[6][7] The series began with Brydon Coverdale, Anne Hegerty, Matt Parkinson and Issa Schultz as chasers,[8][9] with Mark Labbett joining in 2016.
[17][18][19][20] From June 2020, social distancing measures were applied on set due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with contestants spaced apart from each other.
In August 2020, it was announced that beginning with the spin-off, Beat The Chasers, production of The Chase Australia would move from Melbourne to Sydney in September 2020 due to COVID restrictions in Victoria at the time.
[21] On 2 February 2021, Seven announced that the network did not renew host Andrew O'Keefe's contract in December 2020 and parted company with him after he was charged with domestic violence.
[22][23] On 22 February 2021, it was announced that Larry Emdur would replace O'Keefe as host of the program, with future episodes to continue to be recorded in Sydney.
Once the contestant chooses a starting position, the host begins to ask a series of questions with three answer options.
A correct answer moves the person who gave it one step down the board, but a miss or lock-out leaves them in place.
If the contestant reaches home without being caught, they advance to the Final Chase and their money is added to the team's prize fund (or deducted, if they chose to play for a negative amount).
Unlike the original British version, the chaser remains onstage to witness the team's performance.
The chaser then has two minutes to answer questions from the unused set, moving one step ahead per correct response.
The show is as usual until The Final Chase, where if the contestants reach 10 steps, they get a spin at the money spinner, for a maximum of $50,000.
In February and March 2017, four specials aired featuring two teams from the eighth season of My Kitchen Rules playing for a home viewer.
[47] Despite the changes, The Chase Australia remained well ahead of Millionaire Hot Seat in the ratings, often winning by an average margin of 100,000, until the latter show's axing in November 2023.
This version includes all the local Chasers of the series: Brydon Coverdale, Issa Schultz, Matt Parkinson and Cheryl Toh, as contestants try to beat them in order to win big cash prizes.
[59] A single contestant plays the Cash Builder round, answering a series of multiple-choice questions worth $1,000 each.
The final follows the same rules, with some changes: On 12 April 2021, it was reported that Seven has commissioned a second season of Beat The Chasers with Larry Emdur as presenter.
It also airs at 4:30 in all of Regional and Remote Western Australia because of 7 WA News broadcasting statewide except Perth at 5:30 pm Until July 2021, episodes have typically been repeated on Fridays from March 2016 and Thursdays from October 2019.
[citation needed] On 14 March 2016, The Chase Australia began airing on UK TV channel Challenge, also available in Ireland,[63][64] but this has since stopped.[when?]
The app features five chasers (excluding Cheryl 'Tiger Mum' Toh, who had not yet appeared on the programme at the time of release) and can be played by up to four people, as in the actual show.