Though several systems impacted land, the general sparsity of population centres in Australia limits the scale of damage.

The first storm of the year and most intense across the Southern Hemisphere during the 1995–96 seasons, Cyclone Daryl was first identified several hundred kilometres west of Sumatra on 16 November.

Initially tracking south-eastward, the system gradually attained gale-force winds as it neared the Cocos Islands late on 17 November.

Low wind shear allowed for further strengthening; a mid-level ridge south of the system forced Daryl to turn towards the west.

Early on 19 November, the storm intensified into a severe tropical cyclone and attained winds of 130 km/h (80 mph) before crossing 90°E and entering the Mauritius area of responsibility.

Over the following days, the system further deepened, peaking in strength as a Category 3 on the Australian intensity scale with 205 km/h (125 mph) and a barometric pressure of 915 hPa (mbar; 27.02 inHg).

Cyclone Daryl-Agnielle was last noted as a weak low pressure center on 25 November over the open waters of the southern Indian Ocean.

[2] Barry formed in the Gulf of Carpentaria on 4 January, reaching a maximum intensity of Category 3 (Australian scale) before crossing the coast between Karumba and Kowanyama two days later.

[citation needed] Celeste formed in the Coral Sea on 26 January 1996, and rapidly intensified into a Category 3 severe tropical cyclone (Australian scale), in part due to its position between equatorial and subtropical upper wind outflow channels.

While intensifying it approached the northeastern Australian coast, with its centre coming within 24 km (15 mi) to the north of Bowen, Queensland on 27 January.

TC Jacob formed on 1 February 1996 from a monsoonal low that moved across the Northern Territory and the Kimberley region of Western Australia before tracking over the Bonaparte Gulf.

At peak intensity Jacob was a Category 3 storm with wind gusts near the centre estimated to be 200 kilometres per hour.

[2] Twice transited Cape York Peninsula before making a final landfall along the southern coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria, in the Northern Territory.

Tropical cyclones are named if they are non-frontal low pressure systems of synoptic scale developing over warm waters, or if Dvorak intensity analysis indicate the presence of gale force or stronger winds near the centre.

[19] Each Australian Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre (Perth, Darwin, and Brisbane) maintained a list of names arranged alphabetically and alternating male and female.