[1] The southern half of eastern New Guinea (the Territory of Papua) was annexed by the Colony of Queensland in 1883, on behalf of the British Empire.

Moti, a close associate of Manasseh Sogavare, the then Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands, was arrested in Port Moresby on 29 September 2006 under an Australian extradition request to face child sex charges in relation to events in Vanuatu in 1997.

[4] In 2013, under Prime Ministers Julia Gillard (Australia) and Peter O'Neill (PNG), the two nations signed the Joint Declaration for a New Papua New Guinea-Australia Partnership.

[16] In August 2020, Prime Ministers Scott Morrison (Australia) and James Marape (PNG) signed the Papua New Guinea-Australia Comprehensive Strategic and Economic Partnership, to expand further upon ties existing between the two nations.

[17] Upon announcing that Australia would support Papua New Guinea's efforts in the COVID-19 pandemic, then-Prime Minister Morrison described the nation as "family".

Morrison stated that the public health assistance was "in Australia's interests," adding it was "equally [to] our PNG family who are so dear to us".

[19] In December 2024, PNG reached an agreement to join Australia’s National Rugby League (NRL), securing a landmark deal worth A$600 million over ten years to establish a team in Port Moresby by 2028.

This agreement, while shrouded in confidentiality, stipulated that Australia could withdraw funding and the NRL team if PNG entered a security pact with any nation outside the "Pacific family," excluding China.

The agreement also highlighted Australia’s increasing influence in the Pacific, countering China’s growing presence in the region, while raising questions about PNG’s sovereignty and its future security partnerships.

[21] In a 2022 poll by Australian research group the Lowy Institute, 61% of respondents had a favorable view of Papua New Guinea.