After the campaign began to turn in favour of the Australians, the Japanese withdrew north towards their beachheads around Buna and Gona, and elements of the brigade were recommitted to the fighting.

The brigade's headquarters was opened in Sydney, New South Wales, although its constituent units were formed from a number of Australian states.

[2] Upon establishment the brigade was raised as an independent unit, and consisted of three infantry battalions – the newly re-formed Victorian-based 39th, the Queensland 49th and the 53rd from New South Wales – which were supported by the 23rd Heavy Anti-Aircraft Battery and the South Australian-based 13th Field Artillery Regiment, which was equipped with First World War vintage 18-pound field guns.

[4] On 3 January 1942, the brigade headquarters and other elements deployed to New Guinea arriving on the troopship RMS Aquitania, joining the 49th.

A more dispersed defensive scheme was adopted in April, but in early May, as the Battle of Coral Sea raged, the troops were moved into positions along the beach as the threat of invasion loomed.

[2] The 49th Battalion was relieved by the US 128th Infantry Regiment and the brigade redeployed to guard exfiltration points from the Sogeri Plateau, with elements around 17-Mile, Hombrom Bluff, the lower Goldie River, Merigeda Mission and Laloki Airfield.

[2] As the tide of the Kokoda Track campaign turned in the Allies favour, the Japanese began withdrawing back towards Buna.

[6] After this, the brigade undertook garrison duties and further training in Port Moresby before taking part in the liberation of Gona and Sanananda during the Battle of Buna–Gona.