Australia sent a team to the first Commonwealth Games in Hamilton, Canada. There were just 11 athletes in the team. Australia have attended all Games since then, and are one of only six nations have attended every Commonwealth Games (the others are Canada, England, New Zealand, Scotland and Wales).

Australia is one of the powerhouse countries of the Commonwealth Games, having topped the medal count at every Commonwealth Games since 1990. Australia also lead the all-time medal tally by a wide margin.

women's relay at the 1982 Commonwealth Gameswomen's relay at the 1982 Commonwealth Games (image source: Queensland State Archives)

Australia has hosted the Commonwealth Games four times: in Sydney 1938, Perth 1962, Brisbane 1982 and Melbourne 2006. The nation has produced many of the Games' most successful athletes across swimming, athletics, cycling and the pool deck, and has finished at or near the top of the standings at every edition in the modern era.

Australia at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games

Australia extended its dominance at Glasgow 2026, the first Commonwealth Games staged with a reduced program of 10 sports. Despite the smaller schedule, Australia again finished on top of the medal table, continuing a run of leading the medal count at every Commonwealth Games since 1990. The team won 70 gold medals, surpassing the 67 golds they claimed at Birmingham 2022, with swimming and para swimming (37 golds) and athletics (12 golds) once again the biggest contributors.

Australia finished 41 gold medals clear of second-placed England, taking 171 medals in total. The final medal standings for the leading nations are shown below.

Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Australia 70 45 56 171
2 England 29 45 36 110
3 Canada 19 20 23 62
4 India 13 17 9 39
5 Scotland 13 9 17 39
6 New Zealand 10 14 12 36

Australia's Glasgow 2026 gold-medal haul was its largest ever at a Commonwealth Games, cementing the country's position at the head of the all-time medal tally.