England seamer Josh Tongue led a spirited resistance with figures of 3-42, but Alex Carey guided Australia home, striking the winning boundary through the covers in the mid-afternoon alongside Cameron Green.
Despite the loss, England earned credit for making a contest of the match at the Sydney Cricket Ground, avoiding the heavy end-of-series defeats that have plagued previous touring sides. However, without injured captain Ben Stokes in the bowling attack, defending a modest target on a good batting surface was always going to be difficult.
Australia’s openers reduced the target to under 100 before Travis Head, who scored three centuries in the series and anchored Australia’s first-innings total of 567, was dismissed for 29 by Tongue. Jake Weatherald followed for 34, again falling to Tongue, as Australia went to lunch needing 89 runs.
The match marked 15 years since England last won an Ashes Test at the SCG during their 2010-11 series triumph, the most recent time they claimed the Ashes in Australia.
Tongue struck again after lunch, bowling Usman Khawaja for six, while Marnus Labuschagne was run out for 37 after surviving an earlier chance. Carey and Green then steadied the innings, surviving a brief mix-up before calmly completing the chase. Carey finished unbeaten on 16, while Green remained not out on 22.
Earlier, England resumed on 302-8, but Mitchell Starc struck quickly, dismissing Jacob Bethell for a superb 154. Bethell’s maiden Test century proved vital in lifting England to a more competitive total of 342. Starc later removed Tongue to end the innings, finishing with 3-72 and a series tally of 31 wickets.
Australia’s victory completed a dominant Ashes campaign and underlined their continued supremacy on home soil.
