List of Home and Away characters introduced in 2006

Home and Away is an Australian soap opera. It was first broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. The following is a list of characters that first appeared in 2006, by order of first appearance. They were all introduced by the show's series producer Julie McGuaran. The 19th season of Home and Away began airing on the Seven Network on 16 January 2006 and concluded on 1 December 2006. The first introduction of year was Amy Mathews as Rachel Armstrong in the year's premiere. Jessica Tovey joined the cast as Belle Taylor in February. Sam North began portraying Dom Moran in April. Rodger Corser and Trent Baines also joined the cast as Doctor Hugh Sullivan and Macca MacKenzie respectively. In July, Bobby Morley arrived as Drew Curtis and Chris Sadrinna was cast as Rachel's brother Brad Armstrong. October marked the introductions of Jessica Chapnik as Sam Tolhurst, her son Rory Tolhurst and the Cooper brothers Rocco and Johnny played by Ian Meadows and Callan Mulvey.

Rachel Armstrong, played by Amy Mathews, debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 16 January 2006. In 2010, Mathews quit the serial to pursue other projects and her on-screen husband Tony Holden was also written out. The serial's official website describe Rachel stating: "She has great instincts for people and has a sharp mind; she’s fiercely independent and has great strength of character." Of Rachel's persona, Mathews states: "Rachel is outgoing and fun with a sharp mind and good instincts for people. She has incredible strength and is fiercely independent. She has strong values and definite ideas about right and wrong but she is also a romantic at heart." In 2007, Mathews received the Logie for "New Female Talent" for her portrayal of Rachel. Mathews was nominated for "Best Actress" and "Best Couple" for her relationship with Kim at the 2007 Inside Soap Awards. Soap opera reporting website Holy Soap describe Rachel's most memorable moment as: "Being taken hostage by the Believers cult, who tried to force her to deliver Tasha's baby."

Susan "Belle" Taylor, played by Jessica Tovey, made her first on-screen appearance on 3 February 2006. Belle's storylines included finding her birth mother, a drug addiction, her relationship with Aden Jefferies and being diagnosed with cancer. In 2009, it was announced that Tovey had quit the show and the writers took the decision to kill off the character. Belle made her last appearance on 11 August 2009. Tovey joined Home and Away in 2006 when she was 18. The character of Belle was her first television role. In April 2009, Tovey announced that she had quit Home and Away. RTÉ's website describes Belle as being a "cheeky, extroverted young girl". She was full of insecurity from her "disciplined and controlling" upbringing. She craved love and attention from her parents, which they never gave to her. Belle's parents were shocked to discover their daughter was rejecting their conservative lifestyle and hanging out with the wrong crowd. Tovey earned various award nominations for her role as Belle. In 2007, Tovey earned a nomination for "Most Popular New Female Talent" at the Logie Awards. In 2010, she was nominated for "Most Popular Actress". At the 2007 Inside Soap Awards, Tovey was nominated for "Sexiest Female". In 2009, she received a nomination for "Best Actress" and "Best Storyline" for the drug addiction plot. 2010 saw Belle and Aden's wedding nominated in the Bride and Doom category at the 2010 All About Soap magazine awards. Belle's funeral episode was nominated for an Australian Writer's Guild Award in 2010. Virgin Media named Belle and Aden as one of "Soaps' sexiest couples", while viewers voted them "Home and Away's Hottest Couple" in a poll run by Holy Soap.

Dominic "Dom" Moran, played by Sam North, first appeared on 20 April 2006 and departed on 14 February 2008.

Dom works for his uncle Ray (Damien Garvey) at his garage, Moran Motors. He begins playing many dangerous pranks on Ric Dalby (Mark Furze) and often gets him into trouble. Two of these incidents injure Ric, the first; Dom burns Ric with battery acid and in the second, he nearly kills him when he gives Ric a faulty jack which gives way and crushes him. He also begins harassing Ric's girlfriend Belle Taylor (Jessica Tovey) but is kneed in the groin by her and later punched by Ric. Ray then realises that Dom is too dangerous to work with and fires him.

The following year, Dom returns and begins supplying Drew Curtis (Bobby Morley) with illegal parts for his car, dubbed "The Beast" and is involved in the drag-racing scene with local thug, Denni Maitland (Joshua Helman). Denni is involved in a drag race against Drew and Lucas Holden (Rhys Wakefield), which results in Lucas' ex, Lisa Duffy (Jessica McNamee) being killed in a car crash. Dom steals Drew's car and torches it in order to prevent himself from being arrested for theft of the parts. He agrees to help exonerate Drew, now a suspect, if Belle gives him a kiss. Belle reluctantly complies and Dom confesses and is jailed for theft car parts.

Following his release, Dom kidnaps Belle. Drew, acting on a tip from Ray tracks them down and rescues Belle, they flee and hit Dom in the process. However, when they return to the site, Dom has disappeared. He resurfaces several days later in Belle's room and leaves a ring he gave her but leaves. A couple of weeks later, Dom turns up at the diner and collapses. Belle rushes Dom to hospital and Drew turns up and warns him off. A confrontation results in Dom needing emergency surgery and Belle tells him she loves him but admits to Drew she only did that to get Dom through the surgery. He recovers and begins rehab with the aid of Sam Holden (Jessica Chapnik), his physiotherapist who unwittingly convinces him to continue to pursue Belle. Dom takes a job at the diner and mocks Drew for having to repeat Year 12 when he serves him. Irene Roberts (Lynne McGranger) and Roman Harris (Conrad Coleby) engineer a plan to get Dom away from Belle by arranging for him to have an interview with Irene's daughter, Finlay (Tina Thomsen), who owns a restaurant in the city. However, Dom ruins his chances intentionally and exposed to Belle. He leaves for the city, saying he will return for Belle.

Clayton Smales of The Townsville Bulletin was critical of North's acting. He described North's stint as a "woeful turn" and labelled the character a "flannel-shirted, sparsely bearded Lothario".