During World War II the battalion was re-raised in 1942 as a unit of the Militia and was tasked with undertaking garrison duty in Dutch New Guinea, where they defended Merauke from possible Japanese attack.

The battalion was initially formed in the United Kingdom during World War I as part of the effort to raise a 6th Division of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF).

[2] It was disbanded on 16 September 1917, however, due to manpower shortages that resulted from heavy losses amongst the Australian Corps in France during the fighting around Bullecourt and Messines,[1][3] which, coupled with the shortage of reinforcements due to the reduced number of volunteers and the failure of attempts to introduce conscription, meant that the 6th Division had to be broken up and its personnel dispersed in order to reinforce the other five Australian divisions.

While defending Merauke's airstrip and port, the 62nd also carried out patrolling operations and undertook other garrison duties such as constructing defences, building roads and unloading ships.

They then moved to Mount Stuart, near Townsville where they remained until they were disbanded in May 1944,[5] as nearly 400 men from the battalion were transferred to the units of the 9th Division to make up for its losses during the operations around Lae, Finschhafen and Sattelberg.