The Cooper^Eromanga Basins of South Australia and Queensland are not at their maximum burial depth due to Late Cretaceous^Tertiary, and LateTriassic^Early Jurassic exhumation. Apparent exhumation (maximum burial depth^present burial depth) for the Cooper Basin has been quanti¢ed using the compaction methodology.The results show that exhumation of the Cooper Basin for the majority of the wells is greater than the exhumation of the Eromanga Basin. Using the compaction methodology, apparent exhumation of Early to MiddleTriassic age Arrabury and Tinchoo Formatios has been quanti¢ed. Both units yield similar results and do not support that the Arrabury/Tinchoo boundary represents the Cooper^Eromanga boundary. Hence, the Cooper Basin is believed to have reached its maximum burial depth in LateTriassic times. Sonic log data are not available for the units overlying the Late Cretaceous Winton Formation; thus, it is not possible to date exhumation beyond the Late Cretaceous^Tertiary using the compaction methodology.Tertiary sequences as are preserved are relatively thin and separated by marked unconformities and weathered surfaces; hence, exhumation rather than sedimentation dominated theTertiary, and in exhumed areas, maximum burial depth was attained in Late Cretaceous times.The burial/exhumation history of representative wells was synthesized using sediment decompaction and establishing porosity/depth relations for the Cooper^Eromanga units. Considering the relative signi¢cance of the major periods of exhumation in the Cooper/Eromanga Basins, three broad types of burial/exhumation histories can be distinguished. Maximum burial depth of the Cooper Basin sequence was attained before the deposition of the Eromanga Basin sequence, i.e. LateTriassic^Early Jurassic times; maximum burial depth of the Cooper and Eromanga Basin sequences attained in Late Cretaceous times; and Cooper and Eromanga Basin sequences are currently at maximum burial-depth. Incorporation of exhumation into burial history has major implications for hydrocarbon exploration.