Prior to its 2013 launch the British edition of the website was already popular with Australian audiences, with over 1.3 million users per month helping it rank just outside the top 10 most-visited news websites in Australia. In June 2018 and July 2021,
Guardian Australia was ranked No. 5 among news websites in Australia. Following an investment from businessman
Graeme Wood, prompted by
Malcolm Turnbull,
Guardian Australia was launched on 27 May 2013 in the lead-up to the
2013 federal election.
Guardian Australia has a
comment is free section edited by Gabrielle Jackson, featuring
opinion pieces from regular writers, politicians, other public figures and members of the public. In 2016, it was announced that the then political editor Lenore Taylor would take over the
editorship following the end of
Emily Wilson's tenure. In May 2017, as part of a confidential legal settlement,
Guardian Australia issued an apology to
Noel Pearson over a story they published in January 2017, which made defamatory claims. The newspaper said that "The Guardian Australia accepts that the comments regarding Mr Noel Pearson in that article were false. The Guardian Australia unreservedly retracts the statements made in the article regarding Mr Noel Pearson and apologises for the harm and distress caused to him."
Guardian Australia turned its first profit after five years of operations with a balance of $700,000 in financial year 2017–2018. Previously, the online publication posted a loss of 7.5 million against a revenue of 3.79 million in 2013–2014, a loss of 6 million in 2014–2015 and a loss of 14 million in 2015–2016. To align with a shift in priorities from
The Guardian global operations, from 2023 the Australian edition refused to accept further advertising of
gambling services. In September 2025,
Guardian Australia appointed Tom McIlroy as their new political editor. In December 2025,
Guardian Australia was ranked as the fourth most visited news website in Australia. In February 2026, Taylor resigned as editor.
Guardian Australia commenced an open process to appoint a new editor, while David Munk will become acting editor. Munk was previously the senior managing editor of the British version of
The Guardian. ==Ownership==