Australian Survivor (season 5)


The fifth season of Australian Survivor, also known as Australian Survivor: Champions vs. Contenders, is a television series based on the international reality game show franchise Survivor. The season featured 24 contestants divided into two tribes: "Champions", composed of twelve high-achievers who excelled in their fields, and "Contenders", composed of twelve everyday Australians. The season premiered on 1 August 2018, and concluded on 9 October 2018, where Shane Gould was named the winner over Sharn Coombes in a 5–4 vote, winning the grand prize of A$500,000 and title of Sole Survivor. It was the third season to air on Network Ten and be hosted by Jonathan LaPaglia, and was filmed on the Fijian community of Savusavu.

Contestants

The 24 contestants were divided into two tribes based on celebrity status: "Champions," composed of 12 people who have received accolades and fame for their exceptional work in their given fields, and "Contenders," composed of 12 non-celebrities. Among the Champions were Russell Hantz, a three-time contestant on the American Survivor series, The Biggest Loser trainer Steve "Commando" Willis, and Olympic gold medalists Lydia Lassila and Shane Gould. The Contenders included Benji Wilson, brother of Australian Survivor season 4 contestant Anneliese Wilson, and Zach Kozyrski, who appeared as a Gladiator in the 2008 revival of Gladiators.
ContestantOriginal tribeSwitched tribeMerged tribeFinish
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35, Brisbane, QLD
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45, Dayton, Texas, USA
American Survivor contestant
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36, Sydney, NSW
Former Special Forces commando
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58, Sydney, NSW
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28, Perth, WA
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30, Melbourne, VIC
AFLW player
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50, Sunshine Coast, QLD
Day 21
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39, Perth, WA
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24, Adelaide, SA
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44, Melbourne, VIC
World Series poker player
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32, Derby, WA
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33, Brisbane, QLD
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36, Melbourne, VIC
Olympic freestyle skier		rowspan="12"
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26, Adelaide, SA		-
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26, Brisbane, QLD
Astrophysicist		-
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42, Gold Coast, QLD
Former dual-code rugby footballer		-
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26, Melbourne, VIC		-
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42, Sydney, NSW
Fitness specialist		-
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33, Melbourne, VIC		-
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27, Sydney, NSW
Miss Universe Australia 2015		-
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26, Tewantin, QLD		-
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36, Caroline Springs, VIC
Former AFL footballer		-
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41, Melbourne, VIC
Criminal barrister		-
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61, Bicheno, TAS
Olympic swimmer		-

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Future appearances

Moana Hope, Zach Kozyrski, Lydia Lassila, Mat Rogers, Shonee Fairfax, Sharn Coombes and Shane Gould competed in .

Season summary

The 24 contestants were divided into two tribes. The Contenders, representing everyday Australians, faced off against the Champions, high achievers in their respective fields. Brian, Jackie, Monika, and Shane were initially outsiders at the Champions tribe. Meanwhile, at the Contenders tribe, Benji took strategic control of the tribe, and three pairs emerged: Benji & Robbie, Fenella & Shonee, and Heath & Tegan. The Champions dominated challenges until a tribe swap sent Shonee and Tegan to the Champions and Lydia, Monika, & Sharn to the Contenders. Benji and Robbie worked with their new Champions tribemates, while the Contenders on the new Champions tribe tried, but failed, to infiltrate the majority.
The merge occurred with 12 players left; though most of the Champions wanted to pick off the rest of the Contenders, Mat and Shane were threatened by Lydia's challenge prowess and blindsided her before Robbie was eliminated. Having lost his closest ally, Benji overthrew the majority to blindside Mat before his own elimination followed. The pairs of Brian & Monika and Fenella & Shonee realigned against Sharn; she played an idol, and Brian's paranoia led to him deviating from their alliance's split-vote plan in order to vote out Fenella. Shonee sought revenge by eliminating Brian's own closest ally Monika, but Brian's victory in the final four immunity challenge led to Shane and Sharn voting out Shonee. Sharn then voted Brian out after winning final immunity, staying true to her final two deal with Shane.
Despite being the more strategically and physically dominant of the two, Sharn was criticized for being unlikeable and preaching loyalty despite playing both sides and failing to save her closest ally Mat. Shane, however, despite being less aggressive, was commended for her grace, likeability, underdog status and work ethic despite her advanced age. She won the votes from the female jurors Fenella, Monika and Shonee, plus Mat and Brian to narrowly win the title of Sole Survivor.
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Episodes

Voting history

;Tribal Phase
;Individual phase
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Reception

Ratings

Ratings data is from OzTAM and represents the viewership from the 5 largest Australian metropolitan centres.
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