Powerball Winners

Powerball has offered the largest jackpots ever seen in Australian lottery history, with a Division 1 prize that has topped $100 million several times in recent years. Learn more about the biggest Powerball winners, including how much they won and what they planned to do with the money.

1. $200 Million – 1 February 2024

The Powerball record was smashed after just six draws without a winner, and thousands of entries per minute were generated in the run-up to this historic night as the largest prize in Australian Lottery history was put up for grabs. The top prize doubled from $100 million to $200 million in the space of two weeks, and in the end the money was split between two lucky ticket holders.

One of the tickets belonged to a couple from Singleton on the banks of the Hunter River in New South Wales. They had played online and said it had left them in shock when they discovered the news. Speaking about their ‘endless options’, they said they might go on an overseas tour. The other winner was a woman from Hawthorne in Queensland, who was an unregistered player but checked her ticket when she woke up the following morning and was left thinking that she was still dreaming.

2. $160 Million – 27 October 2022

It took just five draws without a jackpot winner to set up this record-breaking jackpot, as the Division 1 prize pool rocketed from $100 million the previous week to $160 million. Huge queues formed at newsagents and half the adult population was thought to have a ticket.

Three players – one each from New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia – were rewarded with a $53.3 million slice of the jackpot. The first to find out was a blue-collar worker from Clyde, who was left fighting back tears when he got the call about his big win. He said he would retire immediately, and would get his grandson ‘all the dogs in the world’ as he had been asking for one for Christmas.

3. $150 Million – 19 September 2019

The jackpot reached an all-time high of $150 million after just eight rollovers, fuelling an unprecedented demand for tickets. Three players ended up winning $50 million each, with one coming from New South Wales and the other two from Queensland.

The New South Wales winner, a father from Sydney, said he had only purchased his entry on a whim hours beforehand because everyone else was playing. One of the Queensland winners was a man from South Brisbane who revealed that he wanted to go travelling, build his own home and spend more time with his family. The final winner, an ‘overwhelmed’ grandmother from Ipswich, came forward a few days later and declared that she had always dreamt of buying a Mustang if she won Powerball.

4. $126 Million – 24 February 2022

The Division 1 prize jumped up from $80 million the previous week as fans across Australia rushed to take part. There were two winning tickets, with one sold in New South Wales and the other in Western Australia.

The NSW winner was revealed to be a middle-aged family man from the Coffs Harbour region, who said that a red sports car, a new house and lots of holidays were all on his wish list. The Western Australia ticket belonged to a retail syndicate from Kalgoorlie, which included roughly 200 members.

5. $110 Million – 18 July 2019

Three ticket holders split this gigantic jackpot - which was the highest Powerball jackpot in history at the time. The payout for each player worked out at more than $36 million, while one of the players, a man from Adelaide in South Australia, ended up with over $37 million after also winning some second division prizes. He said he wanted to take his family on a round-the-world trip and might quit his job.

The second winner, a medical research professional from Sydney in New South Wales, said she would not be giving up work but hoped to use the money in a meaningful way. The final winning ticket was sold in the Macedon Ranges in Victoria and belonged to a lucky couple. The wife said she had criticised her husband hours before the draw for ‘planning his life around winning the lottery’.

6. $107 Million – 17 January 2019

A woman from Sydney became the biggest lottery winner in Australian history after landing a jackpot of $107 million. She initially thought she had won $107,000 and said she would ‘celebrate with a cheap glass of chardonnay’ when she found out the size of her windfall. She also insisted she would not be retiring from her job in healthcare.

She and her husband were both still working two years later and revealed that they had not made any extravagant purchases, instead preferring small luxuries. She said they felt ‘incredibly privileged’ to have won such a large amount that it would create a legacy that would continue far beyond their lifetimes.

7. $100 Million – 3 August 2023

Two winning entries shared the Division 1 prize of $100 million. Each of them will take home $50 million.

The holder of the first ticket is a woman from the City of Melton, who took longer to claim her prize as some of her contact details were incorrect. She plans on giving up her job and supporting her children’s future. ‘’My kids mean the world to me, and I’ll be able to set them up for the future,’’ she shared. The winning Victorian entry was bought online.

The other winning entry was bought by a 10-member New South Wales syndicate and it was sold at Rosebery North Newsagency, 68 Dalmeny Avenue, Rosebery. Every member of the syndicate will get a total prize of $5,077,673.41. One of the members was watching football when The Lott called him to confirm his win and he was shocked by the news. ‘’Are you serious? I’ve won $5 million? I’m in shock. You’ve changed my life.’’ Another member from Sydney was dumbfounded. ‘’This is unbelievable. My wife is crying. I don’t have a mortgage anymore and my retirement will be much easier.’’

8. $100 Million – 22 June 2023

No multiple players shared the jackpot this time as there was a sole Division 1 winner who scored $100 million. The man from New South Wales became Australia’s second-biggest lottery winner and the ninth Powerball Division 1 winner of 2023.

After receiving the news from the lottery officials, the Bankstown man and his wife, who was sitting next to him, were both in shock. He said: “Am I dreaming? I’m a millionaire now?” With regards to plans about spending the money, the jackpot winner shared he looks forward to buying a new house. Although he planned to continue to work initially, he didn't completely disregard the possibility of retirement in the not-too-distant future.

9. $100 Million – 16 August 2018

This draw marked the first time ever that the jackpot had reached $100 million, sparking a rush for tickets that saw one in three Australian adults take part. There were two Division 1 winners; one of them came from Melbourne and the other from Sydney. The Melbourne man said he would look after his whole family and invest money in property and shares. The Sydney ticket was not linked to a Player Card so lottery officials were unable to track down the winner straight away. It turned out to be a father from Riverwood who carried the ticket around in his wallet for several days without realising.

Powerball had undergone some big changes in April 2018 in a bid to create larger jackpots and more prize winners in every draw, and it had the desired effect with this record-breaker and others that followed. Players had previously had to pick six numbers from 1 to 40 but this was changed to seven from 35.

10. $80 Million – 22 April 2021

Two players from New South Wales matched all the numbers in this April draw to get their hands on $40 million each. The first to find out was a retired woman from Campbelltown, who revealed that she was a long-time player but had not planned to purchase a ticket that week. She changed her mind because her grandson said a few days before the draw that ‘Grandma’s going to win the lotto’.

The second winner was a man from Smithfield in Sydney. He was a registered player but one of the digits in the phone number he had provided was incorrect so lottery officials had difficulty in contacting him. When he eventually discovered what had happened, he described it as a ‘big whirlwind’ and said he would start by paying off his mortgage.