Despite the economic importance of coal to the Australian economy, detailed studies of controls on variation in coal type are remarkably few. However, important contributions have been made in the understanding of coal facies development. Tertiary lignite deposits of the Gippsland Basin provide key insights into the development of lithotype cyclicity and its relationship to relative sea-level changes, with individual paling-up cycles being correlated to parasequences. Studies of Permian hard coals have identified relationships between coal type and surrounding sediments. Unfortunately, these relationships have been widely over-interpreted in a manner that has diminished their real value. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.