ARIA album charts, becoming the longest number one country album in a decade. The most-streamed songs in Australia included ‘Ordinary’ by Alex Warren, ‘APT’ by ROSÉ in collaboration with Bruno Mars and ‘BIRDS OF A FEATHER’ by Billie Eilish.
ALL IS ‘LEGAL’
Apple Cider Vinegar and beef wellingtons gained notoriety in 2025 for all the wrong reasons. In 2025, Australia’s cultural landscape was transformed through a series of high-profile courtroom dramas, international records, scandals, and more, which threw Australia into the global spotlight.
On 7 July 2025, one of Australia’s most closely watched legal sagas reached its crescendo, with a jury under the Supreme Court of Victoria convicting Erin Patterson on multiple charges of murder and attempted murder of multiple of her close relatives. This case was just as unusual as gruesome, with the murder weapon of choice being a beef wellington laced with death cap mushrooms. Erin Patterson is currently appealing her conviction.
Other legal dramas also underpinned 2025. The ongoing legal feud between Britanny Higgins reached its peak in late 2025, with the Western Australian Supreme Court finding Britany Higgins had defamed former defence minister Linda Reynolds in two social media posts in 2022 and 2023. This has since left both Ms Higgins and her husband in a state of bankruptcy.
In Pabai v Commonwealth (No 2), the Federal Court of Australia rejected claims by Torres Strait Islander leaders that the Commonwealth owed a “duty of care” to protect against climate change. In its ruling, it held these were core powers of the Parliament and the Courts are restricted by the separation of powers from making a judgment.
Australian Netflix series Apple Cider Vinegar, starring Kaitlyn Dever and Alycia Debnam-Carey s wellness guru Belle Gibson and Milla Blake recast spotlight onto the infamous cancer fraud story, where fraudulent fake medicines were promoted to deal with cancer.
ELECTIONS, SOCIAL MEDIA & TRUMP2.0
2025 will prove to be one of the most politically important periods in the history of the nation since its federation (notwithstanding the previous 65,000 years of history). The year was dominated by a historic federal election result, a global-leading push to regulate social media, the recognition of a Palestinian state and the second coming of Donald Trump.
On 3 May 2025, over 18 million Australians cast their vote, resulting in the largest landslide victory for the Australian Labor Party in the party’s history, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese becoming the first Labor leader since World War Two to increase his parliamentary majority after a first term. The election took pundits by surprise, with polls only three months prior suggesting a hung Parliament, potentially even a Liberal majority government.
Despite the campaign primarily fought over the cost of living and housing affordability, the Coalition squandered its lead, finishing with Peter Dutton losing his own seat of Dickson, placing the Liberal National coalition at fundamental odds over the future direction of Australian conservatism. Meanwhile, the Greens failed to maintain their 2022 gains, with One Nation later overtaking the party in polls as the primary alternative to the major parties.
Australia made international headlines on December 10, 2025, when its global leading social media ban entered operation. The law requires platforms to take “reasonable steps” to prevent individuals under 16 from maintaining accounts, backed by fines as high as $49.5mil for non-compliance. However, the rollout has been far from smooth. Despite public support, the ban faces “teething issues”, primarily regarding the technical feasibility of biometric age verification and the surging use of VPNs by teenagers. Multiple High Court challenges have also been filed, with plaintiffs arguing the ban disproportionately burdens the implied freedom of political communication.
The ‘Trump Factor’ entered the nation’s lexicon, with the return of Donald Trump to the United States presidency sending tremors across the entire world political and economic order that has governed since 1991. Australia, like other American allies, were placed with economic and resource tariffs, with many strategic partnerships placed under review as the United States prepares for a potential conflict with China. Despite these headwinds, Australia recognised a Palestinian state on 21 September 2025, with the Australian government entering into a “coalition of the willing” to maintain support to Ukraine and the current international legal system.
2025: THE YEAR OF UNPREDICTABILITY
As we enter 2026, the legacy of 2025 is defined not by a single narrative but by the duality of extremes. It was a year where Australia sought comfort from familiar sources of entertainment such as Bluey, the Minecraft movie and even artists such as Taylor Swift and Alex Warren, whilst simultaneously navigating a political and social landscape dogged by political polarisation, global upheaval and economic uncertainty over AI.
This polarisation reached new levels on the shores of Bondi, where the tragic events of December 14 serve as a harrowing reminder that the nation, like many others, is vulnerable to sudden, extreme shifts in global affairs. Yet, even in the shadow of such tragedy, Australians showed resilience through the actions of people such as Ahmed Al Ahmed, and others, who risked their lives to save countless more.
As we enter 2026, this theme of unpredictability looks set to remain, if not become stronger, with recent events of 2026 already confirming 2026 has the potential to be just as unique as 2020, 2023 and of course, 2025.