At the 2012 FINA World Championships (25m) in Istanbul, Turkey, Hurley had another breakout performance winning Gold in the 50m Backstroke. He broke his own Australian Record in the semi final (23.14), then re-breaking it to win the final in 23.04 and defeat Olympic Champion Matt Grevers from the USA, and defending champion Stanislav Donets of Russia. This record stood for 3 years before recently being broken by Mitch Larkin. Hurley also won Silver in the 4 × 200 m Freestyle Relay in Australian Record time, and Bronze in the 4 × 100 m Medley Relay, as well as finishing 5th in the 100m Backstroke.