Home and Away is an Australian television soap opera. It was first broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. The following is a list of characters that will appear in 2020, by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by the soap's executive producer, Lucy Addario. The 33rd season of Home and Away began airing from 27 January 2020. Gemma Parata was introduced on the same day, followed by her son Nikau Parata. Tane Parata made his debut in February, while Marco Astoni arrived in March. Evan Slater made his first appearance in May, while Amber Simmons was introduced in July. Evan's brother Owen Davidson made his first appearance in August. September marked the arrivals of Taylor Rosetta and Christian Green. Kieran Baldivis and Lewis Hayes arrived in November.

Gemma Parata, played by Bree Peters, made her first appearance on 27 January 2020. Peters' casting was confirmed in November 2019, and her character details were revealed in 25–31 January 2020 issue of TV Week. Peters said she had some initial nerves about joining the show, but had felt welcomed by the other cast members. She continued, "Being a new family on a show like Home and Away is great. New people to play and act with comes with a lot of excitement." Gemma is the mother of Nikau Parata (Kawakawa Fox-Reo) and Ari Parata (Rob Kipa-Williams) and Tane Parata's (Ethan Browne) sister-in-law. Peters took inspiration from her friends for Gemma's personality. She described her character as a matriarch, who is surrounded by boys, and said "She's the kind of mum on the sidelines of a rugby game, but also the one who will look after the girls." Peters also said that family means everything to Gemma, and an Inside Soap writer added that while "misfortune" has befallen the Paratas, Gemma dares to dream of a better life. The character made an unannounced departure on 8 July 2020, as she returned to New Zealand to scatter the ashes of her husband Mikaere. The serial's UK broadcaster Channel 5 later confirmed that the episode was Gemma's last, while Peters also confirmed the news on her social media and paid tribute to the producers for introducing Māori characters to the show. Stephanie McKenna of The West Australian thought the New Zealand trip would end badly, writing "it's the happiest Gem has been in a long time and she has a beaming grin. But of course, it wouldn't be Home and Away if nothing bad happened."

After learning that her brother-in-law Ari Parata has been involved in a hostage situation at the Northern Districts Hospital, Gemma makes her way there to see him. Ari later tells Gemma that Marilyn Chambers (Emily Symons) has invited them and Gemma's son Nikau to dinner. Nikau is rude to Marilyn when she defends Ari, and Gemma makes him apologise to Marilyn the following day. Nikau blames Ari for their situation, as the family are struggling financially and are living in a motel. Gemma believes that he will come around eventually. Gemma is offered a job at the Pier Diner and she and Ari decide to stay in the Bay. But Gemma has to take food from the Diner to feed Nikau and the family are forced out of the motel when they cannot pay the bill. They spend the night in their car, before Marilyn invites them to move in with her. Marilyn's husband John Palmer (Shane Withington) clashes with Ari, who moves into the Caravan Park. John finds out that Ari was in prison and Gemma's husband Mikaere was shot by police during a robbery. Gemma and Nikau's presence causes problems between John and Marilyn, and Nikau worries that the family will be run out of town due to Ari and John's feud. Gemma tries to reassure him, while also warning Ari that his new relationship with Mackenzie Booth (Emily Weir) is making him the subject of town gossip.

Gemma attempts to apologise to John, and they end up talking about their families and Gemma's late husband. They agree to a fresh start. Gemma supports Nikau when Bella Nixon (Courtney Miller) has a violent reaction to his romantic advances and self-harms. John also helps Nikau and he and Gemma bond over their sons. Ari's brother Tane turns up in the Bay and Gemma has to break up a fight between them. Tane later rents the family a house and Gemma secures a new job at Salt, after her shifts at the Diner are cut. The family invite their friends to a hāngī, and Gemma befriends Ben Astoni (Rohan Nichol). Ben's estranged wife Maggie Astoni (Kestie Morassi) later sees them flirting at Salt and confronts Ben. He and Gemma get drunk and go back to his motel room, where they share a kiss. But Gemma pulls away and tells Ben that she is not ready to move on from Mikaere. They fall asleep on the bed together. Nikau confronts his mother for spending the night with Ben and accuses her of disrespecting his father's memory. They later fight, but Nikau soon apologises. Ben and Gemma decide to remain friends after facing objections from their families. After the Diner is robbed, Colby Thorne (Tim Franklin) asks Gemma if he can take her fingerprints, but she refuses. The Paratas remain the prime suspects in the robbery and a later carjacking. Gemma decides that it is time to spread Mikaere's ashes in New Zealand, and Ari, Tane and Nikau agree to come with her. At the airport, Gemma makes it through passport control, but Ari, Tane and Nikau are stopped. Tane calls Gemma and encourages her to go to New Zealand, as they will catch up with her, and Gemma leaves alone. She decides to stay in New Zealand permanently and later asks Nikau to join her.

Nikau Parata, played by Kawakawa Fox-Reo, made his first appearance on 28 January 2020. Fox-Reo's casting was announced alongside that of Rob Kipa-Williams (Ari Parata) in a November 2019 issue of TV Soap. Further casting and character details were announced on 29 December 2019. Three months after securing a place at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Fox-Reo was offered the role of Nikau, and he chose to give up his place at the academy to accept it. He admitted that he has been suffering from home sickness since relocating to Sydney, where the show's studio is located. Fox-Reo, Kipa-Williams, and Ethan Browne (Tane Parata) form the serial's new Māori family. The actors worked with the show's writers to make sure the family were authentic. Fox-Reo explained, "My desire and my wish is that when people watch it back home, they see a world that's real familiar to them – how we treat each other as a family, our sense of humour. I've tried my best to integrate as much of my upbringing into this character and hopefully people back home like it."

Fox-Reo described Nikau as "impulsive at times", not shy with girls, and close to his mother Gemma (Bree Peters). He added "ultimately, as with any new environment, he's trying to find his place in Summer Bay." The character will initially interact with Jade Lennox (Mia Morrissey), who released a sex tape and made a false allegation against Ryder Jackson (Lukas Radovich). Nikau ends up punching Ryder after he tries to warn Nikau about Jade. Nikau became a love interest for Bella Nixon (Courtney Miller). Following a day getting to know each other, they share a kiss on the pier, but face disapproval from Dean Thompson (Patrick O'Connor).

On 30 November 2022, Georgie Kearney of 7Entertainment reported that Fox-Reo was set to leave the serial and that he had already filmed his final scenes. Kearney noted that fans had been speculating about his departure ever since he dyed his hair blond and left Australia the previous month. Nikau's final scenes aired on 2 March 2023, as he left the Bay with Bella for New York.

Tane Parata, played by Ethan Browne, made his first appearance on 10 February 2020. Browne's casting and character details were announced on 29 December 2019. Home and Away marks Browne's first television role. He admitted that his family are fans of Home and Away, saying "Grandma Minna is a massive fan and she couldn't believe I got the job." Browne's character Tane is the brother of Ari Parata (Rob Kipa-Williams), who was introduced at the end of 2019. They, along with Nikau Parata (Kawakawa Fox-Reo), form the serial's new Māori family. All three actors worked with the script writers to make sure the family were authentic. Holly Byrnes of The Daily Telegraph reported that Tane's character brief was "a saucy one, with notes like 'most likely to be drunk and disorderly' and 'most likely to bring home a different partner every week.'" Browne also described his character as "a mischief maker, the cheeky brother and quite free-spirited." He added that Tane loves and takes care of his family. The show's 8000th episode, broadcast on 27 March 2023, featured Tane marrying his love interest Felicity Newman (Jacqui Purvis). Following the departure of his on-screen family, producers introduced Tane's cousin Kahu Parata (Jordi Webber) in April 2023. In 2022, Browne earned a nomination for Best Daytime Star at the Inside Soap Awards.