The popularity of sports in Australia is such a widespread phenomenon that it is often dubbed as the 'National Religion'. Young or old, there is no age limit or dearth of sport fanatics in Australia. Though most of the sports came to Australia from Europe, the British colonization of Asian and other countries resulted in a significant number of similarities with British sports. Survey too reveals the open secret that Australians take their sports a lot more seriously as compared with other nations. For this reason, the rates of both participation and expectation is the highest anywhere in the world. To further this national preoccupation, the "Sports Industry Australia" was set up in 1976. The "Sports Industry Australia" has recently been rechristened as the "Confederation of Australian Sport" (CAS). This organization focuses on the advancement and development of the industry of sports in Australia as a whole. Yes, sports in Australia do happen to be an industry; and a very popular and also commercially profitable one too. The climate of the country too contributes in a big way to the hosting of various events year round.

Given below is a list of the sports and the sport events that are hosted in Australia with immense fanfare or in which the country participates:

Sports: Australian Rules Football, Baseball, Basketball, Cricket, Cycling, Football (soccer), Golf, Hockey, Horse racing, Lacrosse, Motorsport, Netball, Rugby league, Softball, Swimming, Surfing, Tennis and Water-boarding.

Sporting Events: Winter Sports, Olympic Games like the Summer Olympics and the Winter Olympics; Commonwealth Games, Australian University Games and Australian Open.