It also introduced their own element: the Salvage Pass. The team that finish first in the leg that had the Salvage Pass were given a choice: take an additional 30 minute headstart in the next leg, or bring back the team that was eliminated in that leg. And you had to make that decision on the mat in front of the team that had just been eliminated. Excellent TV moment.
Although ratings were great for the Australian version, they never went past Season 2. Something to do with budget, I assume. Unlike Season 1 of the Canadian version, the Aussies went around the world, but didn't have an airline sponsor. So it probably cost them a lot to produce.
But then I saw this: