Australian Ninja Warrior 5

Australian Ninja Warrior 5 was the fifth season of Australian Ninja Warrior, and the first season after the total victories of Zak Stolz, Charlie Robbins, and Ben Polson on the previous season. The show was taped in front of Stadium Australia in Sydney Olympic Park and premiered on June 20th, 2021 at Channel 9.

Although the competition was taped during the COVID-19 pandemic, since Australia had been able to control the pandemic at the time of the taping, audiences were allowed to attend the taping.

It was also announced that at the end of the season, a special edition named Australian Ninja Warrior: Record Breakers would be aired, consisting of top competitors attempting to break a record in supersized obstacles.

The Heats
The Heats on this season featured the Crossroads, a point on the course where the competitors will have to indicate their choice between two paths, labelled  A  and  B, with two obstacles each to tackle, a very similar concept to the Crossroads in VIKING, the split-stage format on SASUKE Vietnam, and the Split Decision on American Ninja Warrior 13. Path A featured obstacles that have appeared on the previous seasons, while Path B featured new obstacles never seen before on Australian Ninja Warrior (in fact, these obstacles were firstly introduced on American Ninja Warrior 12, the latest American Ninja Warrior season at the time this season was taped). As a side note, the concept has been used in multiple international Ninja Warrior formats such as Ninja Israel and Ninja Warrior France. The Warped Wall's height had also been risen from 4.25 meters during the past four seasons to 4.35 meters.

At the end of each of the four heats, the top 19 competitors would advance to the semifinals and the top 2 competitors would compete on the Power Tower, with the winning competitor automatically advancing to the grand final (a very similar to the Speed Pass on American Ninja Warrior 11).

Obstacles
① Shrinking Steps

② Big Dipper to Pole Rider

③ Cyclone Spinner

④ Flying Shelf Grab (A) or Ring Chaser (B)

⑤ Floating Monkey (A) or Clockwork (B)

⑥ Warped Wall

Obstacles
① Shrinking Steps

② Big Dipper to Rope

③ Cyclone Spinner

④ Peg Board (A) or Weight for It (B)

⑤ Bar Hop (A) or Beehive (B)

⑥ Warped Wall

Obstacles
① Shrinking Steps

② Big Dipper to Rope

③ Cyclone Spinner

④ Flying Shelf Grab (A) or Ring Chaser (B)

⑤ Floating Monkey (A) or Clockwork (B)

⑥ Warped Wall

Obstacles
① Shrinking Steps

② Big Dipper to Pole Rider

③ Cyclone Spinner

④ Peg Board (A) or Weight for It (B)

⑤ Bar Hop (A) or Beehive (B)

⑥ Warped Wall

The Semifinals
72 competitors from the heats would compete across three semifinals (24 competitors in each semifinal), with the top 8 competitors in each semifinal advancing to the grand final and the top 2 competitors competing on the Power Tower, with the winning competitor receiving a second-chance advantage in the grand final (a very similar to the Safety Pass on American Ninja Warrior 11).

It is worth noting that the four competitors who had automatically advanced to the grand final by winning the Power Tower during their respective heats did not compete in the semifinals.

Obstacles
① Log Runner

② Double Dipper

③ Twin Trapeze

④ Flying Shelf Grab to Corkscrew

⑤ Dragon Back

⑥ Warped Wall

⑦ Wing Nuts

⑧ Spider Jump

⑨ Chimney Rope Climb

Obstacles
① Log Runner

② Double Dipper

③ Double Tilt Ladder

④ Flying Shelf Grab to Corkscrew

⑤ Dragon Back

⑥ Warped Wall

⑦ Basket Toss

⑧ Spider Jump

⑨ Chimney Rope Climb

Obstacles
① Log Runner

② Double Dipper

③ Pipe Climber

④ Flying Shelf Grab to Corkscrew

⑤ Dragon Back

⑥ Warped Wall

⑦ Spinball Wizard

⑧ Spider Jump

⑨ Chimney Rope Climb

The Grand Final
28 competitors, consisting of 24 competitors from the semifinals and four competitors who automatically advanced to the grand final by winning the Power Tower during their respective heats, would battle it out to become the next "Australian Ninja Warrior". And since total victory had occurred on the previous season, the prize money for achieving total victory on this season had been reset to AU$200,000. AU$100,000 was also up for grabs for the competitor who made the furthest in the fastest time (but didn't achieve total victory).

Obstacles
① Snake Run

② Launchpad to Trapeze

③ Broken Bridge

④ Triple Corkscrew

⑤ Ferris Wheel

⑥ Warped Wall

⑦ Salmon Ladder to Stair Hopper

⑧ Barrel Roll

⑨ Underwater Escape

Time limit: 335 seconds.

Obstacles
① Rolling Steel

② Salmon Ladder to Unstable Bridge

③ I-Beam Gap

④ Spin Hopper

⑤ Dungeon

⑥ Crazy Cliffhanger to Rope

Time limit: 215 seconds.

Obstacles
① Criss Cross Salmon to Sling Shot

② Doorknob Drop

③ Déjà Vu

④ Vertical Limit

⑤ Flying Bar

Obstacles
① Chimney Climb (7 meters)

② Salmon Ladder (7 meters)

③ Rope Climb (7 meters)

Time limit: Unknown.