Omari Gates
Big Brother Australia is a reality TV show based on the international Big Brother format. The show features a group of contestants, known as housemates, who live together in a specially constructed house that is isolated from the outside world. The housemates are continuously monitored during their stay in the house by live television cameras and personal audio microphones. Throughout the competition, housemates are evicted from the house, eliminating them from the competition. The last housemate remaining wins the competition and is awarded a cash prize.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Format | Australian version of the international Big Brother reality television series |
| Number of seasons | 15 (as of 2024) |
| Contestants | 14 contestants live together in an isolated house for several months |
| Location | Dreamworld on the Gold Coast, Queensland |
| Airing channel | Network Ten (2001-2008, 2025), Channel Nine (2012-2014), Channel Seven (2020-2024) |
| Host | Mel Tracina (2025), Gretel Killeen, Sonia Kruger |
| Prize | Cash prize of 100,000 dollars |
| Rules | Housemates nominate each other for eviction in a secret ballot; viewers vote to decide who will be evicted; housemates must remain in the house at all times, with the aim of avoiding eviction and being the last housemate remaining |
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Format and rules
Big Brother Australia follows the format of the original Big Brother show, created by John de Mol Jr., which sees a group of contestants, known as "housemates", live together in a specially constructed house that is isolated from the outside world. Housemates are continuously monitored during their stay in the house by live television cameras and personal audio microphones.
The format of the show has varied over the years, with the 2020 series resembling the format of the American and Canadian editions, with housemates deciding on both nominations and evictions among themselves. This new format emphasised the competitive aspect of surviving the eviction process, allowing housemates to strategise, politic and collude about the nominations and evictions. However, the Australian public still decides the eventual winner, rather than a "Jury" of evicted housemates as in the American and Canadian versions.
In the original format, contestants were strictly prohibited from talking about nominations, and doing so could result in automatic nomination or ejection. The Australian format has since adopted some elements of the American rules, allowing housemates to discuss nominations and influence others' nominations.
Each series lasts for around three months, and there are usually 14 or more contestants, with fewer than 15 participants. The housemates try to win a cash prize by avoiding periodic evictions from the house. Housemates can also be removed from the house if Big Brother feels this is necessary, and they can voluntarily leave the show at any time.
The series has featured a range of rooms to punish or discipline housemates, including a Punishment Room, a Naughty Corner, and a rectangular-shaped room linked to the lounge. The house is remodelled for each new series, with two separate houses built for Big Brother 2003, which were merged later in the series when previously hidden connecting rooms were revealed.
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Housemates and nominations
Big Brother Australia is a reality TV show based on the international Big Brother format. The show features a group of contestants, known as "housemates", who live together in a specially constructed house that is isolated from the outside world. The housemates are continuously monitored during their stay in the house by live television cameras and personal audio microphones.
Each week, the housemates participate in a secret voting process to determine who will be nominated for eviction. Each housemate nominates two other housemates in the Diary Room, providing full reasons for their nominations. The three or more housemates with the most nominations are then nominated for eviction and face Australia's vote.
For Seasons 1-7 and the second half of Season 8, each housemate had 3 nomination points to allocate to two housemates. For the first half of Season 8, the power over nominations was given to the viewers, who voted to save a housemate via televoting. The three housemates with the lowest number of votes then faced a House Eviction Vote. For Seasons 9-11, each housemate had 5 nomination points to allocate to two housemates.
In 2020, the Seven Network revamped the format of the series to resemble the American and Canadian editions, with housemates deciding on both nominations and evictions among themselves. The new format emphasised the competitive aspect of surviving the eviction process, allowing housemates to strategise, politic, and collude. However, a key difference from the American and Canadian formats is that the Australian public still decides the eventual winner, rather than a "Jury" of evicted housemates.
At the start of each round, housemates compete in a "'Nomination Challenge'. The winner of the challenge is safe from eviction and gains the power to nominate. Immediately after, Big Brother calls the winning housemate to the Diary Room to name their nominees and provide reasons for their choices. On eviction night, all housemates must vote to evict one of the nominees, except for the nominating housemate, who will only cast a tie-breaker vote if required. The eviction vote is by secret ballot, with housemates casting their votes orally in the Diary Room and providing reasons for their votes. The nominee with the most votes is evicted from the house.
At the end of the series, the final three housemates face Australia's vote to determine the winner, who is awarded a cash prize.
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Evictions
Big Brother Australia is a reality TV show based on the international Big Brother format. Contestants, known as "housemates", live together in a specially constructed house that is isolated from the outside world. Housemates are continuously monitored by live television cameras and personal audio microphones. They must remain in the house at all times, aiming to avoid eviction and be the last housemate remaining to win a cash prize.
Each week, housemates participate in nominations, a secret voting process to determine who will be nominated for eviction. Each housemate nominates two other housemates in the Diary Room, providing full reasons for their nominations. The three or more housemates with the most nominations are then nominated and face Australia's vote.
On eviction night, all housemates must vote to evict one of the nominees, except for the nominating housemate, who will only cast a tie-breaker vote if required. The eviction vote is by secret ballot, with housemates casting their votes orally in the Diary Room and providing a reason for their vote. The nominee with the most votes is evicted from the house.
In 2020, the Seven Network revamped the format to resemble the American and Canadian editions, allowing housemates to decide on nominations and evictions among themselves. This new format emphasised the competitive aspect of surviving the eviction process, with housemates allowed to strategise, politic, and collude. However, a key difference from the American and Canadian formats is that the Australian public still decides the eventual winner, rather than a "jury" of evicted housemates.
The show has featured double eliminations and snap eviction nights, where housemates have little time to make their strategic choices.
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Prizes
The runner-up of Big Brother Australia also receives a notable sum of money, with recent seasons awarding $75,000 to the second-place contestant. In addition to these cash prizes, all contestants on Big Brother Australia earn a weekly stipend for their appearance on the show and its live feeds. In previous seasons, this stipend was $750 per week, but recent seasons have seen it increase to up to $1,000 per week. This means that contestants who last for 10 weeks on the show can expect to take home at least $10,000, even if they don't make it to the end.
Another prize that is unique to Big Brother Australia is the "America's Favourite Houseguest" award. This is given to the contestant who is voted as the fan favourite by the audience, and it comes with a substantial cash prize. In Big Brother 26, Tucker Des was voted America's Favourite Houseguest and received $50,000. This prize not only showcases the houseguest's popularity among the audience but also provides a hefty financial reward.
The prizes on Big Brother Australia are designed to motivate contestants to play strategically and endure the challenging conditions of living in an isolated house with strangers. The large grand prize of $750,000 is a life-changing sum of money that can make a significant difference in the winner's life. Overall, the prize structure on Big Brother Australia is designed to compensate contestants well for their time and effort on the show, with the ultimate reward going to the winner who outplays and outlasts the competition.
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Show history
Big Brother Australia is the Australian version of the international Big Brother reality television series. The show first premiered in 2001 and ran for eight seasons on Network Ten before it was cancelled in 2008 due to audience erosion and controversy. The show was then resurrected by Channel Nine in 2012 and aired for three seasons. In 2020, the show moved to Channel Seven for five seasons before being cancelled again in 2024 due to poor ratings. However, it was confirmed that the show will be returning to Network Ten in 2025 for its sixteenth season.
The show features a group of contestants, known as "housemates", who live together in a specially constructed house that is isolated from the outside world. The housemates are continuously monitored during their stay in the house by live television cameras and personal audio microphones. Big Brother is the rule-enforcing authority figure who watches over the housemates and sets tasks and punishments. The housemates must follow the rules set by Big Brother and avoid being evicted by viewers of the show, with the aim of winning a substantial cash prize at the end of the series.
Each week, housemates nominate each other for eviction in a secret ballot. The viewers then vote to decide who will be evicted, and the last person left wins the cash prize. For the most part, the housemates are left to do as they please in a hyper-real environment largely untouched by the outside world, while everything they do is watched by the cameras and, ultimately, the public. Tasks constitute the only real interference in the housemates' lives.
In 2020, Channel Seven revamped the format of the series to resemble the American and Canadian editions, with housemates deciding on both nominations and evictions among themselves. This new format emphasised the competitive aspect of surviving the eviction process and allowed housemates to strategise and politic. However, there were still key differences from the American and Canadian formats, with the Australian public deciding the eventual winner rather than a "Jury" of evicted housemates.
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Frequently asked questions
Big Brother Australia is a reality TV show based on the international Big Brother format.
Contestants, known as "housemates", live together in a specially constructed house that is isolated from the outside world. Housemates are monitored by live television cameras and personal audio microphones. Housemates nominate each other for eviction in a secret ballot, and viewers vote to decide who will be evicted. The last housemate remaining wins a cash prize.
Each week, housemates nominate two other housemates for eviction in the Diary Room, providing full reasons for their nominations. The housemates with the most nominations are then nominated and face Australia's vote.
On eviction night, all housemates except the nominating housemate must vote to evict one of the nominees. The eviction vote is by secret ballot, and housemates must provide a reason for their vote. The nominee with the most votes is evicted from the house.
At the end of the series, the final three housemates face Australia's vote to determine the winner. The finalist with the most votes is declared the winner of Big Brother and receives a cash prize.
