Australian rules football, Australian football, Aussie rules, or simply "football" or "footy" is a code of football played with a prolate spheroid ball, on large oval shaped fields (cricket fields), with four posts at each end. The inner pair of posts on each end are known as the goal posts, while the outer posts are known as the behind posts. No more than 18 players of each team are permitted to be on the field at any time, with four interchange players on the bench, and the primary aim of the game is to score by kicking the ball between the posts. The winner is the team who has the higher total score by the end of the match.

There are several different ways to advance the ball, including kicking and hand passing. When hand passing one hand must be used to hold the ball and the other fist to hit it — throwing the ball is not allowed. Players running with the ball must bounce or touch it on the ground every 15 metres. There is no offside rule and players can roam the field freely. Australian rules is a contact sport where possession of the ball is in dispute at all times except when a free kick is paid. Players who hold on to the ball too long are penalised if they are tackled by an opposition player who is then rewarded, whilst players who catch a ball from a kick exceeding 15 metres (known as a mark) are also awarded a free kick . The duration of play varies, but is longer than any other code of football.

Frequent contests for possession including aerial marking or "speckies," and vigorous tackling with the hands, bumps and the fast movement of both players and the ball are the game's main attributes as a spectator sport.

The game originated in Victoria during the Victorian gold rush, and organised and codified in Melbourne in 1858 in a bid to keep cricketers fit during the winter months. The first laws of Australian football were published in 1859 by the Melbourne Football Club. Today the most prestigious professional competition is the Australian Football League (AFL), which culminates in the annual AFL Grand Final, the highest attended club championship event in the world. The league has governed the sport through the AFL Commission and the AFL Rules Committee, since it disbanded the Australian National Football Council in 1993.