| Australia | |
| Fina Code: | AUS |
| Nickname: | Aussie Sharks[1] |
| Association: | Water Polo Australia |
| Confederation: | OSA |
| Coach: | Timothy Hamill |
| Asst Coach: | Vedran Ćirković Andrew Yanitsas |
| Captain: | Nathan Power |
| Fina Ranking: | 11 |
| Fina Ranking Date: | 9 August 2021 |
| Fina Highest: | 7 |
| Fina Highest Year: | 2012 |
| Fina Lowest: | 11 |
| Fina Lowest Year: | 2016, 2021 |
| Olympics Apps: | 18 |
| Olympics First: | 1948 |
| Olympics Best: | 5th place (1984, 1992) |
| World Champ Apps: | 21 |
| World Champ First: | 1973 |
| World Champ Best: | 4th place (1998) |
| World Cup Apps: | 9 |
| World Cup First: | 1981 |
| World Cup Best: | (2018) |
| World League Apps: | 17 |
| World League First: | 2003 |
| World League Best: | (2007, 2008, 2019) |
| Regional Cup Name: | Commonwealth Championship |
| Regional Cup Apps: | 2 |
| Regional Cup First: | 2002 |
| Regional Cup Best: | (2006) |
The Australian national water polo team represents Australia in men's international water polo competitions and is controlled by Water Polo Australia. The national men's team has the nickname of "The Sharks". It is organised into the Asia/Oceania regional group.
Australia has competed internationally since the 1948 London Olympic Games, and has qualified for all subsequent Olympic tournaments except Atlanta in 1996, and although not achieving the success of European teams, has remained relatively competitive at international level since.
In 1968, the team qualified to compete at the Mexico Olympic Games, but was denied entry by the Australian Olympic Federation.[2]
Australia scored their first point in Olympic competition when they drew with Bulgaria in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich.
The Australian team placed 5th in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, and in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, the highest Olympic placing so far, and finished 4th in the World Championships at home in Perth in 1998.
Australia's best international water polo success came in 1996, when the Sharks won the six-nation Control Cup in Hungary, and followed it up with a bronze medal at an eight nation tournament in Italy in the same year. However, they failed to qualify for that year's Olympics for the first time since 1948.
A reinvigorated youthful team managed to finish second to Canada in an international tournament in England in 2002, and in 2003, they beat then world champions Serbia 12–11 in a FINA Water Polo World League match in Hungary, and followed it up by beating Croatia 10–6 at the 2003 Water polo world championship in Barcelona, Spain.
Australia finished 2nd at the 2018 World Cup in Berlin, Germany.[1]
At the 2020 Summer Olympics, Australia surprisingly beat former champion Croatia. Yet, the Australians were not to able progress through to the quarter finals, but still managed to clinch two wins out of their five games.[1]
A red box around the year indicates tournaments played within Australia
See main article: Australia men's Olympic water polo team records and statistics.
| Olympic Games record | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year[3] | Round | Position | |||||||
 1900 | did not participate | ||||||||
 1904 | |||||||||
 1908 | |||||||||
 1912 | |||||||||
 1920 | |||||||||
| 1924 | |||||||||
| 1928 | |||||||||
| 1932 | |||||||||
| 1936 | |||||||||
| 1948 | Group stages | 17th | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |||
 1952 | Group stages | 17th | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |||
 1956 | Group stages | 9th | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | |||
 1960 | Group stages | 15th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |||
 1964 | Group stages | 12th | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |||
 1968 | qualified but did not compete | ||||||||
| 1972 | Group stages | 12th | 9 | 0 | 2 | 7 | |||
 1976 | Group stages | 11th | 8 | 1 | 1 | 6 | |||
| 1980 | Group stages | 7th | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | |||
| 1984 | Final Group stages | 5th | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | |||
 1988 | Group stages | 8th | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | |||
 1992 | Group stages | 5th | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | |||
| 1996 | did not qualify | ||||||||
| 2000 | Group stages | 8th | 8 | 1 | 2 | 5 | |||
| 2004 | Group stages | 9th | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | |||
 2008 | Group stages | 8th | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | |||
| 2012 | Quarter-finals | 7th | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | |||
 2016 | Group stage | 9th | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | |||
| 2020 | Group stage | 9th | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | |||
| 2024 | Quarterfinals | 8th | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | |||
| Total | 0 Titles | 18/28 | 113 | 33 | 14 | 66 | |||
Roster for the 2024 Summer Olympics.