All rugby union competitions in New South Wales and Queensland ceased after the state bodies decided it was inappropriate to play football when so many young men were fighting overseas.

The 1984 Wallabies became the first team from Australia to achieve a Grand Slam by defeating all four Home Nations: England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland, and a strong Barbarians side.

Bob Dwyer identified a lack of forward dominance as a major factor contributing to the loss and entered the 1990s with an aim to improve this facet of the Wallaby game.

With literally seconds remaining on the clock, Ireland were up 18–15 before Michael Lynagh scored in the corner to break the hearts of the Irish and qualify for the semi-final against New Zealand.

In 1999, five Australian players won their second Rugby World Cup: Phil Kearns, John Eales, Tim Horan, Jason Little and Dan Crowley.

After the retirement of George Gregan and Stephen Larkham after the 2007 Rugby World Cup, Deans had the task of choosing a squad minus some of its most experienced players.

The Wallabies then drew with Ireland 20–20 after Brian O'Driscoll's last minute try to give Ronan O'Gara a relatively easy conversion to draw level.

[19] Following the Wallabies' defeat to the British & Irish Lions in their 2013 tour, and with a winning rate of 58.1%, a poor 3–15 record against the All Blacks, Deans came under increasing pressure to keep his coaching position.

However, Australia was unable to reclaim the Mandela Challenge Plate, suffering a 28–11 loss to South Africa, after conceding three tries and a drop goal in the final 11 minutes of the match.

[34][35] On the 2014 end of year tour, Australia defeated Wales at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff 33–28, delivering the Wallabies a 10th straight victory over the hosts in Michael Cheika's first Test as coach.

Although they finally finished in 2nd place, with two wins over Argentina and one over South Africa, they lost both games against New Zealand in the Rugby Championship plus the third Bledisloe test that year, continuing a miserable run against their trans-Tasman rivals.

In the end of year internationals, Australia managed wins against Wales (32–8), Scotland (23–22) and France (25–23), but lost to Ireland 27–24 before losing a fourth game against England by 37–21.

In the 2017 June internationals Australia secured wins against Fiji (37–14) and Italy (40–27), but lost against a Scotland side missing a number of players on duty for the British & Irish Lions.

Their form continued into the 2017 Rugby Championship where, despite again finishing 2nd in the table, they only won their two games against Argentina, lost both matches against New Zealand and struggled to two draws against a poor South Africa.

[40] In the June series against Ireland, Australia won the first test 18–9, but lost the remaining matches 21–26 and 20–16 despite outscoring the Six Nations Grand Slam holders by five tries to three.

Australia next played New Zealand at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, where they finally notched a 24–22 win, thanks to debutant winger Tom Wright scoring in the first 10 minutes.

The July internationals series saw France touring Australia, and as Sydney went into lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the first 2021 test was rescheduled to be played at Suncorp Stadium.

They then dominated the Springboks 25-17 in Adelaide, but got stunned the next week in Sydney by the Boks (8-24) Then, in September 2022, the Wallabies dropped to their lowest-ever World Rugby ranking after losing to the All Blacks in Melbourne.

The 2024 Rugby Championship saw the Wallabies finish at last place - they lost to South Africa twice in a row at home, with both results being highly in favour of the visitors, despite improvements from the team in each match.

Canterbury's design for Australia's 2007 World cup jersey was controversial, featuring a curved tan-coloured panel across the chest resembling the shape of a bra.

[62] This led the Sydney Morning Herald's chief rugby correspondent to include a satirical piece in his column comparing it to Kramer and Frank Costanza's infamous man bra from Seinfeld.

Coached by Bob Dwyer for the 1991 World Cup in Europe, Australia again finished at the top of their pool, defeating Western Samoa, Wales and Argentina during the group stages.

While they finished on top of their group in the pool stages, Australia was knocked out by England 12–10 in their quarter-final, again largely due to Jonny Wilkinson's goal-kicking prowess.

Within the Rugby Championship, Australia also competes for the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand, the Mandela Challenge Plate with South Africa, and the Puma Trophy with Argentina.

Further more, if a player does not fit these criteria and plays overseas, but chooses to return to Australia, they become immediately eligible for selection as long as they have signed at least two years with the Australian Super Rugby franchise for the following season.

[74] Six former Wallaby greats with combined playing careers spanning almost nine decades – Tom Lawton Snr, John Thornett, Ken Catchpole, Mark Ella, David Campese and George Gregan – were added to the list of Australians in the IRB Hall of Fame in 2013.

[75] Lawton, a fly-half whose international career spanned from 1920 to 1932, was noted for his ball-handling and kicking skills, and most notably led Australia to their first-ever clean sweep of the Bledisloe Cup series, in 1929.

[76] Gregan, a World Cup-winning scrum-half whose Test career spanned the amateur and professional eras of the sport (1994–2007), is notable as having been the all-time caps leader in international rugby union, with 139 in all (a record since surpassed by Brian O'Driscoll of Ireland).

[110] In February 2025 it was reported by the Australian Financial Review that Rugby Australia and Nine Entertainment had reached an "in-principle agreement" for a new broadcasting deal worth $210 million over five years.

[113] The partnership agreement extends BMW's involvement with the game globally, having an established relationship with the English Rugby Football Union as a vehicle partner since 2012.