Australian Survivor season 4

Australian Survivor (season 4)

Company type	Reality television season
Industry	Television
Founded	July 30, 2017 (2017-07-30)
Headquarters	Australia
Area served	Australia
Key people	Jonathan LaPaglia (host)
Products	Reality competition television series
Website	10play.com.au/australian-survivor

The fourth installment of Australian Survivor is a part of the global reality competition series Survivor. This marks the show's second season broadcast on Network Ten following the network's acquisition of the rights in late 2015. Jonathan LaPaglia resumed his role as host for his second consecutive season.

Debuting on 30 July 2017, filming took place on Upolu, an island in Samoa, where 24 Australian participants battled over 55 days in a jungle environment for the grand prize of A$500,000. On 10 October 2017, Jericho Malabonga emerged victorious against Tara Pitt with a final jury vote of 6–3.

Casting

The renewal of the series was announced on 23 October 2016, leading to a casting call that drew more than 20,000 hopefuls.

Twists

This season featured several innovative gameplay elements, such as the introduction of the super-idol, capable of canceling out any other idol during tribal council—a strategic twist differing from the American version’s post-vote nullifying idol. Contestants faced various 'moral dilemmas' requiring choices between advantages for their tribe or personal indulgences.

Episodes without eliminations returned from season three and included scenarios like double tribal councils combined with contestant swaps, tribe members voting for rewards, a tribal mutiny, and jury member elimination. Other twists adapted from the U.S. series incorporated initial marooning, immunity idols concealed at challenges, tribal mutiny, and removal of a juror.

Contestants

... [Table continues with similar format but with less detail on voting days where feasible] ... }

Future appearances

Luke Toki returned to compete in the 2019 edition titled (Champions vs. Contenders) representing the Champions tribe. Mark Herlaar, Jacqui Patterson, Aaron "A.K." Knight, Henry Nicholson, Locky Gilbert, Michelle Dougan, and Jericho Malabonga participated in Australian Survivor: All Stars. Samantha Gash and Mark Wales joined Australian Survivor: Blood V Water. Both Luke and Sarah Tilleke came back for Australian Survivor: Australia V The World.

Outside of Survivor, Locky became the lead on the eighth season of The Bachelor Australia in 2020. That same year, Aimee finished as runner-up on Seven Network's eighth season of House Rules. Sam and Mark competed as Team Aussie Rescue on Amazon Prime Video’s (World's Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji), finishing in 26th place after over 200 hours. Michelle appeared alongside her sister Sam on episode ten of The Cube in 2021. Luke won the competition Big Brother VIP. Sam and Mark featured on The Dog House Australia in 2022. In 2023, Luke took part in the second season of The Traitors.

Season summary

The game began with two tribes comprising twelve players each. On Asaga, Luke and his ally Jericho initially found themselves in the minority and struggled to gain control. Meanwhile, on Samatau, A.K.'s assertive gameplay initially placed him at the bottom; however, he eventually seized power by orchestrating Aimee’s elimination—who was a close ally to strategist Locky. Following a fake double elimination that sent Tara and Anneliese to Asaga while Ben and Henry joined Samatau, Luke and Jericho established dominance over Asaga. Samatau maintained strength by winning immunity challenges consistently.

A subsequent tribe swap relocated A.K. and Peter to Asaga and Anneliese and Michelle to Samatau; later Peter defected back to Samatau during a mutiny.

Upon merging into one tribe with Samatau holding a slim majority of six to five members from Asaga, alliance shifts occurred as lower-ranking Samatau players were persuaded to vote out Jarrad and Anneliese. This new majority blindsided Henry before Luke preemptively targeted Tessa to protect Jericho from an impending threat. Tara turned against Locky due to his perceived threat level; although he managed an immunity streak before being voted out.

At Final Four, Jericho obtained an advantage allowing him to remove juror Tessa—whom he considered unlikely to support him despite her viewing Tara as the weaker finalist. Peter secured immunity and plotted against Jericho but was thwarted when Jericho uncovered this plan. Tara forced a fire-making duel between Jericho and Michelle; Jericho won this challenge eliminating Michelle. Subsequently winning final immunity himself, Jericho voted out Peter and aligned with Tara at the end.

During Final Tribal Council discussions, Tara received commendations for her social skills and strategic eliminations but faced criticism for excessive reliance on others and subpar challenge performances. Jericho was praised for his alliance-building capabilities, discreet gameplay, and well-timed challenge victories but was criticized for moments perceived as harshness, hypocrisy, and questionable decisions such as removing Tessa from the jury and bringing Tara to the final two. Ultimately, Jericho's combination of strategic acumen and physical prowess secured him the Sole Survivor title with six jury votes compared to Tara’s three.

Roster of Australian Survivor season 4 participants

Contestant	Original tribe	First swap tribe	Second swap tribe	Post-mutiny tribe	Merged tribe	Outcome
Template:Sortname 29, Sydney, NSW	Template:Stribe					Template:Sort
Template:Sortname 40, Brisbane, QLD	Template:Stribe					Template:Sort
Template:Sortname 47, Melbourne, VIC	Template:Stribe					Template:Sort
Template:Sortname 51, Toowoomba, QLD	Template:Stribe					Template:Sort
Template:Sortname 23, Melbourne, VIC	Template:Stribe					Template:Sort
Template:Sortname 32, Melbourne, VIC	Template:Stribe					Template:Sort
Template:Sortname 37, Perth, WA	Template:Stribe					Template:Sort

Tribal phase (Day 1–34)

Episode		Challenge winner(s)		Eliminated	Outcome
No.	Air date	Reward	Immunity
1	30 July 2017	Template:Stribe	rowspan="2" Template:Stribe	rowspan="2" Template:Stribe	1st eliminated Day 3
		Template:Stribe
2	31 July 2017	Template:Stribe	Template:Stribe	Template:Stribe	2nd eliminated Day 6
3	1 August 2017	Template:Stribe	Template:Stribe	Template:Stribe	3rd eliminated Day 9
4	6 August 2017	Template:Stribe	Template:Stribe	Template:Stribe	4th eliminated Day 11
5	7 August 2017	None	Template:Stribe	Template:Stribe	5th eliminated Day 13
6	13 August 2017	Template:Stribe	Template:Stribe	Template:Stribe	6th eliminated Day 16
7	14 August 2017	None	Template:Stribe	}

When multiple tribes or contestants win reward or immunity together, winners are listed either by order of finish or alphabetically for team efforts; invitees are shown in brackets.

Notes

Episodes

{{Episode table  background=#AD80F6 overall= season= title= aux1= aux1T= airdate= episodes= {{Episode list/sublist Australian Survivor season 4   EpisodeNumber =52   EpisodeNumber2 =1   Title = Template:Anchor 1Welcome to Survivor     OriginalAirDate = Template:Start date 2017 7 30 df=y   Aux1 = Days 1-3   ShortSummary =

Twenty-four contestants are split into two tribes named Asaga and Samatau as they commence their journey with a reward challenge claimed by Samatau. Early leadership dynamics unfold with Locky leading on Samatau alongside AK’s strategic moves that generate both alliances and friction. On Asaga, Mark refrains from leadership roles to remain unnoticed while Kent expresses concerns about his age disadvantage.

Following this is a fire-making reward challenge won by Mark and Jacqui from Asaga. In an immunity contest involving an obstacle course paired with a puzzle segment, Samatau triumphs. Within Asaga’s camp Joan and Kent become targets due to their puzzle performance resulting in split votes leading to a tie resolved by revote where Joan is voted out.

  LineColor = AD80F6 }} {{Episode list/sublist Australian Survivor season 4   EpisodeNumber =53   EpisodeNumber2 =2   Title = Template:Anchor 2The Chicken Idol     Aux1 = Days 4-6   OriginalAirDate = Template:Start date 2017 7 31 df=y   ShortSummary =

After Tribal Council tensions escalate within Asaga as Samantha’s plan faces disruption from Luke’s unpredictable tactics. On Samatau AK finds himself isolated yet fabricates a “chicken idol” ruse to manipulate perceptions while Adam forms an alliance aiming at AK’s removal.

Samatau wins a reward challenge securing fishing gear plus an outrigger canoe while a clue leads contestants scrambling for a hidden immunity idol; Adam aggressively pursues it creating friction within his group while Locky suspects Adam has located it.

Asaga wins immunity through physical challenge leading them to debate voting out Adam, AK or Anneliese; AK attempts self-preservation by faking an idol but eventually reveals he has found the real idol which he plays on Jarrad resulting in Adam’s elimination.

LineColor = AD80F6 

}} {{Episode list/sublist Australian Survivor season 4

EpisodeNumber =54 
EpisodeNumber2 =3 
Title = Template:Anchor 3The Other Nail in Her Coffin   
Aux1 = Days 6-9 
OriginalAirDate = Template:Start date 2017 8 1 df=y 
ShortSummary = 

AK rebuilds trust with Jarrad after playing his idol successfully forming a “Misfits Alliance” on Samatau isolating Kate Tarzan and Tessa while multiple alliances form on Asaga raising concerns about Samantha’s close bond with Mark.

Samatau secures reward consisting of comfort items including chairs lanterns after winning boulder maneuvering challenge while internal conflicts arise between Locky and Tarzan due to leadership struggles.

Asaga wins immunity despite Henry’s sabotage attempt targeting Samantha who is ultimately blindsided despite her appeals for strength retention; Kate is voted out at Tribal Council following planned split votes between her and Tessa where Tarzan holds swing vote.

LineColor = AD80F6 

}} ...

Voting history

Tribal Phase (Days 1–34)

				Initial tribes								Tribe swap vote				First swap		Reward	Second swap		Mutiny	Post-mutiny
Episode #				1		2	3	4	5	6	7	8				9	10	11	12	13	14	15
Day #				3		6	9	11	13	16	18	20				22	24	26	28	30	32	34
Eliminated				Template:Stribe	Template:Stribe	Template:Stribe	Template:Stribe	Template:Stribe	Template:Stribe	Template:Stribe	Template:Stribe	Template:Stribe	Template:Stribe

Individual phase (Days 35–55)

					Merged tribe
Episode #					16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25			26
Day #					36	38	40	42	44	46	47	49	50	52			54
Eliminated					Template:Stribe	Template:Stribe	Template:Stribe	Template:Stribe	Template:Stribe	Template:Stribe	Template:Stribe	Template:Stribe	Template:Stribe	Template:Stribe	Template:Stribe	Template:Stribe	Template:Stribe

Final vote
Episode #	#26│26
Day #	55
Finalist
Vote	colspan="3"
Juror	Vote
align="left"		} Notes Template:Notelist │2 Ratings The ratings figures provided by OzTAM represent audience measurements from Australia's five major metropolitan regions: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide. Wk Ep Air date Timeslot Overnight ratings Consolidated ratings Total ratings Source Viewers Rank Viewers Rank Viewers Rank 1 1 30 July 2017 Sunday 7:30pm 639,000 8 52,000 7 691,000 8 2 31 July 2017 Monday 7:30pm 656,000 12 74,000 3 730,000 11 3 1 August 2017 Tuesday 7:30pm 600,000 11 124,000 1 724,000 10 2 4 6 August 2017 Sunday 7:30pm 606,000 9 51,000 5 657,000 8 5 7 August 2017 Monday 7:30pm 637,000 13 105,000 3 742,000 10 Notes External links Official website