# Australian Survivor: Brains V Brawn II

Australian Survivor: Brains V Brawn II is the twelfth season of Australian Survivor, which premiered on Network 10 on 17 February 2025 and is based on the international reality competition franchise Survivor. In this season, twenty-four contestants were stranded in Samoa and divided into two tribes: "Brains" and "Brawn", similar to the format of the eighth season.

## Production

On 17 May 2024, Daniel Monaghan, Paramount Australia and New Zealand's senior vice president of content and programming, confirmed that Australian Survivor would start filming the next season, with the theme Brains vs Brawn, in July.

## Contestants

The 24 contestants are divided into two tribes based on their intellect or strength. The cast includes Logan Johannisen, the wife of Jason Johannisen, Olympian Morgan Mitchell and former Ambulance Australia paramedic Paulie Michael.
| Contestant | Original tribe | Post-Swap tribe | Shuffled tribe | Post shuffled tribe | Merged tribe | Finish |
| Candice "Candy" Rule 26, Sydney, NSW | Brawn | | | | | 1st voted out Day 2 |
| Indy Saleh 45, Townsville, QLD | Brains | | | | | 2nd voted out Day 5 |
| Zen Heaton 21, Gold Coast, QLD | Brawn | | | | | Medically evacuated Day 7 |
| Kent Miller-Randle 53, Melbourne, VIC | Brains | | | | | 3rd voted out Day 7 |
| Nash Gendo 36, Sydney, NSW | Brawn | | | | | 4th voted out Day 9 |
| Ally Kettle 31, Goovigen, QLD | Brains | Brains | | | | 5th voted out Day 14 |
| Richard "Rich" Hughes 38, Melbourne, VIC | Brains | Brawn | Brawn | | | 6th voted out Day 16 |
| Ursula Rose 35, Canberra, ACT | Brawn | Brawn | Brawn | | | 7th voted out Day 18 |
| Max Wills 28, Gold Coast, QLD | Brains | Brains | Brains | | | 8th voted out Day 19 |
| Laura Noonan 27, Melbourne, VIC | Brawn | Brawn | Brawn | | | 9th voted out Day 21 |
| Ben Bylett 45, Mount Coolum, QLD | Brawn | Brawn | Brains | Brains | | Quit Day 25 |
| Jesse Noonan 33, Gold Coast, QLD | Brawn | Brawn | Brains | Brains | Malosi | 10th voted out Day 28 |
| Paul "PD" Dee 49, Rockdale, NSW | Brawn | Brawn | Brains | Brains | Malosi | 11th voted out Day 29 |
| Laura Darras 25, Melbourne, VIC | Brains | Brains | Brains | Brains | Malosi | 12th voted out 1st jury member Day 31 |
| Alexander "AJ" Antonios 35, Sydney, NSW | Brains | Brains | Brawn | Brawn | Malosi | |
| Kaelan Lockhart 27, Brisbane, QLD | Brains | Brains | Brawn | Brawn | Malosi | |
| Karin Gunatilake 30, Melbourne, VIC | Brains | Brains | Brawn | Brawn | Malosi | |
| Kate Gloufchis 26, Melbourne, VIC | Brawn | Brawn | Brains | Brains | Malosi | |
| Kristin Alston 43, Sydney, NSW | Brawn | Brawn | Brawn | Brawn | Malosi | |
| Logan Johannisen 27, Melbourne, VIC | Brains | Brains | Brawn | Brawn | Malosi | |
| Morgan Mitchell 29, Melbourne, VIC | Brawn | Brawn | Brains | Brains | Malosi | |
| Myles Kuah 23, Sydney, NSW | Brains | Brains | Brains | Brains | Malosi | |
| Paul "Paulie" Michael 36, Sydney, NSW | Brawn | Brawn | Brawn | Brawn | Malosi | |
| Zara Callianiotis 43, Brisbane, QLD | Brains | Brains | Brains | Brawn | Malosi | |

## Season summary

Twenty-four new contestants were divided into two tribes: "Brains", known for their intellect, and "Brawn", known for their strength.
Tribal phase (Days 1–25) :
| Episode | Episode | Episode | Challenge winner(s) | Challenge winner(s) | Eliminated | Finish |
| No. | Title | Original air date | Reward | Immunity | Eliminated | Finish |
| 1 | "Premiere" | 17 February 2025 | Brawn | Brains | Candy | 1st voted out Day 2 |
| 2 | "The Praying Mantis" | 18 February 2025 | Brains | Brawn | Indy | 2nd voted out Day 5 |
| 3 | "Stoic" | 19 February 2025 | Brawn | Brawn | Zen | Medically evacuated Day 7 |
| 3 | "Stoic" | 19 February 2025 | Brawn | Brawn | Kent | 3rd voted out Day 7 |
| 4 | "Perplexed Dimension" | 23 February 2025 | Brains | Brains | Nash | 4th voted out Day 9 |
| 5 | "Bomb Squad!" | 24 February 2025 | Brawn | Brawn | No elimination on Day 12 due to a tribe swap vote. | No elimination on Day 12 due to a tribe swap vote. |
| 5 | "Bomb Squad!" | 24 February 2025 | [Ally] | Brawn | No elimination on Day 12 due to a tribe swap vote. | No elimination on Day 12 due to a tribe swap vote. |
| 6 | "The Pest Problem" | 25 February 2025 | Brawn | Brawn | Ally | 5th voted out Day 14 |
| 7 | "A Date with JLP" | 2 March 2025 | Brawn | Brains | Rich | 6th voted out Day 16 |
| 8 | "Maggot in the Rice" | 3 March 2025 | None | Brains | Ursula | 7th voted out Day 18 |
| 9 | "Hostages" | 4 March 2025 | None | Brawn | Max | 8th voted out Day 19 |
| 10 | "The Vault" | 9 March 2025 | Brains | Brains | Noonan | 9th voted out Day 21 |
| 11 | "The Strong-Arm" | 10 March 2025 | None | Brawn | No elimination on Day 23 due to a tribe swap vote. | No elimination on Day 23 due to a tribe swap vote. |
| 12 | "Just What the Doctor Ordered" | 11 March 2025 | Brains | Brains | Ben | Quit Day 25 |
Merge phase (Days 26–47) :
| Episode | Episode | Episode | Challenge winner(s) | Challenge winner(s) | Eliminated | Finish |
| No. | Title | Original air date | Reward | Immunity | Eliminated | Finish |
| 13 | "Vengeance" | 16 March 2025 | Kate [AJ, Kristin, Logan, Morgan, Paulie, Zara] | Logan | Jesse | 10th voted out Day 28 |
| 14 | "Episode 14" | 17 March 2025 | None | Kaelan | PD | 11th voted out Day 29 |
| 15 | "Episode 15" | 18 March 2025 | AJ, Karin, Kate, Kristin, Myles, Paulie | Kaelan | Laura | 12th voted out 1st jury member Day 31 |

### Notes

* ↑ Jonathan informed the Brains at Tribal Council of Day 12 that instead of voting someone out, they would vote someone to join the Brawn tribe and gain an advantage. Rich was voted to go to the Brawn tribe and it was revealed that his advantage, which had to be played at the next tribal council regardless of which tribe was voting, would allow the holder to force two people to leave tribal council prior to casting of votes.
* ↑ The Brawn tribe were told to invite a castaway from the Brains on their reward; they chose Ally.
* ↑ Jonathan informed the Brains at Tribal Council of Day 23 that instead of voting someone out, they would vote someone to join the Brawn tribe. Zara was voted to go to the Brawn tribe.

## Episodes

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Timeline | Original release date |
| 247 | 1 | "Premiere" | Days 1–2 | 17 February 2025 (2025-02-17) |
| This season, 12 intelligent Brains take on 12 strong Brawn for an epic rematch of the initial Brains V Brawn eighth season. Both tribes began the game with their fires already lit at camp. However, they did not start with flint. The tribes immediately competed in their first reward challenge when they met. Reward challenge: Players race to retrieve a key from the top of a high pole. They first must transfer a pile of sandbags to stack and reach the key. They only have palm leaves and rope to tie them together. The first team to retrieve their key wins flint to bring back to camp and the ultimate construction kit. (Saw, axe, hammer, nails, machete, rope, hammock, tarp and bananas) Brawn win reward and return to camp to introduce themselves. Nash takes charge of getting the tribe to start constructing a shelter. Ben and Jesse initiate building while the others are mainly socializing. Nash immediately finds the first immunity idol of the season. He returns to camp flaunting his necklace for the whole tribe to see, immediately creating chatter and division around camp. At the Brains beach, begin introducing themselves and discuss how to move on from their loss at the first reward challenge. Laura, Logan, Zara, and Karin click and create the first alliance of the season, calling themselves "The Coven." Kent takes charge of building the shelter and creates tension amongst the rest of the Brains tribe. During the first night, he secretly throws Max's cowboy hat into the fire. Immunity challenge: Each tribe works together to carry a heavy-filled coconut snake out of a cage, under a net, and up to a high tower. They then must use the coconuts to fill a drum, releasing a gate. Two tribe mates finish the challenge by completing a puzzle. The first team to complete their puzzle wins immunity. Brains win immunity. Nash is immediately targeted for his performance during the puzzle portion of the immunity challenge. Nash pulls in PD, Ursula, and Kristin to target Candy. A group forms to still target Nash even though he has his immunity idol. A plan is formed to split votes between Nash, Candy, and Ursula. At Tribal Council, Nash's immunity idol is the main point of discussion. Most players call it arrogant, pointless, and a dumb move on his part. Candy and Ursula voice reasons to keep them in the game for challenge strengths. Before the votes are read, Nash plays his hidden immunity idol for himself, negating three votes against him. Candy is blindsided 5–4 over Ursula, making her the first person voted out of the game. |||||
| 248 | 2 | "The Praying Mantis" | Days 3–5 | 18 February 2025 (2025-02-18) |
| At the Brawn tribe, Nash starts feeling on the outs after the votes last night and investigates who voted for him. Zen lets him know he was one of the votes. At the Brains camp, Kent starts planting seeds that Myles is the biggest target and should be out first. Other tribe mates are still wary of Kent. Indy notices the women are close and suspects a girls' alliance has already formed without her. Kristen and Logan plan to pull in some guys for safety in numbers. Rich and Max take the bait but plan to use the women to further their game. Reward challenge: Tribe members race down a giant slide, attempting to grab sandbags on their way down. Once they get all their sandbags, they use them to knock down puzzle pieces. Tribes must then swim out to complete the giant floating puzzle. The first tribe to finish wins a reward of either a large fish or a large fishing kit. Brains win rewards. They choose the fishing gear over the large tuna fish. Aly and Karin attempt to get the guys to help finish building the shelter. The girls are growing tired of the men not pulling their weight at camp. They plan to target Rich first. Indy is a bit suspicious of her placement within the girls' alliance. Immunity challenge: Two tribe mates must climb and untie knots to release a giant spool. The rest of the tribe must then push the spool through a course, gathering sandbags and targets along the way. Lastly, the first tribe to land one sandbag on each of the four targets wins immunity. Brawn win immunity. Immediately when they get back to camp, Kent targets Myles. Suspecting all is good with his plan, he goes into the woods alone until tribal council. Indy voices she does not want to be just a number for the women but a contributor to the conversation. She goes to the boys to vote out Karin instead. The boys do not fully trust her and return to the woman with her plan. The coven does not think Indy is a trustworthy partner. This leaves the tribe unknown on who to vote out, Rich, Myles, or Indy. At Tribal Council, Kent spills that he burned Max's hat on night one. He planned to pin the burning on Myles. Indy comes under fire for spilling the Rich plan to the men. She stands her ground that the women were the ones who wanted Rich out. They all wanted a "women strong" game but are still unsure after Indy decides to fracture the plan. When the votes are read, Indy and Kent vote for Myles while the rest of the tribe vote for Indy. She becomes the second person voted out in a 10–2 vote. |||||
| 249 | 3 | "Stoic" | Days 6–7 | 19 February 2025 (2025-02-19) |
| At the Brains camp, Max is hurt after Kent admitted to throwing his hat into the fire. The Coven host a meeting at the water well to talk about how to stay in the majority and whether to get rid of Kent or Rich next. AJ and Kaelen are beginning to pick up on the girls' alliance and have talks on how to keep them in the minority. Reward challenge: One tribe member squares off on opposite ends of a floating net in the ocean. On go, they must attempt to grab a flag on the opposite while preventing the other tribe from doing the same. The first person to grab their flag scores a point. The first tribe to five points wins a reward for everything needed to make loaded fries. Brawn wins reward. Heading back to camp, Zen notices his fingers are a little sore from the challenge but is not too worried. At the reward, Paulie finds a map to an advantage printed on his napkin. He sneaks away from camp and finds a hidden immunity idol. Zen discovers his hand has swollen up since being back from the challenge and decides to get medical to check it out. Before the Immunity challenge begins, Zen returns to the mat and lets the tribes know of his condition. Because of the fracture being to the bone, Zen is medically pulled from the game. Immunity challenge: Tribes run through a series of obstacles, collecting rope and bamboo to build a giant pole. Then, must use that pole to push a vase off a post to retrieve a key to unlock a chest of coconut. Finally, tribes must use the coconut to hit to hit a series of targets. The first tribe to hit all the targets wins immunity. Brawn wins immunity. Back at the Brains camp, Myles is still annoyed by how Kent acts towards him. The women want the tribe to pile votes onto Kent. AJ wants to blindside the women by pulling in people to vote for Logan as she has a major swing with a lot of tribe mates. When he chats with Ally, she gets the wrong read that he wants Rich out instead. This sends the rest of the women spiraling to get on the same page. When AJ lets Ally know Logan is his target, she immediately turns it down. When it gets back to Logan that AJ was targeting her, she wants tonight's vote to be AJ, instead of Kent. At Tribal Council, Logan voices that it is hard to see if some tribe mates are 100% with each other or have something else going on the side. Myles says he does not want to make any waves at the moment and that he was given a name and is just going with that. Kent still feels comfortable and questions if what he has been told is something he should trust. When the votes are read, Kent receives the most votes, becoming the third person voted out, 8–3. |||||
| 250 | 4 | "Perplexed Dimension" | Days 8–9 | 23 February 2025 (2025-02-23) |
| 251 | 5 | "Bomb Squad!" | Days 10–12 | 24 February 2025 (2025-02-24) |
| 252 | 6 | "The Pest Problem" | Days 13–14 | 25 February 2025 (2025-02-25) |
| 253 | 7 | "A Date with JLP" | Days 15–16 | 2 March 2025 (2025-03-02) |
| 254 | 8 | "Maggot in the Rice" | Day 18 | 3 March 2025 (2025-03-03) |
| 255 | 9 | "Hostages" | Day 19 | 4 March 2025 (2025-03-04) |
| 256 | 10 | "The Vault" | Days 20–21 | 9 March 2025 (2025-03-09) |
| 257 | 11 | "The Strong-Arm" | Days 22–23 | 10 March 2025 (2025-03-10) |
| 258 | 12 | "Just What the Doctor Ordered" | Days 24–25 | 11 March 2025 (2025-03-11) |
| 259 | 13 | "Vengeance" | Days 26–28 | 16 March 2025 (2025-03-16) |
| 260 | 14 | "Episode 14" | Day 29 | 17 March 2025 (2025-03-17) |
| 261 | 15 | "Episode 15" | Days 30-31 | 18 March 2025 (2025-03-18) |

## Voting history
### Tribal Phase (Days 1–25)

| | | | | Original Tribes | Original Tribes | Original Tribes | Original Tribes | Original Tribes | Original Tribes | Post Swap Tribes | Switched Tribes | Switched Tribes | Switched Tribes | Switched Tribes | Switched Tribes | Post Swap II Tribes |
| Episode # | Episode # | Episode # | Episode # | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| Day # | Day # | Day # | Day # | 2 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 19 | 21 | 23 | 25 |
| Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Candy | Indy | Zen | Kent | Nash | Rich | Ally | Rich | Ursula | Max | Noonan | Zara | Ben |
| Votes | Votes | Votes | Votes | 5–4–0 | 10–2 | Evacuated | 8–3 | 7–2–1 | 9–1 | 4–3 | 7–1–1 | 6–2 | 4–1–0 | 2–0–0 | 4–2–2 | Quit |
| Voter | Voter | Voter | Voter | Vote | Vote | Vote | Vote | Vote | Vote | Vote | Vote | Vote | Vote | Vote | Vote | Vote |
| | | | AJ | | Indy | | Kent | | Rich | Ally | Rich | Ursula | | Paulie | | |
| | | | Kaelan | | Indy | | Myles | | Rich | Ally | Rich | Ursula | | Paulie | | |
| | | | Karin | | Indy | | Kent | | Rich | Immune | Rich | Ursula | | Paulie | | |
| | | | Kate | Candy | | | | Nash | | | | | Max | | Laura | |
| | | | Kristin | Candy | | | | Nash | | | Rich | Noonan | | Noonan | | |
| | | | Laura | | Indy | | Kent | | Rich | Immune | | | Myles | | Myles | |
| | | | Logan | | Indy | | Kent | | Rich | Myles | Rich | Ursula | | Paulie | | |
| | | | Morgan | Candy | | | | Nash | | | | | Max | | Laura | |
| | | | Myles | | Indy | | Kent | | Rich | Ally | | | Kate | | Zara | |
| | | | Paulie | Ursula | | | | Nash | | | Rich | Ursula | | Noonan | | |
| | | | Zara | | Indy | | Kent | | Rich | Ally | | | Myles | | Myles | |
| | | | PD | Nash | | | | Nash | | | | | Myles | | Zara | |
| | | | Jesse | Ursula | | | | Ursula | | | | | Max | | Zara | |
| | | | Ben | Ursula | | | | Nash | | | | | Max | | Zara | |
| | | Noonan | Noonan | Ursula | | | | Ursula | | | Rich | Ursula | | AJ | | |
| | | Max | Max | | Indy | | Kent | | Rich | Myles | | | Myles | | | |
| | | Ursula | Ursula | Candy | | | | Nash | | | Noonan | Noonan | | | | |
| | | Rich | Rich | | Indy | | Myles | | Max | | Logan | | | | | |
| | Ally | Ally | Ally | | Indy | | Kent | | Rich | Myles | | | | | | |
| Nash | Nash | Nash | Nash | Candy | | | | Morgan | | | | | | | | |
| Kent | Kent | Kent | Kent | | Myles | | Myles | | | | | | | | | |
| Zen | Zen | Zen | Zen | Nash | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Indy | Indy | Indy | Indy | | Myles | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Candy | Candy | Candy | Candy | Nash | | | | | | | | | | | | |

### Individual Phase (Days 26–47)

| | | | | Merged Tribe | Merged Tribe | Merged Tribe | Merged Tribe |
| Episode # | Episode # | Episode # | Episode # | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
| Day # | Day # | Day # | Day # | 28 | 29 | 31 | |
| Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated | Jesse | PD | Laura | |
| Votes | Votes | Votes | Votes | 6–5–2 | 3–0 | 3-2-0 | |
| Voter | Voter | Voter | Voter | Vote | Vote | Vote | |
| | | | AJ | Paulie | PD | Laura | |
| | | | Kaelan | Jesse | Paulie | Laura | |
| | | | Karin | Jesse | Paulie | Logan | |
| | | | Kate | Jesse | Paulie | Logan | |
| | | | Kristin | Paulie | Paulie | AJ | |
| | | | Logan | Jesse | Paulie | AJ | |
| | | | Morgan | Jesse | Paulie | Logan | |
| | | | Myles | Paulie | PD | Logan | |
| | | | Paulie | Zara | PD | Laura | |
| | | | Zara | Jesse | Paulie | Logan | |
| | | | Laura | Paulie | Paulie | Logan | |
| | | | PD | Paulie | Paulie | | |
| | | | Jesse | Zara | | | |
Notes

## Reception
### Ratings

| Wk | Episode | Episode | Airdate | Timeslot | Overnight | Overnight | Overnight | 7 Day Timeshift | 7 Day Timeshift | 7 Day Timeshift | Source |
| Wk | Episode | Episode | Airdate | Timeslot | Reach viewers | Total viewers | Rank | Reach viewers | Total viewers | Rank | Source |
| 1 | 1 | "Premiere" | 17 February 2025 | Monday 7:30 pm | 1,021,000 | 527,000 | 12 | 1,404,000 | 836,000 | 9 | |
| 1 | 2 | "The Praying Mantis" | 18 February 2025 | Tuesday 7:30 pm | 962,000 | 512,000 | 12 | 1,326,000 | 798,000 | 9 | |
| 1 | 3 | "Stoic" | 19 February 2025 | Wednesday 7:30 pm | 993,000 | 486,000 | 14 | 1,291,000 | 776,000 | 10 | |
| 2 | 4 | "Perplexed Dimension" | 23 February 2025 | Sunday 7:00 pm | 1,097,000 | 554,000 | 10 | 1,455,000 | 806,000 | 7 | |
| 2 | 5 | "Bomb Squad!" | 24 February 2025 | Monday 7:30 pm | 973,000 | 520,000 | 13 | 1,297,000 | 759,000 | 11 | |
| 2 | 6 | "The Pest Problem" | 25 February 2025 | Tuesday 7:30 pm | 1,025,000 | 525,000 | 12 | 1,342,000 | 774,000 | 7 | |
| 3 | 7 | "A Date with JLP" | 2 March 2025 | Sunday 7:00 pm | 1,048,000 | 543,000 | 10 | 1,333,000 | 763,000 | 7 | |
| 3 | 8 | "Maggot in the Rice" | 3 March 2025 | Monday 7:30 pm | 910,000 | 559,000 | 17 | 1,172,000 | 770,000 | 13 | |
| 3 | 9 | "Hostages" | 4 March 2025 | Tuesday 7:30 pm | 979,000 | 505,000 | 13 | 1,290,000 | 737,000 | 10 | |
| 4 | 10 | "The Vault" | 9 March 2025 | Sunday 7:00 pm | 1,011,000 | 555,000 | 13 | 1,307,000 | 767,000 | 9 | |
| 4 | 11 | "The Strong-Arm" | 10 March 2025 | Monday 7:30 pm | 1,023,000 | 612,000 | 13 | 1,277,000 | 821,000 | 10 | |
| 4 | 12 | ""Just What the Doctor Ordered"" | 11 March 2025 | Tuesday 7:30 pm | 1,027,000 | 555,000 | 14 | | | | |
| 5 | 13 | "Vengeance" | 16 March 2025 | Sunday 7:00 pm | 1,223,000 | 600,000 | 14 | | | | |
| 5 | 14 | "Episode 14" | 17 March 2025 | Monday 7:30 pm | 1,241,000 | 654,000 | 10 | | | | |
| 5 | 15 | "Episode 15" | 18 March 2025 | Tuesday 7:30 pm | | | | | | | |